007 Game Rankings: Number 9. "Goldeneye 007: Reloaded" (Ps3)

When I started the list, I said I'm only covering Bond games on the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and PlayStation platforms, so I will not give my thoughts on the original Wii version. I know some of you may be disappointed, but I don't see it as a loss considering that Reloaded has more features. All I'm missing from the Wii version is gazing at the original graphic designs and playing it through the Wii's motion controls. I'll admit, I'm interested in playing the game by using the motion controls, but it's not enough to motivate me to purchase a Wii console. Some gamers and Bond fans may be surprised that I ranked this game low on the list, considering that it's been getting plenty of praise. While I enjoyed playing it, I think it's highly overrated.

I like the idea that the game is a reimagined adventure that could have happened before the events of Skyfall, similar to 007 Legends. If anything, it's more believable that these events could have occurred in the Craig universe. Forgetting how the film Specter damaged the idea of the game being cannon since Blofield is in it (as if anyone cares), despite Legends attempt to modernize the Bond stories, most of the stories don't fit the dark, graphic, and dramatic approach to the Craig films, consequently coming off as silly. Aside from shutting down a giant laser, the plot of Bond losing a friend only to find out that he's been betrayed by the person he thought was dead is a perfect concept for the Craig era. The game itself goes further with its liberties of having the environments look less like the designs in the N64 game and film, therefore giving them a personality to suit the Craig series. The game does mimic a few designs, but it mostly keeps them modernized rather than feeling like a piece of the 90s is present. Beyond that, unlike how most characters in 007 Legends were modeled after the actors from the movies, the game redesigns all the characters.

I would love to applaud the game for reinventing Goldeneye to match the Daniel Craig era if it didn't appear so bland and empty. That's not to say that all level designs are not appealing. Zukovsky's nightclub is a flashy yet soothing environment. The Solar Farm has a Ken Adams-like design without looking out of place. The Memorial Park still carries its foreboding patriotic atmosphere. However, when comparing it to the N64 game, each level had its distinct environment from the design and music, while most levels here look like something out of Call of Duty. There's minimal personality to these levels for how generic they appear, containing too many shadows, greys and yellows, and places that look like battlefields from a war game. I understand that it's trying to look as gritty and intense as the Craig films. Still, the movies and even the Quantum of Solace video game have way more visual personality fitting the current Bond universe than this attempt. As out of place as 007 Legends felt with placing Craig in the old films, I at least felt like I was looking at a Bond game most of the time. If I were to walk into someone playing this game, I would have easily mistaken it for Call of Duty. The game doesn't try to show Bond on-screen as much as possible to have the courtesy to keep the Bond feel present. The Ps3 version Quantum of Solace, despite looking like a Call of Duty game, not only had the luxury of using locations from the first two Craig movies but uniquely combined first and third-person shooter to keep it from looking too much like a near-exact clone. All that's missing for this game to complete itself as a Call of Duty clone entirely is blood. There's blood trickling down from the screen when the player dies, but there is none when killing the enemy in a gritty war-like environment when this detail is welcomed here than in 007 Legends.

I am glad that the game isn't an exact copy of the N64 game, just with better graphics and cinematic cutscenes. The first part of the Dam level seems that way by having its design look identical to the one from the N64 game. Once Bond and Trevelyan hi-jack a truck leading to an on-rails shooting section (that the N64 was originally going to have), the game makes itself clear it's not going down the same direction as players of the original game may think. It's refreshing, but at times, it gets to be very underwhelming when comparing some of these levels to the original game. One of the best levels from the N64 game is the Train mission, involving Bond racing through the train cars gunning down goons to rescue Natalya from Trevelyan and Ourumov. The game decides to have Bond approach the train after damaging it with the tank, like in the film. I give props for the game taking it in a new direction, except Bond is fighting through a dark and brown dusty construction site, making it a less exciting environment (the construction site in the Quantum of Solace game looks way better than this game). I was hoping the meeting with Ourumov would make for an exciting conclusion as the N64 by having the chance to kill him and use a laser to escape from an explosion in a short time span. Instead, all that happens is a cut scene with Xenia killing Ourumouv and escaping without worrying about a timer to set off the bomb, with no use of a laser. 

