The mystique of a certain man named Bond, James Bond, has captivated fan interest ever since British author Ian Fleming first wrote about him in 1953. And while 007: First Light isn’t the first video game to put that superspy through his paces, this may be the best of the gaming lot.
Created by developer IO Interactive (best known for the Hitman series) this latest 007 game offers an original take on the James Bond origin story.
Bond starts off here as a twentysomething Royal Navy airman whose aircraft gets shot down in Iceland while in the midst of a retrieval operation. The young man finds himself wounded, frigidly cold and with no weapons or crewmates. What he does have is a radio and earpiece through which he is, oddly, contacted by MI6 and guided by a female analyst named Moneypenny.
Moneypenny directs the struggling service member to crawl, duck, cling to cliff ledges and hide as he makes his way to a nearby research facility. His only job is to stay alive long enough to report what he sees and then wait for eventual rescue. But instead, the stout-hearted Bond takes it upon himself to navigate the mercenary-overrun camp, save captive scientists and demolish the site with preset explosives.
Rather than be disciplined for disobeying direct orders, Bond finds himself ushered into MI6’s just reestablished double-0 espionage program. And after diligent training—which serves as a player’s tutorial on the game’s movement, stealth, combat and spy-craft systems—this fledgling spy gets sent off to do his duty. Of course, much to his trainer’s chagrin, the free-spirited and quick-thinking Bond doesn’t always follow the rule book to the letter.
From there, 007: First Light’s game story weaves through various events and foiled bad-guy schemes before eventually tying everything together in one massive cinematic plot. In fact, it all feels very much like the stuff of several James Bond movies woven together into one.
Along the way, First Light shows us how this rough-around-the-edges, T-shirt-wearing hero eventually develops everything from his future fashion sense and Bond-girl-charming wit to his hand-to-hand fighting style and his love for a shaken, not stirred vodka martini.
One of the biggest gameplay elements of First Light is the fact that gamers are offered a variety of possible paths to reach their given goals (much like you’d find in a Hitman game). But unlike what you might expect from a James Bond spy title, pulling out a Walther PPK and firing away is generally the last resort. In fact, the game gives you very little ammo and refuses to let you gun down enemies unless they are demonstrating extremely aggressive or deadly intent themselves.
Instead, Bond can duck and sneak his way through an area littered with foes. Or he can silently take down someone barring his path. Sometimes it’s best to just move about and listen; Bond overhears conversations that clue him in on a role he can play or a path he can take. And sometimes he can lean on a full instinct meter to charm his way (with dialogue choices) through a tight spot. The paths forward and choices to make are part of the Bondian fun.
007: First Light is strictly a single-player experience and you can play the game offline. However, the game’s “always-online” progression system requires a persistent internet connection in order to earn special gear and complete certain mission challenges.
You play as a hero who tends to color outside the lines and take chances that beat the odds. Bond strives to protect when others give up. And it’s part of Bond’s character to save innocent lives, even while in the midst of highly dangerous situations.
The multiple-paths-to-victory game mechanic not only adds replay value and gives players a fun, creative challenge, it can also avoid messy carnage in some cases. (It should be noted, however, that the lack of hand-holding guidance could be frustrating for some players.)
This T-rated game actually strives to keep gunplay limited in many cases. However, combat and death-dealing are definitely a part of the equation.
Bond jumps into hand-to-hand battles regularly. And the fighting system is designed to give Bond access to objects and other elements in the environment. So he might throw bottles or nearby kitchen knives at opponents, or smash their heads into tables and mirrors. The battles become very frenetic and tumble out through windows and bashed doorways.
All that said, there are also intense action sequences where guns and explosives come into play. People get shot by rifles, machine guns, pistols (though the ammo is limited) and gadgets. Bond uses a weapon-equipped car, for instance, to wipe out a seeming army of men with automatic weapon fire and missile blasts.
There’s a boat chase involving riddling bullets and cannon blasts. In one scene, aircraft get blasted out of the air by explosive artillery shells. And there are many high-action scenes where scenery gets detonated and engulfed in flames.
On that deadly side of things, not only are many foes killed but several of Bond’s compatriots fall and die near him. We see a man tied to a chair who’s beaten repeatedly. An individual gets beheaded (just offscreen), another kicked into an alligator pit. Someone gets impaled on large spikes. A foe receives a hypodermic needle to the eye. (Later we see the same man with a closed and scarred-over eye socket.) The bloodletting through all of this isn’t excessive, but it is noticeable.
There’s some alcohol sipping and suggestive sexuality in the story mix. A shapely woman wears a bikini that reveals most of her backside. There are also scenes involving kissing couples who are sometimes minus some pieces of clothing or who end up in bed. (No nudity is on display.) In one discussion a man talks about going back to his villa for some “X-rated wrestling.” Someone is given a drugged glass of wine that knocks them unconscious.
Foul language pops up in the dialogue from time to time, too, including uses of the s-word, “a–hole,” “d–n,” “b–tard” and several misuses of Jesus’ name.
007: First Light parachutes in at the top of the James Bond heap. It’s active, fun and fan-focused. But this T-rated game comes with all the less-than-family-friendly things you might expect from Mr. Bond, too: sexy winks, some off-color language, rule breaking and explosive deadliness.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
