The latest video game release starring the world's favourite fictional British super agent (James Bond,) 007: Blood Stone is a third-person shooter/action game filled to the brim with explosions, car chases and tons of action. Developed by the now defunct studio Bizarre Creations (best known for their Project Gotham Racing series as well as Blur,) Blood Stone is a grittier, much more action-packed experience that differs from the traditional Bond game formula that we've become accustomed to. The game was designed to reflect the much more physical nature that Daniel Craig has brought to the character and it's very evident.
Blood Stone is one of several James Bond video games that does not follow a plot from the popular film series or Ian Fleming's novels. Instead, the developers worked with writer Bruce Feirstein (best known for writing the scripts for Bond films such as Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, as well as the video game adaptation of From Russia With Love,) to create an original storyline for the game. The result is an interesting storyline (complete with its own unique twists and turns) that sees the iconic Agent 007 traveling to various locations across the world, in an attempt to get England's top secret biological weapon from the hands of those who intend to cause great harm with it. Along the way, Bond (voiced by Daniel Craig) meets a fiesty young jewelery designer Nicole Hunter (voiced by musician Joss Stone,) as well as other colourful characters who each have their own agendas.
At its core, Blood Stone is an action-packed third-person shooter with a physical takedown system. Players must utilize cover as they shoot their way through levels based in locations such as Istanbul, Monaco, Siberia and Burma. Cinematic close-quarters takedowns allow players to gain focus aim shots, letting Bond take out up to three enemies at once with one shot (similar to the mark and execute system found in Splinter Cell: Conviction.) This inclusion adds strategy to the gameplay, especially on harder difficulties, where you must strategize your approach to certain action sequences, including where and when to use those focus aim shots to get the best results. These mechanics are nothing new and don't bring anything unique to the table, but I still found the gameplay fun, despite some repetitive sections. However, I've always been a fan of shooters, especially when it comes to James Bond games (for the most part, as there have been a couple duds in the series.)
In addition to its core third-person shooter mechanics, Blood Stone also features a large driving component. Since developer Bizarre Creations were well-known for their racing games, it's not surprising that they added a large emphasis on driving into this game. The vehicle segments range from traditional car chases to an action-packed train chase that sees Bond driving across a frozen lake while avoiding an aerial helicopter assault. These segments add much needed variety to the experience and end up being pretty fun. There are a couple standouts (including the train chase, a boat chase segment and a lengthy high-speed chase at the end of the campaign) but there are also a couple of mediocre car segments as well, that feel very generic. Even those are somewhat fun though, as all of the car sections require you to constantly be on your toes and paying attention because they're full of obstacles, enemy vehicles, quick turns and traffic.
The game's campaign is fun and action-packed, although it is on the short side and can be completed in just a couple of sittings, clocking in at approximately five to six hours in duration. It isn't very difficult, so I recommend playing on hard (and then moving onto its highest difficulty, 007, which is unlocked after you complete the game once.) If you're accustomed to playing shooters and have a lot of experience with this type of game, it shouldn't pose too much of a challenge as, even the 007 difficulty isn't overly hard. I was able to beat the game twice within a week and I didn't play it non-stop. Level select is available, so players will always have the option to go back to replay their favourite segments whenever they want.
One major difference from the average James Bond video game is the fact that this game doesn't feature any special gadgets. The gadgets have been replaced by a smart phone that Bond carries around. The phone not only allows him to keep in contact with M and his other accomplices - it also allows him to disable security cameras, hack into locked doors and download encrypted information from computers. All of this is done using short button-prompt minigame segments. The camera also allows Bond to scan the environments for hidden intelligence files, which adds a filter to the visuals while it is in use. It's very helpful throughout the campaign but it takes away one of the coolest things about the character - his various unique and over-the-top gadgets. That may disappoint some people.
It is also important to note that Blood Stone also features a robust multiplayer mode with support for up to sixteen players, in addition to its campaign. The multiplayer component is strictly team-based and features a few different modes, including Team Death Match, Last Man Standing and an objective-based mode. These competitive modes take place across 8 different maps, some of which are only available for a certain game type. Players level up as they gain experience, earning medals along the way by completing milestones (for example: getting a certain amount of kills in a certain manner. Each limit you pass gives you a different level of medal, with the highest level being 007.) Although it's somewhat generic and has some issues, I enjoyed the game's multiplayer experience. It's not perfect and probably won't last for a long time into the future, but it's surprisingly decent and quite fun.
The game controls quite well overall. It's easy to move within cover, especially since you can move from one section of cover to another simply by pressing the joystick in the correct direction and pressing a button. Takedowns are very easy to pull off and the shooting mechanics are easy to use and don't requite a steep learning curve, even when it comes to pulling off the focus aim shots. Those are activated simply by pressing one button (provided that your focus aim meter has been filled.) Additionally, the car chases controlled pretty well, although there were a couple weird physics issues I noticed when it came to crashes. The cars feel like they have some weight, but can be a bit floaty at times, unfortunately.
Visually, 007: Blood Stone is a relatively nice looking game. It features detailed environments and some very nice effects (including blurring effects brought on by heat and some nice explosions.) The game runs well and doesn't feature many visual or performance glitches. However, the character models and their animations leave something to be desired. Despite looking like their real-life counterparts, the main characters tend to look very rigid (especially during cutscenes) and their faces don't always match up perfectly with the dialogue they're saying, making them look off at times. It's not going to blow you away with its visuals, but it doesn't look bad at all.
Just like all of the previous James Bond video game iterations before it, Blood Stone has excellent presentation and audio. Its sound effects are vibrant and really bring you into the world well. Not to mention the fact that the voice acting is top notch (which it should be considering the fact that there are some skilled actors from the film series providing voice overs, such as Daniel Craig and Judy Dench, as well as newcomer Joss Stone.) Each level's loading screen provides a detailed conversation between M and Agent 007, regarding the location of his next target and other details, which is really well done considering it's also accompanied by intel files and pictures. In addition to all of this, the game also features an opening title song by Joss Stone (which is quite well done,) the iconic Bond theme song and a good original orchestral soundtrack, composed by Richard Jacques.
Overall, I must say that I enjoyed playing through Blood Stone. Going in, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it enough to play through it twice, but I enjoyed both of my playthroughs. Despite some repetitive sections, a couple pedestrian car chase segments and some visual issues, it's a fun game for Bond fans. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, but it's engaging from start to finish. I can't wholeheartedly recommend blind-buying it, but it's a solid rental for any fan of the Bond franchise or third-person shooters.
Rating: 7/10
007: Blood Stone was released on November 5th, 2010 for the XBOX 360, Playstation 3 and PC. It is also available for the Nintendo DS although that is a different version of the game, developed specifically for the handheld device, by another team.