There are certainly other changes that make some of the levels less exciting compared to the Goldeneye 64. A couple examples include having no choice of how to escape the facility, not allowed to stop the investigation in the Archives at a player's own time, and driving a tank in a deserted city that seems to be in ruins, as opposed to a populated area. I understand that I should try the judge on its own merits without comparing it to the N64 classic, but since the game constantly reminds me of the original with its story, objectives, and occasional level designs, how can I not separate the two? I can't help but miss having most of the choices and freedoms that made the Goldeneye 64 a milestone in gaming, whether it's handling objectives in no order or carrying as many weapons as I please. I appreciate that the game is trying to adapt to the modern bond game formula, and I probably wouldn't have much of a problem if it wasn't under the Goldeneye name. 

But it's not just the original Goldeneye game I'm thinking about when playing the game; I'm also thinking of the fun that this game eliminates from previous Bond games. I understand the games are trying to be faithful to the Craig movies, and while I expect the games to carry a similar tone, that doesn't mean the games should limit the fun. I don't care if carrying limited guns is realistic; let me take as many different weapons as possible. Who cares if it's plausible for Bond to use cellphones instead of physical gadgets, I want to use hidden weapons, ex-ray goggles, and a laser watch. Watching the movies is one thing; playing games is entirely different. Licensed games take liberties all the time, granted typically for the worst. But to take away something that isn't broken, only to give half of what was once had, and claim that it's new and faithful to the films is only admitting they have an excuse to be lazy. These are video games, have as much fun with the spy concept as much as possible, just as long as the spirit of the Craig films is not entirely lost. It just irritates me that this dumb elimination was carried over to a game adaptation of Goldeneye. 

Regarding the N64 game, the only driving level present in the game was the famous tank level, which is still a highlight. As much of a highlight as the level was, the mechanics were no different from the ones for walking and shooting. Despite being in a tank and seeing a part of it, I still sensed the vibe that I was still killing goons on foot. The Bond games upgraded the driving portion with Tomorrow Never Dies, experimented with the possibilities in 007 Racing, and perfected it in Agent Under Fire and forward on. This remake of Goldeneye only has one driving level, which I understand is accurate to the source, and I'm in the very least glad this Craig game has one driving level instead of none like in Quantum of Solace. I probably would have accepted the game having one driving level if the game didn't tease me into thinking I would take part in some driving action. A few times, it looks like the game will lead to a driving level, only to be let down by having it be an on-rails shooting or the level just abruptly ending. Just when I thought I would not be driving a tank after the games' constant teasing, I find myself doing so, and you know what, it was awesome! It stands as one of the best driving levels I have ever played in a 007 game, and honestly, better than the tank level in Goldeneye 64. Discovering that there are no other driving levels like that in the game came off as disappointing, giving the impression that the makers only gave the player the tank level for fan service. I would have loved to escape the cops after leaving a nightclub or riding a motorcycle up towards the aircraft on top of a mountain. The game proves it's capable of making a good driving level, is it too much to ask for one more? 

Unlike previous Bond games that typically involve Bond fighting up against a henchman in a boss battle figuring out strategies to weaken the opponent, just like 007 Legends, the use of Quick-time or cutscenes are mostly the boss battles. I say mostly because, at the very last level of the game, there is an exciting boss fight against Trevelyan that I think is more intense than the N64 counterpart. The boss battle involves gunning down Trevelyan and his men, with occasional use of Quick-time while given the task to protect Natayala, avoid the Goldeneye laser beam, and shutting it down. After all this work, the player is rewarded for shooting Trevelyan off the cradle after Bond delivers his farewell line to him. As for the other villains, a cutscene shows Xenia killing Ourumov, and a round of Quick-time unexcitingly kills Xenia. The combination of Quick-time and punch-out in 007 Legends was a little more exciting than just pressing buttons to kill an opponent, though that doesn't mean that didn't get old too. I'm not saying that Quick-time isn't an exciting option because, at times, it can be thrilling when it's used to weaken an enemy and used for escaping a death trap. However, it is not much of a riveting method when that's the only way to kill some of the villains, making the experience feel limited compared to other Bond games. 

