It’s been a couple of years since Activision graced James Bond fans with Quantum of Solace on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. With another James Bond movie in doubt, Bizzare Creation has brought fans an entirely new James Bond game dubbed in ‘Blood Stone’ to please fans until another movie is eventually made. While the Nintendo Wii is getting the remake of the award winning GoldenEye 007 that was previously released on the Nintendo 64, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is receiving a brand new title that can be considered as better than Quantum of Solace.
When it comes to improvements, can fans of Quantum Solace expect a huge improvement? Should fans actually get excited about Blood Stone? Let’s take a look in the HOTs and NOTs of the game.
HOT
Presentation – James Bond Style
What makes a James Bond movie so memorable is the action and awesome presentation it has to offer. In Blood Stone, fans of the series can expect the game to be true to the series as everything from the voice acting through to the actions that players will be seeing throughout the game is nothing short of spectacular. Thanks to the awesome voice work of Daniel Craig (current actor playing as James Bond), and the rest of the cast in the game, Blood Stone’s narration and story feels like watching a movie as it brings the characters and game to life. For fans who love the action in the game where James Bond does the impossible, fans will be glad to hear that they will be able to see more of the action in the game and a lot of explosions. Just make sure that the you have a surround sound ready to experience the phenomenal soundtrack and musical score of the game.
Story
As soon as the game starts, players will be taken immediately into action. During the G20 summit in Athens, a terrorist attack is about to take place. With James Bond ready to take action, he is asked once again to stop the man who is planning the attack. As with every James Bond movie, players will be brought into an intense action scene where there will be a boat chase. Following the boat chase scene, the opening introduction equipped with phenomenal musical score will roll in. Without spoiling any of the plot in the game, the prologue that players will first play is just a taste of what action they can expect after the introduction rolls in.
First Person to Third Person
Quantum of Solace is a first person shooter game mixed with a third person when in cover. In Blood Stone, players will have to get used to its new third person view. A lot players have said that Blood Stone is a rip off of some of the great third person shooter games. With that being said, Blood Stone has its own uniqueness it has to offer for fans of the shooting genre. With its new Focused Aim feature, for every melee take down that James Bond does, it gives the player a Focused Aim point where James Bond gains an ability to stop the time and make a one shot kill to the enemy. Up to three Focused Aim point can only be collected and they can all be used altogether.
New Gadget, Collectibles, and Unlockable
James Bond in Blood Stone is equipped with several new gadgets. Using Bond’s Smartphone, he is able to scan the area with clues that will be useful in the investigation such as scanning the area for weapons and enemies. Using the Smartphone will be very beneficial for players who seek the achievement or trophy that involves hunting down the collectibles which are the Intels. At every country that James Bond is going into, there are intels scattered throughout the game where Bond has to use the Smartphone to uncover it. It is advisable for players to use Bond’s gadget to get all of the intels available in the game.
NOT
Graphics Didn’t Improve At All
When Blood Stone is compared to the graphics of Quantum of Solace that was released back in 2008, players can notice a small significant change. The change that the writer is able to see that crispness of the locations that James Bond is venturing into. While the character models looks like it was done back in the early years of the Xbox 360, the writer is not very impressed at all. However, when it comes to the explosive action, Blood Stone has a lot of it than Quantum of Solace.
Broken Driving
In addition to running and gunning down enemies, players will also be able to drive a car and a boat. One of the complaints that the writer has for the game is the broken driving system. It would be nice for Bizarre Creation to control the speed of the vehicles in the game that the player is driving. As soon as the player drives, the vehicle just speeds up very fast and it’s hard to control it. During the car chase where the player has to evade the waters and the missiles, it would be impossile to blaze it through easily as it will take a lot of tries.
Not So Unique Multiplayer
Following the intense action of James Bond in the single player portion, players are able to jump into the multiplayer section of the game. With so many online games that players are able to play right at this moment, Blood Stone online component contains nothing of some sort that makes it stand out. The infamous Team Deathmatch, Objective, and Last Man Standing are the three modes that players will be able to choose from. From there, players will be able to gain experience points at every kill they do and at the end, they will all be counted out and a player can level up if the required experience points is met. Honestly, this is nothing new!
VERDICT
For a James Bond title, Blood Stone is a solid title that is a lot better than Quantum of Solace. While the third person action is a fresh new take on the James Bond title, it works really well with the game especially with its Focused Aim that was copied straight from Splinter Cell Conviction. Blood Stone has no connection at all to any movie and it stands out on its own. Players who want an explosive enthralling action game on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Bizarre Creation’s Blood Stone is a sure win. Just don’t expect anything from its multiplayer!
[Editor’s Note: James Bond 007: Blood Stone was reviewed on a PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher.]