Ben-DutkaMost games based on movies just pick one. You know, one film. But in celebration of the 50th anniversary of James Bond, developer Eurocom believes the iconic spy needs more respect; a bigger homage, so-to-speak. That’s why they’re giving you 007 Legends , a compilation of the best sequences from no less than six Bond movies. Given the different situations, characters, storylines, and environments, you can expect all sorts of gameplay diversity along with that classy Bond style. For any and all fans, this one should be a no-brainer.
I’ve never been a gigantic Bond fan but even so, I really enjoyed the last two titles that came our way; Blood Stone and GoldenEye: Reloaded , both of which were well put together and highly entertaining. In Legends , we’ll still have all that great variety, along with the freedom to approach missions and objectives however we see fit. As we all know, this spy has plenty of sweet high-tech gadgetry at his disposal, so you don’t always have to lay down the law with an automatic weapon. Stealth-related equipment includes a pen dart for putting a foe to sleep, which I’m gonna use as often as humanly possible. Count on it.
One minute, you’ll be racing around like a madman, chasing or being chased while driving one of Bond’s quintessential cars. The next minute, you’ll be sneaking around a high-security area with guards aplenty, wondering just how to approach. But in addition to the standard third-person shooter and driving mechanics, we’ll even engage in up-close-and-personal encounters that will require melee skills. Brawling with baddies is an unfortunate part of the spy business, and we’ll enter a first-person view when doing battle with certain bosses. Gustav Graves and his freakish lightning attacks could be a problem but hey, you’ve got pretty solid reflexes, right? You can handle it.
If you’re an avid follower of the franchise, you’ll recognize so many familiar set pieces from the classic films. That will be part of the fun, of course; traversing some of the most memorable settings in series history. But don’t think you’ll be stepping into the shoes of a bunch of different Bond actors; in truth, this entire adventure will be seen from Daniel Craig’s point of view. So no, you will never play as Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan. It might be a little weird to have Craig slotted into all those older roles but we figure Eurocom can effectively pull it off.
The only downside is that we won’t get Craig’s voice. I can live with that provided the action is tight and addictive, which I fully expect. As for the movies on tap, here they are: “Moonraker,” “License to Kill,” “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” “Die Another Day,” the upcoming “Skyfall,” and a currently unannounced movie. I’m kinda hoping for “The World is Not Enough” but I’m sure the hardcore Bond aficionados have different choices. 007 Legends is slated to arrive on October 16, and I can almost guarantee a really solid single-player and multiplayer experience.