As if this remake of Goldeneye can't get any less bland, the remodels to half of the characters give the game even less personality. I'm not opposed to remodeling the characters. It would be cool to see how the game would take these characters to a more modern approach, and to its credit, it did succeed with a few. I would love to see Gottfried John's likeness as General Ourumov with modern and better-detailed graphics, but the replacement still appears cold and threatening. Valentin Zukovsky gets an unrecognizable robust design with his badass facial scar, cool beret, and a covered tattoo body suitable for war. A part of me should be mad that this character has no resemblance to the Zukovsky from the film, as he looks more like a character from the G.I. Joe cartoon in the 80s. But I like the new approach they take him, going as far as making him a successful nightclub owner and a vicious gangster feared by all, except for Bond. As long as he's a Russian club owner who is allied with Bond with a bit of a personal vendetta against him for an injury, any other change is welcomed. Aside from Ourumov and Zukovsky in terms of remodels, everybody else is forgettable. Sure, their characteristics remain accurate, but I don't find myself remembering their designs for how boring they appear. There isn't much to the character designs that make them stand out, coming across as stock character designs. 

The worst character to get a redesign out of them all goes to Alec Trevelyan. Sean Bean in the film perfectly appeared as Bond's equal by coming across as confident and menacing. Trevelyan in this game looks nothing like it in the slightest. When he appears as an MI6 agent, though friendlier looking than Bean, he seems more like a trainee than a man with experience who's as elegant and rugged as Bond himself. Then when it's revealed he's the game's main villain, he looks worse, appearing as incompetent as a henchman that Bond can kill without a sweat. There's no scar, no distinct wardrobe, or a body structure that seems up to par with Bond's. When looking at designs as generic and non-threatening as the ones in the game, it makes me wish they were modeled after characters off the cast from the film instead. 

For all my complaining, the most significant advantage over the N64 game is the narrative. I still play the N64 game from start to finish whenever I decide to replay it, but objectively speaking, the story serves more as a road map to tie the levels together than trying to tell a coherent story. There are very few cutscenes, and the interaction with the characters at crucial points in the story is more optional than it is required. The story was the last thing the creators were focusing on, surprisingly leading to a more unique and open interactive experience. With Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, it is definite that telling the Goldeneye story was one of their top priorities. 

For all the liberties the game contributes to the story that makes the gameplay experience less exciting, the liberties that do work are such solid upgrades that I wish the movie had these scenes. In both the film and N64 game, Bond does not meet up with Trevelyan until he's made it inside the facility as they are about to plant the chargers. Reloaded has two levels of the two fighting side by side as they break inside the base together. This change to the story allows for more bonding time between the two to better grasp their friendship before discovering that Trevelyan is the main antagonist. Daniel Craig and Elliot Cowan's chemistry brings such a strong sense of their friendship for how they joke around, comment on one another's skill, and aid each other that I find myself heartbroken that he was never Bond's ally while playing it. In the film, Brosnan perfectly sold Bond's despair for his friend's betrayal, but Sean Bean, from the very beginning, already had a suspicious presence before the reveal. 

In the movie Bond never witnessed the first use of the Goldeneye satellite in Severnaya. And in the N64 game Bond and Natalya escape as the place is about to be blown to bits. In this game, Bond enters the grounds of Severnaya by tracking down the helicopter owned by the Janus crime syndicate, making it plausible for him to be in the area. Bond is not inside the radar facility to see Ourumov and Xenia activate the Goldeneye satellite. Still, he does witness the satellite destroy the facility as he sneaks his way over. Once inside the wreckage of the facility, Bond hears the sound of Ourumov and Xenia killing the surviving scientists pleading for their lives, creating a grimmer tone for the disaster. To top the change off, this is the moment where Bond and Natalya meet up, which couldn't have been a better meeting scenario than any of their meetings in previous Goldeneye related media. The game takes all the necessary steps to form a partnership by having her hesitant and going off on her own, to aiding Bond and to eventually having the two getting captured together. 

