Video Game Review: ‘James Bond: Blood Stone’ Tarnishes Legend of 007

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CHICAGO – While MGM continues to do everything in their power to delay the development of the James Bond franchise (“Quantum of Solace” came out in 2008 and not a single frame of a new film has been shot, meaning it’s still going to be awhile), Activision has pressed forward and developed an entirely new story in video game form. Complete with opening credits, a theme song by Joss Stone, voice work by Daniel Craig & Judi Dench, and the kind of globe-hopping locations that typify the best 007 adventures, “James Bond: Blood Stone” seems to have a lot going for it. Of course, at the end of the day, it’s the way a game plays and not its intentions that matter and this anticipated release plays like one of the biggest disappointments of the season.

HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 2.5/5.0
Video Game Rating: 2.5/5.0

If “Blood Stone” were actually a Bond movie, which is what it’s trying to be, it would vie for the worst in the legendary franchise. To be blunt, I never gave a damn about the story, which is purely an excuse to string together a few uninspired shoot-outs alternating with some poorly-designed racing levels. Even Craig doesn’t seem to give a damn about what’s going on. You know you’re in trouble when you can sense apathy in the voice of an actor reading James Bond’s dialogue but it’s undeniably there in this story that only loosely feels related to the Bond world. The writers have taken the bare-bones structure of the Craig Bond-verse, trying to make him feel more like a killing machine than a suave playboy, but without that tenuous connection and the cut-scene appearances by Judi Dench’s M, “Blood Stone” could have been a no-name action game.

James Bond: Blood Stone
James Bond: Blood Stone
Photo credit: Activision

This named action game may have a legendary hero in its title but it actually feels more inspired by “Splinter Cell: Conviction” than the last Bond game release, “Quantum of Solace,” a game that may have been flawed but was more enjoyable than this venture. Like in the far-superior “SC: C,” your character has a technique that allows for instant, slo-mo kills. For every melee kill, the player earns a “Focus Point,” which can be used for an instant head shot when Bond’s feeling particulary-shaken. The mechanic is woefully-unrefined and virtually becomes a parlor trick for players to add difficulty and variety to a game missing both. It got to the point where I was running at enemies to get Focus Points, of which you can only have three at a time, just to keep it interesting. When you’re using melee just to spice things up and not strategically, that’s a flawed game design.

James Bond: Blood Stone
James Bond: Blood Stone
Photo credit: Activision

The fighting-and-shooting levels have a visceral energy that occassionally works but they look like gaming masterpieces compared to the ridiculous driving levels, every single one of which annoyed me to the point of exhaustion. Every once in awhile, Bond will have to chase someone in a vehicle and whatever city he’s in will essentially turn into “Split/Second,” complete with giant explosions and missing sections of road. All of these levels are basically exercises in memorization, particularly a trip across a frozen lake which no player could possibly traverse on their first attempt. And the idea that you’re chasing someone never gains traction. You can never really catch up. You’re just playing through a lackluster driving level in which your car has no weight and it’s about nothing but timing. They are shockingly bad levels especially when one considers that the game was developed by the team behind “Project Gotham Racing” (Bizarre Creations).


It’s all saved by the multiplayer, right? If you can find anyone not playing “Black Ops” to join you, you won’t be surprised that the derivative, cliched nature of the single-player campaign translates to the multiplayer portion of the game as well.

So, is there any reason to play “James Bond: Blood Stone”? The graphics, as you’ll see in the combat trailer below, can be pretty cool, especially if you’re a fan of hand-to-hand combat. And I’m a big enough fan of both shooters and the Bond-verse that I knew I had to play it from the day it was announced. And it is only about 4-5 hours long. It’s an easy title to pound out in a day. And I do mean “easy”: Anyone with a modicum of shooter experience should turn the difficulty up as high as it goes for any challenge at all.

The fact is that there are too many games that do this kind of thing better (especially “Splinter Cell: Conviction”) to possibly recommend a purchase, especially during the most crowded gaming season of the year. Circle back around and rent “James Bond: Blood Stone” just to complete your knowlede of the Bond canon but pray that MGM gets off their ass and gets a new movie in gear soon just so we can have a better game to go with it.

‘James Bond: Blood Stone’ was developed by Bizarre Creations and released by Activision. It is rated M (Mature). The version reviewed was for the PS3, but the title is also available for the XBox 360 and PC. It was released on November 2nd, 2010.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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