Bond, James Bond#

007 First Light is the latest entry in James Bond’s saga in the games world. Developed by IO Interactive, it features rich scenarios, exiting set pieces and a surprisingly good variety of mechanics.

The game had me smiling almost all the way through which is why it’s a 9/10. Now for the full review

Gameplay#

First Light has a lot of variety during its 17 hours of runtime. As is expected for James Bond, the game has gadgets you can chose for each mission. Although the game will hint at what to expect on each mission, it’s up to the player to select which gadgets they prefer.

Some gadgets are more suited for stealthy exploration while others are better for combat heavy situations. Each gadget also has a base resource it requires: electrical or chemical. This means that when assembling the load out it’s important to consider not only the expected obstacles but to use both resources effectively.

The game features surprisingly good gunplay and driving mechanics, making each mission feel different enough even though they rely on the same mechanics throughout.

Styles#

The game has 3 different styles of gameplay used during missions.

Like I said in Requiem’s review, having multiple gameplay styles in the same game can appeal to a broader audience. One thing 007 does better though, is that it can handle the transition between these styles better.

Exploration#

While on this gameplay mode, you’ll explore the environments looking for clues and opportunities. This means covertly listening to NPC dialogs, seaching for access points and navigating the mission. You’ll have opportunity to pickpocket NPCs to get special items they might be holding such as keys or cards. Generally speaking, doing a throrough exploration will open up more possibilities to advance.

I tend to watch “Let’s Plays” after finishing a game; This gives a sense of how unique the gameplay is based on your style. You might see another player going through an opportunity you didn’t find.

Exploration gives the tools, so the player can decide how they want to approach a problem.

Stealth#

Eventually when exploring, you’ll find yourself in a restricted area. This is where the gameplay shines. While in stealth mode, you have to use your gadgets and the environment to distract enemies and progress forward.

Unlike other stealth games where getting spotted is an instant failure, 007 First Light has an instinct system. If your instinct is high enough, you can spend it to talk your way out of trouble. If you can’t talk your way out, you can always punch them until unconscious before they call for help.

I’ve never played the Hitman trilogy so I can’t compare them. But IOI absolutely nailed the look and feel of being an international super spy.

License to Kill#

MI6 is very strict on not killing enemies unless they show intent to kill you first. In game you can’t draw your weapon unless the game grants you license to kill. This mode will usually be triggered while on a stealth section if you fail.

While some games allow stealth sections to be skipped by combat, First Light discourages this style of play by having very limited ammunition available. You are encouraged to move your way taking out individual enemies, only using guns when your life is on the line.

I’ll get into more detail on the combat in the following sections, but it’s something the game positively surprised me.

Level Design#

007 First Light gameplay mechanics in stealth and exploration mode are the basics done right. What takes them to the next level is how they are applied on the actual levels, and Level Design in this game is a solid 10/10.

During the many missions, the game offers multiple paths for completing an objective. While exploring, any opportunity you find will be added to the hint menu. You could explore the entire level, then open the panel and decide how to approach the next challenge.

For instance, “Getting through security” could be achieved by finding an access card, distracting the guard and passing through, platforming around elsewhere on the level, convincing another NPC to let you through.

And going on missions with different gadgets can open up different possibilities for completing them. Using the laser strap means opening up padlocks and getting alternate routes while the smoke grenade is perfect for advancing on open areas or getting through multiple enemies having a chat.

The level design also excels during combat sections. If you are swarmed by enemies, you can find explosives to remove them from cover or eliminate them entirely. Gadgets also play a role during combat, stunning enemies or disarming them. If I had to highlight a specific place where mechanics and level design align perfectly, it’d be the museum fight on the statues room.

The cherry on top was beating the game and leaving with the desire for more levels, more puzzles and more challenges. It probably won’t happen because it would be an enormous complexity, but I’m wishing for a custom level designer this Christmas.

Combat#

This was perhaps the most surprising aspect for the game. Meelee combat is very solid with the ability to parry, counter, grab and a few different punch/kick combos. You’re forced into meelee combat even if you have a weapon, until an enemy has clear intent to kill you.