The game improves the story in some places, and even improves the N64 game in other areas. The most obvious improvement is that the game (until the last level) wisely doesn't have the players carry the burden of protecting a wandering Natalya while finishing objectives (surprisingly, from my personal game experience, I didn't have that much of a problem with her). Others are ones that I felt needed a level of their own. In the N64 game, Bond meets Zukovsky at Statue Park instead of the run-down club he owns. Seeing Zukovsky before coming face to face with Trevelyan at the same level has always been a treat for me, but I did wish there was a level fighting my way to his club or meeting him there and then making my way to statue park to meet the game's main villain. Reloaded allows me to meet Zukovsky at his club while also meeting Xenia for the first time, starting out slow and atmospheric to an exhilarating gunfight. I admire how some levels don't begin the way a person would expect. Knowing a level will take place on the carrier, I expected to start the level already aboard. Instead, I received a fast-paced fight through an airport that would eventually lead me to the vessel. An engaging new addition creating a perfect balance of what to keep and add-in. 

For all the freedoms the game takes away from the original N64, and adding the stupid Call of Duty style limitations from the Quantum of Solace game doesn't mean the game forbids players from making different choices. Like some of the great 007 games, the game gives the player the option to play a mission stealthy or just firing endlessly at guards. Sometimes a player is given a choice of how a guard should be disposed of. Does a player kill the guard on the toilet the N64 way or the film way? While fighting against both Ourumov's men and the guards guarding the radar facility, there's a couple of options if a player should kill or sneak past the wounded guards, let Ourumov's men dispose of them, or dispose both soldiers. By making different choices in terms of combat naturally, the game gives their players a choice of which route to take, whether it's sneaking into an area through a vent or just walking right through the door, undoubtedly leading to new experiences for each gameplay. 

Suppose players wish to spice things up by changing the difficulty, like its N64 counterpart, the game adds a few new objectives for each level. It is sad to say that the new objectives are only optional when in the original game, a player had to complete every new objective to make it to the next level successfully. Intriguingly the hardest difficulty is titled 007 Classic, where the game's health system functions like the original. A player can only grab body armor to keep their health instead of relying on a regenerator. When getting shot, a health and armor bar appears looking similar to the one in N64, except the Wii version contains the colors from the original game, while the reloaded version blands it up by using colorless digital dots. 

The multiplayer experience gives players the choice to either play online, or with players at home with a split screen. For the purpose of this review, I was only able to play the split screen version of the multiplayer, with only two players. The campaign is overall amusing, but not one of my favorites. Part of that may have to do with the limited supply of players I have, since there are no A.I. bots to fight or people online playing this game anymore. The maps are so big, that having more than two players is essential to get the full experience. The maps are missions from the game, which are as good as the levels themselves. Some that are visually cool, but for the most part unappealing. I said, the character skins in the later game 007 Legends are better than the models here, since most of the character models here are the ones used in story mode, which like the level designs are mainly misses. But what saves the selection of characters from becoming as disappointingly limited as the skins in Goldeneye: Rogue Agent are the models based on characters from the movies, with better likenesses than any of the games had prior. Some of them are characters I have yet to play in other multiplayer Bond games at the time include Tee-Hee, Rosa Klebb, Dr. Kananga, and Charles Grey's Blofeld. What makes playing these characters even more special is that they each have their own special ability. Apart from surviving more abuse than other characters, or moving faster, I love how some the characters come equipped with their own special weapon. NightFire did that with Oddjob, by giving him his hat, but this game's multiplayer takes things a step further. Scaramanga wields his golden gun, Goldfinger has his gold revolver, players can view Tee-Hee's mechanical arm in action, and Klebb has her poison shoe blade. Of all weapons however, my favorite is the Moonraker laser which I never get tired of for its cool design for the gun and laser and having an awesome sound effect. This multiplayer experience may not be one of my favorites from the games but is certainly worth playing.

