James Bond: Bloodstone

humanji

I just saw that this has been announced by Activision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUfvQN0AzOo

I'm a huge James Bond fan, so I'll be getting this no matter what, but part of me still wonders if it'll be any good.

They're making a fairly good stab at it anyway. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench will voice their characters. Joss Stone will presumably be the love interest and is performing the title song that she and Dave Stewart (from the Eurythmics) wrote. And it's been written by Bruce Feirstein who, although is responsible for Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, also wrote the game story for Everything or Nothing and From Russia With Love.

It's being developed by Bizarre Creations who developed Blur, Project Gotham Racing, and The Club, and apparently the game will be using a modified version of The Club's engine.

I'm sure it'll be a huge let down, but part of me really hopes it turns out like Everything or Nothing.

cherryghost

Thought the graphics on The Club was poor tbh. The gameplay on it could have been A LOT better too, so I already have serious doubts on this being a good James Bond game already.

The Freeman

well atleast they are not tied to a film release/tie-in date and actually finish the game and it isin't rushed.

the combat looks like its done in a similar fashion to the jason bourne game, that would be a good thing. very much enjoyed that game even if it did get slaughtered in the reviews.

super_furry

I actually really loved The Club. Thought that it was misunderstood and people ignored the fact that it was a brilliant highscore chaser, so this has my immediate interest.

Helix

The Freeman wrote: »

the combat looks like its done in a similar fashion to the jason bourne game, that would be a good thing. very much enjoyed that game even if it did get slaughtered in the reviews.

that was a fantastic game

couldnt understand some of the poor reviews it got - it was a belter... proper fun!

Daniel Craig just doesn't look right as a computer game character.

humanji

Deleted User wrote: »

Daniel Craig just doesn't look right as a computer game character.

He doesn't look much better as a human, to be honest. He's an odd looking fellow.

humanji

humanji wrote: »

He doesn't look much better as a human, to be honest. He's an odd looking fellow.

Haha. Very true! But especially so as a computer game character; you don't usually expect them to have jug ears.

Exclamation Marc

Due out tomorrow in North America and Friday in Europe. Really interested in the game but with it out tomorrow, its never a good sign when no reviews exist.

Edge gave it a good preview write up, might shell out on Friday if I can source a couple of reviews.

Zillah

Ok, I haven't been much of a gamer in the last few years...but isn't this pretty damn ugly for a modern game?

Exclamation Marc

Looks a little prettier since that first video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdaDezAtGSs

Zillah

It does look better...but the worst part was the particle effects (the explosions, smoke, dust, water spray etc) and we didn't really see any of that in the new one.

Was there an autoaim segment there?

Exclamation Marc

I've no idea to be honest. The explosion at the end of the video was nice, but as you implied, the video is a little scarce on variety.

Details are quite slim on the game which is quite strange given that its out tomorrow in the US. Not sure if its an embargo or the developers are hiding a naff game.

Josey Wales

That second trailer does look better but I'm certainly holding off till I see what type of reviews it will get.

I would at least expect that the car levels will be great. I loved Blur earlier this year from Bizarre Creations.

Exclamation Marc

First review in from IGN gives it a 5 out of 10.

Disappointing, it had a lot of promise.

humanji

Ah balls. I had hoped for something better. Read a few comments on sites from people who'd played it and they said it's one of the better James Bond games, but considering how bad many of them were, it's not really a compliment.

pixelburp

The fact it was released before any reviews got to come out, I'm not going to be too surprised if it turns out to be a big pile of poo.

johnny_ultimate

Reviews aren't great, and it's a shame Was expecting something more inventive from Bizarre Creations. Also, the previews and videos suggest that the shooting system is pretty much just Splinter Cell conviction again!

I'm not a fan of the James Bond franchise in general, but there's potential there for a good game, as opposed to the mediocrity we're often subjected to. Early reviews seem to suggest (gasp!) Goldeneye remake is better!

pixelburp

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Reviews aren't great, and it's a shame Was expecting something more inventive from Bizarre Creations. Also, the previews and videos suggest that the shooting system is pretty much just Splinter Cell conviction again!

I'm not a fan of the James Bond franchise in general, but there's potential there for a good game, as opposed to the mediocrity we're often subjected to. Early reviews seem to suggest (gasp!) Goldeneye remake is better!

Yeah; you'd think someone by now would have made ... well... Alpha Protocol basically (or even Mass Effect), only with James Bond in the lead role. An Action-RPG of some kind, instead of generic-bland-o-shoot. So many of the games seem to miss the point of Bond entirely - but then maybe that's just the pressure of pleasing the licence holders.

humanji

Well, on the plus side, because it's not a film tie-in, they may decide to continue on in that direction, which will allow for more creativity. Hopefully someone will pay attention to the likes of Alpha Protocol and see that it's not impossible to make a more James Bond-like James Bond game.

