From Russia With Love

"Lock on, shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot"

Introduction to: From Russia With Love

This is another James Bond game, from EA. It was released in November in the U.S. It features Sean Connery as Bond, and the commercials often display him flying by in jet-packs. Interesting...

Gameplay

There was a quite a change in gameplay from older Bond games. Mainly, instead of having to aim or even look where you're going, you can basically close your eyes, hit the lock on button and then jam the shoot button. This is good because the camera seems to be controlled by the enemy, as it works against you along the way. Not to mention the controls for it feel like they are backwards as to what you would expect, so you end up double-taking and just wasting time while you could be killing enemies or at least completing your mission. It takes about 3 hits to kill a regular enemy. There are a few twists here and there, the occasional enemy with a radio. If you just shoot at them and not the radio, they will call for backup, and about 6 other guys will appear behind you. You use the lock on system to zoom in on the radio and take that out first. There is the occasional helmetted enemy, but this is uncommon until later on in the game.

The lock-on, shoot strategy doesn't always work though. For example, grenades and rocket launchers require you to aim while holding the lock on button. One thing I noticed though in regards to shooting, railings and short walls seem to block bullets. Also, the lock-on tends to fail when you are above an enemy. This is rather annoying, especially in multiplayer. A thin railing or a small box on the ground shouldn't block bullets. Also, enemy AI could do more than it does. They are not very complex, and easy to figure out.

One interesting element I enjoyed was the schematics points. To get them, you must either find certain items in the level, or sneak up and hand-on-hand combat a guy to death. These points add up and allow you to upgrade your gadgets and such. Speaking of hand-to-hand combat, it looks very good in this game, but the initiating of it is quite random. This is another thing more notable in multiplayer, which I explain in more detail later. Another interesting element were the gadgets, especially the jet-pack, in which the controls were smoother than I expected, although they take some time to get used to.

Graphics

Visually, this game looks pretty clean. Characters look realistic, levels are detailed, and it gives the game a clear resemblance to the movie. Some character movements are a bit jerky or unrealistic (hands not bending realistically, etc.) but these little things are overshadowed by the otherwise clean graphics.

Sound

The music is great, assuming you are really into the Bond theme. Sound effects are noticeably clean. Shots and explosions sound realistic, and it is overall well-done.

Multiplayer

I was definitely disappointed in the multiplayer. The split screen looks good, but the problem is the camera. It is very irritating trying to find your opponent, and once you do, they see you too. The maps are so small that you can't be very far away at any point. Once you do see eachother it just becomes a button-jamming war. Since punches and slaps take long after you hit the button to work, you end up just jamming the button as hard as you can and basically the game decides who hits first. In the end, there is little to no strategy involved in multiplayer. It's 90% lock-on, jam shoot button. Uninteresting, and disappointing. And of course, no online play or anything.

Replayability

The game is pretty short, and while fun the first time, the story isn't all that exciting to listen to over and over. Although you can challenge yourself to find all the documents in a level or get fast times, the game gets boring quickly. The replay value was small for me.

Buy or Skip?

Unless you are a die-hard Bond fan, you will be disappointed by most aspects of the game. The casual gamer would be better off renting it, beating the mission mode once, and then moving on. Since the multiplayer mode is lacking, there's no need to buy it to play with your friends.

Final Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/06