                                                                Overall Thoughts

There's no denying the game has plenty of replay value, with some welcomed upgrades to the story and N64 game. Like 007 Legends, the game has excellent ambitions of combining classic Bond with the new, but in the end, it becomes a mess. Plus, attempting to modernize a revolutionary game cherished by many makes the final concept even messier. I'm not saying this game is in the same league of bad as 007 Legends. Have the game not had more variety compared to Legends, a cohesive story, and a better driving level, it would have been considered just as flawed. While I agree Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is a better-made game than Legends, I find it a little forgettable. 007 Legends was terrible, but it was a memorably intriguing mess, in my opinion. Goldeneye 007: Reloaded I'll remember having fun playing, but when I think back to the dull visuals, the awful character designs, and the many limitations the game has compared to other Bond games, it's not one of my go-to's or a game I highly recommend to gamers. Even if the game weren't a Goldeneye remake, it still would have had the same problems; it just wouldn't have the burden to compete against an original classic. However, in terms of re-playability and leaving an impression, this game succeeds over Blood Stone. 

                                                         Least Favorite Mission

                                                                      Solar

Solar is one of the best-looking levels in the game. It's one of the very few levels that looks it belongs in a Bond game while still matching the modern era of the Bond universe. It disappoints me the only thing that stands out about the level is the design. Solar has nothing new to offer gameplay-wise as it feels like an extension of the Jungle level. All I'm doing is killing guards and destroying drones again, except this time the level ends with me getting captured than taking on a Bond villain. That said, I consider the station mission as the worst level remake in the game; I can't call it the worst level in the game since it does have a few amusing things about it, even if they are small.

                                                        Favorite Mission

                                                                Tank

I was going to go with the mission Nightclub for its atmosphere, inventive redesign for Zukovsky, introduction to Xenia, and exciting finale. It was a real close call until I thought of what the game accomplished with another level; it actually improved one of the best levels in Goldeneye 64. The tank mission in Goldeneye 64 is fondly remembered as one of the best missions for a good reason. It's the definitive level where a player can drive a vehicle while blowing things up and running over guards, followed by a violent squishing sound. Looking at the tank level in this game, it doesn't look pleasing to the eye since Bond is causing destruction in a wasteland than a populated city street. Even worse, the game had to stupidly cut out the feature of running over goons. What it does do better than the original is the amount of destruction I'm allowed to cause. Having a health regenerator is better than losing health and finding armor to restore it. Since it takes ages to die in this level, I can have as much fun as I want blowing up anything in sight, except this time I can also blow up enemy helicopters and part of a weak building. Not to mention I won't have to worry about losing health when ramming through cars. This mission has fewer limitations than its N64 counterpart, all the more reason why I love it and consider it my favorite mission in the game.

007 Game Rankings: Number 10. "Blood Stone" (Ps3)

We've now come to the part of my ranking of 007 games I like better than the previous four, but don't love either. These aren't bad games; I just don't enjoy them compared to the others on my list.                 

Did you ever play a game that you remember having fun playing but hardly remember a thing about it? That's my experience with Blood Stone. I didn't think the game was terrible or a waste of time when I first played it. The experience just left me feeling empty as the weeks went by. As bad as the previous 007 games were, I still remember them. After replaying it a second time for this list and awhile after, I enjoyed it more than I did the first time, but I can see why it didn't leave as much of an impression as it should have.

The primary part of the reason is the story. I'm not implying that story was ever the video game's best quality. If classic games like Agent Under Fire and Everything or Nothing were adapted to film, they would be as well-received as Die Another Day and Diamonds Are Forever. The story's point in the games was to tie the missions together while still giving it a bit of a cinematic appeal. There was still a clear focus as dumb, over the top, and nonsensical the stories to the games are. Players understood the villain's grand scheme in the end, who the main villain was, understand why Bond's allies betrayed him, grieve a bit for a character's demise, and know the long-term stakes when completing a level and story to feel accomplished when succeeding. 

The game's first level plays out as a pre-title sequence from a Bond film, nearly using all the game's features such as stealth combat, shooting, and driving various vehicles while stopping a bomb. I love the pre-title levels in Nightfire and From Russia with Love more, but I can't objectively deny that this is the best first level to a Bond game for offering so much gameplaywise. After getting a highly interactive first mission, and a solid title sequence, the story is as easy to follow as the games before it. Bond goes to look for a missing scientist, discovers the villain behind the kidnapping, meets a woman, finds the villain's lair, and foils his plans. Just when I think the game is reaching its end, I realize that I'm only halfway through, which is where the game's story starts to get complicated.