Once license to kill is granted, weapons handle great. You can only shoot when ADSing. The aiming reticle is precise enough but also has room for weapon inaccuracies (try shooting an enemy far away with an SMG). The game has rather satisfying feedback when killing enemies and it also feature enemy variety.

A great example where it all comes together would be: you have a pistol with 3 bullets left. You’re facing 2 enemies, one of them is wearing helmet and has a rifle, the other isn’t wearing a helmet but has a pistol. You could try taking down the armored enemy first, but you could waste all 3 shots and not kill him. Then you could disarm them using a gadget while taking their weapon. Or you could throw a smoke grenade on the armored enemy and make a run for the weaker one. Taking them down, swapping weapons and then dealing with the stronger

All of that to say that the combat is very well done, and it’s remarkably well paced with mission progression. When getting tired of stealth you have a combat section. Once combat gets overwhelming the game throws a calm section to cool things down

Driving#

I’m putting driving here just for the sake of being complete. There are very few exciting driving sections in the game. You’ll be mostly driving from point A to B and it will serve as set dressing or as a cooling down section for dialog. There are about 3 instances where you’ll be actually driving high speed, high adrenaline scenarios. In my opinion the game could have benefited from more car chases and high stake driving sections

The only time the game let me down was the bait-and-switch driving section at the very end of the game. I won’t spoil it, but it was something I had been waiting the entire game for and it never really delivered. It seemed like the Devs put that there only to tease us for a future sequel. In the grand scheme of things it’s not really a big deal considering what the game offers as a whole, but it did let me down.

Set Pieces#

Perhaps the biggest sin modern games are committing is throwing set pieces into cutscenes. This feels specially true with PS Studios titles such as Spider Man 2 or God of War Ragnarok. I’m glad to tell you that 007 is not guilty of it.

I’m a fan of the original God of War games. I want to press for every punch even if in a cutscene. I want to deal the final blow to an enemy. I don’t want to do the fight only to see the villain defeated in a cutscene

To be fair there are a fair share of cutscenes as is expected from a story heavy game, but the game does a good job of always keeping the player in the driving seat through QTEs.

But another positive point for James Bond is how well set pieces are written. The game had me smilling through almost all set pieces as James Bond was doing the almost impossible to keep the mission on track. Each mission feels like it’s own James Bond movie plot and I’m in control every step of the way.

Audio#

An often overlooked but very important part of any game is the audio design. For audio there are 2 important keypoints:

  • Good design is invisible
  • Good design shifts mood

What this means in practice: a gun sounds like a gun, a radio sounds like a radio, the gala sounds like a gala and the black market sounds like a black market. You don’t realize the work put into sound design until after you close the game, and the memories come back as if you were there.

When playing one of the mid game missions, I left the game briefly to get dinner and I felt like James Bond in real life, that’s how much immersed the audio design had me. I was in the mood for crawling around vents and taking down security guards.

There’s something I noticed only on my second run, how the game uses motifs to tell you what’s going on without having to say anything. Like when meeting characters and they showing up later in disguise.

Soundtrack#

I have to admit I don’t know enough about James Bond’s soundtracks to notice the specific tracks during gameplay, but they are a big contributing factor in setting the mood on set pieces and missions.

The biggest praise I have for the game’s soundtrack use is teasing the main theme throughout the entire story but never paying it off. You’d hear fragments of the main theme but never the full theme. And then for the final scene they payoff from all that build up comes through the gun barrel shot. The perfect ending

Voice Acting#

VAs are very good. Each character sound like they should and dialogue is very well written to go along with their personalities. It was definitely a very big contributing factor in immersion

Score#

007 First Light so far has been the biggest gaming surprise for me this year. I saw it on steam one day. It launched the following week and I decided to give a try. I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but I’m really glad I gave it the chance. It’s definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played and left me craving for more James Bond games, which IOI hinted will return. A good sign for the game is that right after finishing it I went for the full platinum.

007 First Light is a 9/10