Mr. K

I'm a big Bond fan, I was hoping this would be a suitable substitute for the 23rd movie. Pity it's not getting great reviews! I might pick it up cheap at some stage though.

Helix

loving this game tbh

its flawed, for sure, but its really well executed for the most part. i think a lot of pepole will really like it. it's far from a shoddy tie in. decent story, good action parts, solid set pieces and tight enough gunplay mechanics make it a better game than i was expecting. bond fans will like it

Exclamation Marc

Gamespot gave it a 7.5. Slightly better I guess. Noted complaint is the completely vanilla multiplayer.

Helix

cant remember what i gave it, but i think it was much the same

johnny_ultimate

What they should do with a good James Bond game is embrace the variety of the franchise, and that doesn't just mean shooting and cars. The films at least are constantly moving, with plenty of different setpieces. I wasn't the biggest fan of Casino Royale, but look at what you could get out of that: as well as the standard shooting and driving sections, you could have casino visits, parkour / chase levels, torture sequences, set pieces in collapsing buildings etc... Well designed, it could totally keep surprising you. Basic exploration and storytelling could be utilized effectively too - you could, for example, gather clues from the environment as you progress and then ultimately have the freedom to 'solve' the story yourself. There were a few sequences in Heavy Rain, for example, that required you to use the clues earlier in the game to choose the final location you were meant to visit, or else the game just ended. Some kind of storytelling along those lines, rather than just linear pointing and shooting, could be one hell of a game IMO. And if you ignored the current 'realistic' Bond (and given the general ****tiness of Quantum of Solace, that's easy to do :pac:) imagine providing you with the fun gadgetry that could create interesting puzzles and even combat situations.

If all else fails just throw in an invisible car anyway :P (

frickin' Die Another Day

)

Nemanja91

I'll probably just rent this, if it's anything like Quantum of Solace it will only be around 6 hours. I really enjoyed Quantum of Solace though so hopefully it will be more of the same!

humanji

Helix wrote: »

loving this game tbh

its flawed, for sure, but its really well executed for the most part. i think a lot of pepole will really like it. it's far from a shoddy tie in. decent story, good action parts, solid set pieces and tight enough gunplay mechanics make it a better game than i was expecting. bond fans will like it

I'm going to go with your opinion because it compliments my desire to pick up the game!

Trevor451

Looks like goldeneye for wii is a better game

humanji

I picked this up and I love it. It's not a masterpiece by a long shot, but it's a lost of fun. There's some set pieces that are really exciting and the race sections are really frantic.

The main combat is ok. Nothing special. And it's fairly easy so far. I've finished the first chapter on the hard difficulty (there's 3 difficulty levels, with a 4th that I assume is unlocked when you finish the game) and I breezed through it. I hope it gets harder.

The AI isn't bad. There's some nice little touches like they focus in on where they last saw you, so you can sneak around and take them from behind (which in fairness, should be standard in shooters these days, but that seems to be asking too much), but generally, they just keep shooting at you while another tries to flank you.

This game really reminds me of Alpha Protocol without the RPG elements and with driving sections added in. It's worth a rental at least.

Exclamation Marc

humanji wrote: »

I picked this up and I love it. It's not a masterpiece by a long shot, but it's a lost of fun. There's some set pieces that are really exciting and the race sections are really frantic.

The main combat is ok. Nothing special. And it's fairly easy so far. I've finished the first chapter on the hard difficulty (there's 3 difficulty levels, with a 4th that I assume is unlocked when you finish the game) and I breezed through it. I hope it gets harder.

The AI isn't bad. There's some nice little touches like they focus in on where they last saw you, so you can sneak around and take them from behind (which in fairness, should be standard in shooters these days, but that seems to be asking too much), but generally, they just keep shooting at you while another tries to flank you.

This game really reminds me of Alpha Protocol without the RPG elements and with driving sections added in. It's worth a rental at least.

Happy days, thanks for the quick review humanji, will definitely give it a rent now.

calex71

Saw an ad on tv just there for it, thought it certainly looked like something for the weekend to keep me entertained. Need a break from Fallout in Rock Band.

Helix

humanji wrote: »

I picked this up and I love it. It's not a masterpiece by a long shot, but it's a lost of fun. There's some set pieces that are really exciting and the race sections are really frantic.

The main combat is ok. Nothing special. And it's fairly easy so far. I've finished the first chapter on the hard difficulty (there's 3 difficulty levels, with a 4th that I assume is unlocked when you finish the game) and I breezed through it. I hope it gets harder.

The AI isn't bad. There's some nice little touches like they focus in on where they last saw you, so you can sneak around and take them from behind (which in fairness, should be standard in shooters these days, but that seems to be asking too much), but generally, they just keep shooting at you while another tries to flank you.

This game really reminds me of Alpha Protocol without the RPG elements and with driving sections added in. It's worth a rental at least.

pretty much echoes my own views, thankfully i wasnt way out on my own since i looked at some of the reviews and i think they were a little harsh