It turns out the villain Bond killed isn't the game's main villain and that the real villain is a black merchant selling stolen information and technology. Bond is taken to a prison camp by the person he's after, failing to capture an assassin, leading to the game's climax. Since many of the levels are just Bond chasing, escaping, shooting, and running, I began to forget why I should care about the goals I'm achieving. I find the villain Rak to be horrifically menacing, but there's nothing really at stake for me to see him as a greater force than the criminal Bond was initially after. All this second half of the game is Bond trying to eliminate what the game suddenly claims to be the real mastermind, who was never seen nor mentioned in the first half. You can tell that the makers were throwing in another villain only to give the gamers more playtime.

Just as the level is wrapping up, it is revealed that Zak is not the real mastermind behind the plan. The game's real villain is the woman Bond was with during the first half of the game. And the odd part is, Bond claims he knows who it is before the reveal. Bond notices that the jeweled knife is made from the same jewels in Nicole's fashion-line hence how he knows; however, this critical plot point is so vaguely established that it's easy to miss and wind up confused. Come to think of it, when I think back to this game, the only time I think of diamonds or stones is during the title credit sequence. The game is called Blood Stone, and there's so little focus on the jewels that it's not even worth titling the game after it.

The twist that Nicole is the fiend amounts to absolutely nothing because she's not the boss! She's actually working for an organization bigger than anything else in the world. Before she can name who and what she works for, she gets killed by a drone spying on her, and the game ends. Originally a sequel was going to be made, only to be canceled, leaving the mystery of who the film's actual criminal mastermind was the whole time unresolved, thus making the game's story feel incomplete. I would not at all be surprised if the criminal organization is Spectre, run by Blofield. But since we never see what the game was building up to (all of a sudden), there's no real distinct villain or plan in the long run since the game keeps spontaneously changing foes. Because of the story's inconsistencies, the game sidelines any importance of why Bond is after these criminals in the first place. The game is so busy trying to throw so many action set pieces and new villains just for the pay-off to be a tease for the next game that it refuses to tell a self-contained story with a clear and intriguing mission worth accomplishing. 

From a character stand-point, outside of Bond and M (Voiced respectively by Daniel Craig and Judi Dench), they all come across as forgettable. Before this game, there were great original characters designed for the games, who left impressions. While I remember enjoying some of the performances fine, I tend to find the characters as memorable as the characters in the film Quantum of Solace. The chemistry between Craig and Joss Stone as the bond girl Nicole feels natural. However, the character herself is one of the weakest and less intriguing Bond girls in the game franchise. As an ally to Bond, outside of her piloting skills, she is practically every step backward a female character can get in the series. She's only comfortable with a man and is a terrible driver despite serving as a skilled pilot. The Bond girls in the Sean Connery era were more progressive than her. As a twist foe, hoping her anti-feminist qualities were just a ruse, she is vulnerable and incompetent, never serving as a deadly force. The final confrontation Bond has with her is a simple car chase rather than a climactic shoot-out with her having a greater strength than the game's protagonist.

If I'm supposed to accept all the villains in the game as top henchmen working for Nicole and the organization she works for, they're still pretty bland. The game's prologue villain Greco doesn't have much personality, a unique design, or anything interesting about his character. He's a stock henchman, where aside from his plan, the only thing I remember about him is he gets away, never reappearing after that point. If he were to be eliminated from the whole mission, nothing would be missed. If anything, the opening would play out similar to Nightfire's pre-title mission. We don't know who is trying to assault the agent or why they want to blow up the Eiffel tower. All we need to know is they are terrorists, and Bond needs to stop them. 

