James Bond: Bloodstone - Playstation 3
So while all Nintendo Wii owners get their Bond fix with the much anticipated update of GoldenEye, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners have to make do with Bizarre Creations new and original Bond adventure, Bloodstone.
Now, it’s been a while since there has been a completely original 007 video game, if my memory serves me correctly, the last one was the Pierce Brosnon adventure, Everything or Nothing.
This time round, Bond is played by his successor, Daniel Craig.
The game starts off with Bond thwarting a terrorist plot to assassinate the members of the G20 summit in Athens. Featuring plenty of set pieces, including a shoot out and a boat chase, the opening section ticks off all the trademarks of a James Bond story, before playing the obligatory theme tune sung by by Joss Stone and penned by herself and Dave Stewart.
For the most part, the game is an over the shoulder, third person shooter much in the same vain as the Uncharted series. Needless to say, Bloodstone is not up there with Uncharted, but parts of the game are surprisingly solid.
The level design is varied to enough to keep the average gamer entertained, regularly switching its approach from all out gun shooting action to a more stealthier affair. This also helped by the fact that the games plot takes Bond to a number of locations, including Istanbul, Siberia, Bangkok and Burma.
Featuring a number of over the top set pieces, the developers have done a good job in recreating sequences that wouldn’t look out of place in a Bond movie.
You want an espionage level set in a casino? You got it. You want a level set in a secret underground base? You got it. You want a level where Bond is racing across as frozen river while it is cracking beneath his Aston Martin? You got it. It’s all very extreme and it helps, this Bond after all.
The controls are simple enough and easy to get to grips with. Having said that, there is very little for Bond to do other than run, shoot and duck for cover behind conveniently placed boxes and crates.
Aside from his trusty PPK, Bond is also equipped with a smart phone. The phone is mostly used to hack into various computers and cameras, and can also be used to unlock intelligence on certain items. The phone also provides the additional function of being a visual aid, giving you the ability to see your opponents when your vision is impaired by smoke.
With each melee take down that Bond performs, he is rewarded with a focus kill, which is basically an instant head shot to any opponent. Quite handy when you find yourself in a tight spot.
Considering that the game is developed by Bizarre Creations (developers of the seminal Project Gotham Racing), it’s not surprising to see that the game has a few levels which see Bond sat behind the wheel of a variety of sports cars.
Needless to say, the car racing levels are thrilling and are quite possibly the best parts of the game. The aforementioned chase sequence in Siberia being particularly memorable, along with a truck chase sequence in Bangkok.
Graphically, the game is a bit of a mixed bag. The rendering of the environments is particularly impressive, however the cut scenes do a look a little rushed, with some shoddy rendering and next to no attempt to lip synch their vocals. This isn’t helped by the mediocre voice acting on Daniel Craig’s and Joss Stone’s part – it almost sounds as if they didn’t want to be there and were just reading out the script with neither care nor direction.
Voice acting aside, the sound design is good enough. The gadgets and the guns all sound the part and the score by Richard Jaques certainly helps in creating an overall Bond like feel to the world.
In addition to the single player campaign, Bloodstone also offers a mildly entertaining multiplayer section. However, it’s nothing amazing and it’s hardly going take peoples attention away from other, more rewarding multiplayer experiences out there.
Perhaps the biggest let down with Bloodstone is it’s plot. Despite taking 007 around the globe, the plot doesn’t really go anywhere and as result, the game just feels like an excuse to go around various locations, shooting things and blowing things up. There is very little character development and the fact that the game doesn’t feature any memorable villains further exacerbates this, and if I’m completely honest, I’m still none the wiser as to why the game is called Bloodstone… It’s all a bit disappointing, especially considering the fact that the story was written by Bruce Feirstein, the same man responsible for number of James Bond screenplays (GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough).
Overall, despite it’s flaws Bloodstone is an entertaining entry in the James Bond series. It’s hardly going to set the gaming scene alight like GoldenEye did back in the 90s, but it’s worthy enough to play through, if you’re looking for something short, simple and easy going. It’s just a shame that it’s a little rough round the edges.
Verdict: 6.5 out of 10
The Good
Great racing levels
Feels like a Bond game
Accessible controls
The Bad
Ropey voice acting
Cut scenes look rough
A few bugs
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