Even though there have been literally dozens of adaptations of legendary novel and screen secret agent James Bond over the years, there actually hasn’t been a new one since 2012 and Activision’s 007 Legends. That fourteen-year drought comes to an end on May 27th when IO Interactive (the Hitman franchise) releases 007 First Light. And over those dozens of James Bond featuring titles, many (at least those alive in the ’90s) will remember most fondly the legendary four-player madness of the Nintendo 64 title, Goldeneye 007. While that game went down in history because of how much fun it was for gatherings with friends, 007 First Light drops you into this world aiming fully—like any good intro scene from the movies would—right at the heart of the character and an epic saga filled with intrigue and action.
Our preview on this one was one of the longest of any hands-on we have memory of, where we got a whopping 3.5 hours’ worth of time to play through three segments of the game. While we indeed saw, several key plot points, character reveals and significant twists, we can’t share any of those with you. You’ll have to take our word for it, that they will be well worth the wait. What we can tell you, as is deserved by what we saw in our preview of this title, is that this game feels and renders strongly in the spirit one would expect from the best of James Bond films. That is to say, it shifts and mutates between poignant drama, spy-movie sneaking coupled with breaking-and-entering, massive action set pieces and guns ablaze shoot-outs. Pound-for-pound, and much in the same manner that the Uncharted series pulled off so well, it feels like the mounting twists and turns that 007 movies have always reveled in. It has a rewarding depth of scale, taking you from those human moments all the way up through almost ridiculous but incredible action sequences.
Our preview was divided into three sections. The first, Iceland, is the bones of this origin story. How James Bond gets his start as he is dropped into an intense pressure cooker and must find a way to survive. We will let you find out exactly how this game decides to set up Bond’s beginnings in MI6 but suffice to say this frigid environment is a fun and careful sneaking mission, designed to introduce you the player to the controls of how to make Bond artfully dodge past a large group of enemies. It’s well-staged and centers into a pretty intense villainous plot, but the fun is entirely in figuring out how to Solid Snake your way to the heart of an enemy controlled complex, finding and freeing hostages in the process. The openness of those choices is rewarding, but our one and only problem with anything we saw in this preview are some of the mechanics of Bond’s hand-to-hand combat. In the style of modern times, you are able to parry attacks to gain the upper hand, but the spacing/timing of the regular attacks lacks fluidity. It’s almost like you are stuck throwing haymakers and if you’re too close to your opponent, you’re literally punching around them. That may come together better with more practice, but that is literally our only complaint amidst an expansive game. Following the completion of this level, the plot cements why Bond will ultimately become an MI6 member, and that takes us into the opening credits. A motion titling montage a la every James Bond film set to the recently revealed Lana Del Rey soundtrack single “First Light.”
The second phase of the game, Malta, finds Bond much further in his story, in MI6 academy with other cadets being trained by John Greenway, voiced with motion capture performance by Lennie James (Snatch, The Walking Dead). This level largely serves as a playground to become familiar with the greater mechanics Bond has available to him. Here you can learn how to structure combos, aim and shoot various weapons, and use a special Q-provided device, the Q-Lens. The Q-Lens provides a ton of the game’s depth, providing a Batman: Arkham Asylum-like infrared look at the environment and anything possible to interact with. Bond can use items artfully as distractions (turning on machines or vents) or even in some cases stun or hurt enemies triggering the right piece of the scenery. You can also hack certain devices using the Q-Lens to change variables on the scene. Once an enemy has seen you though, all hell breaks loose and a pretty much endless barrage of foes swarm at you. It’s hard to break the alert mode and get back to sneaking once you’ve been spotted or make too much noise. This, invariably, is where the game will have people comparing it to the legendary Metal Gear Solid franchise. You’re not in for a perfect stealth ops experience akin to the best of MGS titles, but it’s more than ample given how much James Bond stories really need to accomplish. Suffice to say, the risk/reward of the experience is ample enough to make it worth it. Combat is challenging enough as is and avoiding it entirely can make a mission far easier. This level was a bit of a sandbox, and you could probably spend hours-upon-hours just tinkering with the various environmental levers present here. We had to press on quickly though, as the third and final segment of our preview was a beast.
The third section Kensington was a fully formed slice of what 007 First Light is capable of. This is far further in Bond’s story and by now, in the same way that is often the case in the films, Bond has gone through more than his fair share of tragedy on his road to having a license to kill. This fully formulated adventure level starts with Bond traversing a flat he’s been living in reflecting on his connections and friends. Before long, assailants arrive and try to murder him. As he endeavors to prevail, a sniper tries to take him out from long range across the rooftops. Bond then must stop-and-pop his way towards his enemy. Then there’s a chase sequence. Then he lands at a posh soiree where he must explore, connive and infiltrate an elaborate building. This brings out a really refreshing mechanic that fits the James Bond character perfectly, instinct. As a player you can activate Bond’s instinct which gives you additional options for navigating difficult situations. When you think about it, that has always been one of the most reward parts of watching the films. There, Bond always seems to divine quickly, a clever way of progressing on his mission. This largely talking section of the game leads into a wild boss fight nestled against a basement storage area. Then an escalating shootout of goons sent after Bond by the game’s main antagonist. The finale is an action set piece complete with the classic “James Bond Theme” song that is not to be missed.
All of this is a small part of what is evidently a giant James Bond saga. The totality of the experience, where you feel like you’re semi piloting a great James Bond film is where the game most shines. Big fans of the franchise will find many of the motifs made famous in the films stacked well against the gameplay elements. The final release will be the telling, but this preview set the stage well for 007 First Light to be an excellent entry into the James Bond lineage of video games.