The mobster Bernin has a brutal interrogation scene, but before we can sense his personality or see what else he's capable of, Bond kills him cold-bloodily. He could have fallen under the less is more case of villains, except there's nothing that stands out about his appearance or personality, almost coming across as an older watered-down version of Franz Sanchez. At least I do find him more memorable than the first main villain red herring Stefan Pomerouv. Thinking back to the game, I couldn't remember one single thing about him until I rewatched the cutscenes he's in, realizing how little he appears in the game for him to leave any impression. The only villain who is memorable is Rak. He is the Bond villain who I wish was the focus. He's a rich and feared criminal who runs many illegal rackets, savagely tortures people at a prison camp he runs, and has a vicious presence complete with a scar across his eye. Given how much power and intimidation this foe has, he would have been perfect as the game's primary villain. It makes no sense why the game wishes to focus on villains as interesting as Dominic Greene from Quantum of Solace than a villain who could be up there with Le Chiffre from Casino Royale?

By mostly having villains who are too grounded to fit the Craig era, the game suffers from similar problems most Craig Bond games have. The gun-carrying capacity is limited, and Bond's cellphone is the only gadget he needs. Gadgets were always a staple to use in Bond games. What kind of Bond fan would not wish to use the gadgets in a game. Well, since the Daniel Craig era at the time was more about containing gadgets on a cellphone than carrying various physical belongings, the game decides to go that same route. I understand the change for its accuracy to the Craig films, but it's not very exciting in video game form. I would prefer that the Daniel Craig games took the same liberties with gadgets as in 007 Legends; I at least had fun using some of them, particularly the dart pen. However, I can't fault the game entirely for lack of variety in gadgets since the Quantum of Solace game started this trend. 

I don't want to go as far as to say that just because the game has foolish limitations, that doesn't mean some fun can't be had within the game's constraints. The best example is the driving levels this game contains. After getting one driving level from the previous Craig Bond game Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, I expected Blood Stone to let me drive around and destroy enemy vehicles with weapons. Forgetting that the game wants to be as close to "realistic" as possible, I discovered that the cars I drive have no gadgets or weapons. Restraining me even further is that I couldn't drive around and explore the sights since all driving missions involve me chasing after someone. I was disappointed, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find myself having any amusement. Bond fans would prefer to drive a gadget-filled vehicle but thinking back to the past Bond games and even future ones, having gadgets didn't always mean excitement. 007 Legends was boringly simplistic, and no number of gadgets could fix the many problems that 007 Racing has. By judging the vehicle missions for what they are, they're not half bad. They are some of the best thrills I had driving Bond vehicles, for how exhilarating the chases are forcing the player to think fast. I can't use gadgets to cause destruction, but the pursuits still lead to enemies and Bond's vehicles destroying public property and causing cars to explode while performing stunts. Some of the chases do lead to some inventively intense situations. My personal favorite is chasing after a train while on a frozen pond that's breaking as an enemy helicopter attacks me. I'll take driving a traditional weapon-loaded Bond vehicle any day, but these missions weren't timewasters either. 

As the Craig era of games was going back to its first-person shooter roots after the Ps2 release of Quantum of Solace, it was refreshing to see the franchise return to a third-person shooter. For the lack of using Craig's model in Goldeneye 007: Reloaded in these battlefield-like environments, it didn't look or feel like a Bond game as much outside of the cutscenes. Watching and controlling Daniel Craig's model in the game was a real sight for sore eyes. It helped fully bring back the illusion that I was playing a Bond game the entire time. The shoot and cover mechanics are as exciting as how another third-person shooter Bond game's handled them after Tomorrow Never Dies. As much as I enjoy shooting, crouching, and blowing things up, my absolute favorite is the hand-to-hand combat system. It's not the most challenging I've played. They're single-button take-downs, so they're straightforward to do. What I enjoy about it is how taking down three guards will allow Bond to build up adrenaline and fire at the guards in matrix-style slow motion. On top of it, the cut scenes of Bond hitting the guards never gets tiring to watch. It all looks as spectacular as watching Bond taking down guards in the films. 

