From Russia With Love

"A rewarding treat for Bond aficionados, an average shooter for Action game fans."

I really wanted to give this game a higher score. I should mention that From Russia With Love is my favorite Bond film period. Does that make this review a bit biased? Probably. At any rate, as I mentioned I really wanted to give this game a higher score. At last I got to step in the role of Sean Connery as James Bond in a game based upon my favorite film. Brilliant? Of course it was!

But when you analyze it in comparison to other games in the Bond franchise and other games in its genre, it doesn't quite measure up. It has just enough in it to be above average without being breath-taking.

Graphics: 9/10

Impressive to say the least. But impressive is what we've come to expect from EA games who always tries to push the limits when it comes to graphical impressiveness. Everything looks very attractive and while it can be hard to look at an Xbox game after seeing what the 360 can achieve, this is technically impressive. Bond looks a little off in my opinion, I think they did a better job of capturing Brosnan's image in Everything or Nothing, yet the job done here is admirable. I think it's the hair. At any rate, EA has done a fantastic job of bringing the 1960s and Istanbul to life in this film. And for that I must say a job WELL done. The characters in the game all bare remarkable similarity to the actors in the film, Rosa Klebb, the rogue SMERSH operative, in particular is very well designed.

Sound: 8/10

Particular attention was paid to the fact that Sir Sean Connery himself returned to step once again into the role of James Bond. Now obviously, this is not the same man who first played Bond over forty (yes it has been that long!) years ago. Connery's voice has changed. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, though from the reviews I have seen apparently some people are surprised. Unfortunately it sounds as if Connery has attempted to sound like he did in the 60s and because of this, his voice comes off as a bit feeble. However, I can still think of no man better suited to voice Bond and while his voice may not have the youthful vigor that it did in 1963 he still turns in a remarkable performance. As for the other actors? Amazing. Sadly, a great deal of the original cast has passed on (again the source material is a forty year old film!) but the actors they bring in do a remarkable job, again I would like to note Rosa Klebb who sounds much like herself. M's VA doesn't quite have it down, but it would be hard to expect someone to be able to achieve a perfect mimicking of Bernard Lee's very distinct voice. All in all, this game has a very solid performance all around from its cast members.

Gameplay: 6/10

Ahah! This is where things become a bit slippery. In some manners it seems as if they tried to improve upon the Everything or Nothing formula. Worry no longer about the terrible inventory system as it has been replaced by a much better one. By pressing the back button you open up a menu that has all of your weapons, gadgets, and clothing(!) listed for you to select at your leisure. In addition each weapon now has a "special" ammo that can be found for it. This special ammo is a bit more rare, but also much more powerful. Perfect for bosses, no?

Still, some things from Everything or Nothing I miss. For starters there is much more ammo overall, there will be no scrimping for you. No using the dart gun for stealth kills or trying your best to conserve assault rifle ammo by sending out Q-Spiders. (You do get exploding RC helicopters and while these may not be as fun as Q-Spiders they are handy.) The inventory system has been revamped as well, as I mentioned before, only this time once you find a weapon you have it permanently. The game remembers how much ammo you have when you cross checkpoints so if you die you don't start with a nice assortment of weapons and bullet, but what you had at the last checkpoint. In some ways this makes things much easier. In fact, the entire game overall is much easier then Everything or Nothing. For people like me, who suck at action games, this might be great news. Unfortunately for die hards of action gaming this might leave FRWL feeling a bit lackluster.

Not to say the game isn't challenging, as it is. You will still die if you try to be a hero and charge the enemy, just not as quickly. Bottom line, EON fans will definitely find this Bond outing much easier to clear. The good news however is that while there are not as many levels, they are ~LONGER~ then EON's missions.

The controls were refined a bit as well, they are still very similar but different just enough to get on an EON vet's nerves, as they got on mine. Also gone is being able to expand the map in driving missions. Irksome. However, the driving missions have been improved insofar as when you find yourself getting out of your car (you can still do this only at predetermined points and not when you will) you generally have access to your weapons. There is one enjoyable level where you are driving through Istanbul and must get out of the car and sneak through a Soviet blockade to disable a tank.

Unfortunately the rappel system has been seriously compromised in this game. If you hated having to look for ledges and targeting the rappel in EON then fear not, as you will always know when you have to rappel in this game, there are little blue dots that indicate rappel points. However while rappelling you do not have access to your weapons, one of the funnest parts about rappelling in EON.

Overall the game is not that much more sophisticated then EON. In fact besides the improved inventory menu (changing clothing is NICE but not an essential feature at all) there is little that FRWL does better then its predecessor. This is where the game's most serious flaws are exposed.

Story: 10/10....or? 7/10

10/10 of cours! FRWL is my favorite Bond film! Well, letting my gut feeling run wild I'd be tempted to give it a 10/10. However, I do not believe someone who was not a fan of FRWL would find much joy here at all. In fact, if you didn't like FRWL I doubt you'd like the game. The makers have been as faithful as legally possible in recreating the story. They have even gone as far as creating a certain training mission at a mansion that fans of the movie should recognize very well from FRWL's teaser. However, thanks to the legal wranglings that have come from Thunderball's producer EA Games has been likewise restricted in using the "SPECTRE" organization in its game script, necessitating a rewrite of the SPECTRE element and creating the new criminal organization OCTOPUS, which is still basically the same thing. I have trouble finding fault here though, as EA's hands really were tied.

Some things had to be changed of course, for instance when Kerim Bey's son meets Bond at the airport instead of driving him, Kerim Bey shows up in Bond's car (complete with machine guns naturally) and Bond offers to drive, bringing you into a mission where the Russians chase you around Istanbul. However, while obviously certain sequences have been cut from the game, the actions are still the same. It's really very neat how they've done it. Also of note is Kerim Bay will help you in many missions successfully recreating Pedro Armendariz's amazing supporting role from the film. Suffice to say, this is one of the best movie to game adaptations I have ever seen. If you've never seen the movie (for shame!) or enjoyed the movie, then you will enjoy the plot of the game.

Presentation: 9/10

With FRWL you have the same presentation we saw in Everything or Nothing, where in the films the traditional teaser sequence occurs, EA throws you right into a level. This "intro level" is completely original and has little bearing on the film, but gives just as good a feel for the game as EON's intro level did. The in-game menus are vastly improved and thanks to the missions being extended, no longer will you have short easy to beat missions with gameplay being interrupted by a return to the main menu. Though you still go to the main menu when you clear a mission. Basically if you played EON you know what to expect here.

Overall: 7/10

Well, with the praises I've been singing for FRWL its a wonder that I give it only a seven, but I'm trying to be as subjective as possible. The gameplay, which is where the real meat of the game is, is somewhat lacking. This game definitely caters to the Bond aficionado while the casual gamer may find it lacking. In addition, if you do not care for vintage Bond films, this game probably isn't the right choice for you. And again, if you dislike the shift from 1st person shooter to 3rd person action that EON brought, FRWL also isn't for you.

I imagine the crowd it caters to will be amazed, will play it, love it, and be glad they bought it. But for the average gamer? The action gamer fan? No, its probably just average at best. The game is most rewarding to those of us who love Bond, the movies, the books, and now the games. It is certainly amazing, but just in its own little way.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/06