007 First Light surprised me, as it looks like a quality action-adventure game, even if it doesn’t look too innovative. Most fans aren’t surprised, because IO Interactive made those supposedly excellent Hitman World of Assassination games (which are apparently grouped into one major title now?), but I never played those. In fact, I never really got into James Bond as a character or franchise, which is my hot take for the day.
However, everything I’ve seen from the First Light trailer looks promising. I actually expected it to be very similar to Hitman, so the fact that it’s more of an Uncharted-like experience is really nice. Actually, I wouldn’t immediately compare it to Naughty Dog’s acclaimed series, as the first thing that came to my mind was 007: Everything or Nothing from the PS2 era.
Because I never got into Bond, that game avoided my attention. And yet, First Light has made me consider giving it a chance, due to their similarities. Could I end up enjoying another beloved PS2 game?
Shaken, Not Stirred
As someone who was a kid in the ‘90s and a teen in the ‘2000s, the James Bond movies never connected with me. Maybe it’s because I was obsessed with Digimon and Spider-Man, but the thought of Pierce Brosnan romancing foreign women while beating up thugs just didn’t appeal to me. Things that seemed “realistic” were, and arguably still are, boring to me, so I ignored Bond and stuck with fictional cats that transformed into sexy angels.
My video game taste was similarly innocent yet edgy, as games like Jak 2 and Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 were taking all of my game time. I did see some of the hype for 007: Everything or Nothing, as it was released to positive reviews at the time, but Pierce Brosnan’s weird PS2 face just didn’t do it for me. Why would I want to play as a real guy when Jak, Goku, Spider-Man, and Shadow the Hedgehog are right there?
JAK IS AN ELF WHO SHOOTS PEOPLE! GOKU CAN SHOOT FIREBALLS! SPIDER-MAN IS SPIDER-MAN! As you can see, Bond was never going to win me over as "just" a cool guy who fights less cool dudes and kisses pretty women.
Shame too, because those reviews raved about the fun gadgets, fist fights, vehicle sections, and third-person shooting. Cut to 2025, and 007 First Light has all of our attention for its fun gadgets, fist fights, vehicle sections, and third-person shooting. Even though I’m still not a huge James Bond fan, my gaming tastes have somewhat evolved to the point I can enjoy these third-person shooters, so this game actually looks up my alley.
You Know My Name
Now that I’m an older gamer and movie watcher, I have a begrudging respect for the James Bond movies, even if I don’t go out of my way to see them. While some of the Daniel Craig ones were good, I still didn’t actively look forward to his movies. How could I when the MCU was starting to get big?
James Bond’s got nothing on Marvel, sorry. I’d watch Thor: The Dark World again before watching Skyfall.
Still, as a somewhat evolved gamer who can now enjoy Tomb Raider and Resident Evil with his Spider-Man and Batman, 007 First Light does intrigue me. Even though I’m more of a fantasy dude who would rather play as pretty anime boys or busty ladies with tiny waists, I can’t deny that First Light’s gameplay looks fun.
That bit where he has to sneakily jump towards a ceiling prop? Awesome. Bond beating a bunch of goons with close combat with environmental effects? Freaking sweet. Using gadgets to sneakily get into rooms? Looks swell as hell.
While this all looks good, I can’t deny that a lot of this was in 007: Everything or Nothing. That action-adventure got an 88% from the now-defunct magazine Games Master. It received that score due to its supposedly good combat, shooting, and vehicle sections. How could I have ignored that game for so long?
Oh, right, sexy Digimon, that’s why.
Luckily, 007 First Light won’t be coming out anytime soon, so I have all the time to play Everything or Nothing in my spare time. Maybe I’ll even check out the other James Bond video games, who knows?
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