If you can get past the overlong convoluted plot, visually, it's one of the game franchise's strongest. The camera work gives the game a gigantic cinematic film from the angles, movement, and close-ups. These techniques make the locations seem huge, the action grander, and the chases intense. The majority of levels designs are visually distinct as well. The best-designed levels are typically for when Bond is sneaking around or rendezvousing with another agent. I love exploring Pormeouv's factory building both inside out and outside. The outside is filled with snow, and monuments, while the inside has a fancy cooperate sociable exhibition vibe with a lounge, models, and a theatre room. My absolute favorite level design is the Aquarium for how spacious and gigantic it appears, that's so beautiful to look at it that it wouldn't be bad as a screen saver for how much detail it has. These designs are so appealing to the eye that it almost makes the dull concept of using Bond's phone for most of the time when spying forgivable. Actually, there's a feature on the phone that can scan certain items and provide further detail of the environment Bond is exploring to give these locations more personality. Some of the information is useless, but I still admire the game's attempts to world build. 

When a level does call for gun fighting and chasing, the environments usually make the most of it. When fighting through the catacombs of Istanbul, the set carries an ominous feel from its eerie dim green lighting as Bond passes by the dead bodies of prisoners. As Bond fights against guards on a speeding Hovercraft ship, despite Bond not operating it, the boat's speed is always felt whether the waves splash the camera or the rooms shaking and rumbling when Bond is below deck. And though there has already been a game in the franchise that involves jumping from rooftop to rooftop in a neon-lit city, the city of Bangkok is still lovely to gaze at, almost giving the level of a Neo-Noir feel. 

                                                     Overall Thoughts

Thinking back to the enjoyment I had from the game from a visual and gameplay standpoint; it was a thrill to play. Visual-wise, the locations are nicely designed and filled with atmosphere, and the camera work is phenomenal. I know I talked little about the gameplay during the review, but that's because it's pretty similar to successful Bond games before it. It has nearly all the joys the other third-person shooter Bond games have. The cover shoot mechanics are easy to use, the weapon selection is fun (my favorite is the stun gun), and the adrenaline builder never gets old. The game even proves that having limitations isn't always necessarily a bad thing. For instance, the game's driving levels show that quick thinking and concentration can be as exciting as using gadgets. And I will give the makers props for trying to create an original Daniel Craig Bond adventure rather than playing it safe to tell an existing story. The convoluted incomplete story and characters in Blood Stone may leave a blank in my mind, but everything else in the game (outside of a few dumb changes carried over from previous games) makes up for it, creating a dazzling theatrical actioned pack gaming experience.

                                 Least Favorite Mission: Monaco: Epilogue: Meeting Adjourned

The game has an exciting final boss battle with Rak on a set-piece reminiscent to the climatic fight in Goldeneye. Just as I'm ready to see the rest of the game end with cutscenes, the game's welcome officially wears off when Nicole is revealed to be the true mastermind. I was hoping to have a level or two with a stronger boss fight. What I'm reduced to is a car chase, and not a very riveting one. I was able to drive on a frozen pond breaking apart, drove a tow truck after a giant dump truck, and as my last ride, I'm just chasing after Nicole with no new challenges? It's a level that's so easy, that it could be used as the first driving level of the game. It's as anti-climatic as it sounds, and to end everything on an unresolved cliffhanger makes finishing the game unfulfilling.

                                        Favorite Mission: Siberia: Any Means Necessary

If the game were to end at this level, despite lacking a proper boss battle, it would have been a satisfying enough conclusion. Bond is on a high-speed hovercraft shooting goons and releasing cargo to make it go faster to catch up to Pomerouv's plane. Bond may not be the one operating the hovercraft, but the thrill of the chase is always felt from the waves crashing, the snow flying towards the camera, and the boat rocking. Every time I revisit this level, I always feel the weight of fighting aboard the hovercraft. The hovercraft setting also takes advantage of its possibilities by shooting guards into its propellers, having guards firing inside tanks down below, and activating the ship's gun to fire at the Pomerouv's plane while avoiding missiles. Just when thinking the on-rails portion of shooting at the sea plane is enough, Bond jumps aboard fighting against goons on the wing of the craft, and a deadly gas leaking inside the plane forcing the player to quickly reach Pomerouv before the gas consumes the plane. Like I said, there's no boss battle with Pomerouv, but killing him in classic Bond fashion instead of just shooting him makes for a rewarding confrontation after all this mayhem.