Video game review
The first rule of spycraft, we learn early on in “007 First Light,” is to always do the unexpected. The thing is, “First Light,” an origin story chronicling how James Bond becomes a 00 agent, is full of what you’d expect from a Bond story: quippy one-liners, endless charisma, highly competent people romping around stunningly beautiful places and a story so over the top you can’t help but shake your head at it. But what was unexpected was how the somewhat clichéd individual elements were shaken (not stirred) together, creating a brilliant Bond cocktail that rivals the franchise’s best films while being a thoroughly excellent game to play.
Developed and published by IO Interactive, “First Light” takes us back to before James — portrayed by a pitch-perfect Patrick Gibson, who honestly should be given casting consideration to play the role in the next movie — was known as 007. When the game opens, he’s a 26-year-old British navy aircrewman, headstrong and resistant to authority with a quicksilver tongue and a somewhat reckless need to save the day. But one explosive prologue later (anchored by Lana Del Rey’s skin-tingling “First Light” song), and James finds himself as the newest recruit in MI6’s newly rebooted 00 program.
From here, the stakes gradually increase. A mission goes horribly wrong, lives are lost and James is compelled to get to the bottom of what actually happened. What follows narratively is on par with films like “Casino Royale” and “007: Goldfinger,” taking James across the world as he contends with nefarious villains (including a pirate king), romantic entanglements, hurtful betrayals and ruinous grief. Across 15 hours, you watch James mature from cocky and impulsive to someone we can root for, thanks in no small part to the stellar acting of the characters around him, including Alastair Mackenzie’s Q, Kiera Lester’s Moneypenny and Priyanga Burford’s M. These iterations of beloved Bond characters are more than just background players; they’re layered and interesting in their own right, and they grant a realistic dimensionality to James’ evolution throughout the game.
Developer IO Interactive is best known for its stealth-focused “Hitman” franchise, and it brings that sensibility to “First Light.” James, first and foremost, is a spy, and the game wants you to sneak around, use subterfuge and take advantage of your environment to get where you need to be.
“First Light” is broken into what’s best described as spycraft missions and stealth-action missions. The former focus on gathering information and offer multiple ways to progress: Maybe you charm a bartender with a story about needing the perfect bottle of Champagne, only for it to be a distraction so you can sneak behind the bar to get a key. Maybe you use your high-tech Q-Watch to blind a security guard so he doesn’t notice you. Or maybe you just bluff your way through the situation, using believable lies to bypass scrutiny altogether.
The second type of missions is where we get to the “Hitman”-style stealth mechanics, along with the action sequences that were clearly inspired by the “Uncharted” franchise. It will do you well to be patient and to try to avoid direct confrontation if you can help it; however, sometimes the situation calls for force (or throwing a teacup at someone and quipping out “One lump or two?”).
The combat is split between hand-to-hand and guns/tech. The physical action is basic punching and countering, and is nothing to write home about. The guns feel solid and fun to play with, but it’s the tech — primarily your Q-Watch and Q-Lens — that’s the highlight here. The watch is a multifunction gadget that can do everything from hacking to shooting missiles. The Q-Lens lets you scan your (highly destructible) environment in great detail, a useful skill when you’re trying to figure out your next move.
And much like “Uncharted,” “First Light” isn’t afraid to go big with its set pieces, which are spectacular. I’m talking explosions, chases, one-on-one fights — everything you’d expect from a summer blockbuster and then some.
Visually, “First Light” is quite the looker, using IO’s Glacier engine to great effect. The characters are well-modeled, the exterior locations — from Malta to Vietnam to Antarctica — are gorgeous and the interior maps are full of detail. But it’s the audio that’s the true technical standout in “First Light.” The score, ranging from a pulse-pounding nightclub and nigh-silent chase sequence to very recognizable audio drops, is magnificent.
Late in “First Light,” James gets a tragic piece of advice: “Don’t let it change you.” Amazon MGM Studios, which now owns the rights to the James Bond IP and will publish any new Bond games (under Amazon Games), would do well to take that advice as well. “First Light” is clearly meant to set up a gaming franchise — its conclusion leaves a few routes open to explore. If this is how the franchise is going to be treated, I’m excited to see what comes next for 007. I’ll be waiting with a martini in hand.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com ’
