Every so often, there is a game you are really excited for that you hope will just click from the onset, and you will just enjoy it from moment one. 007: First Light was that game for me, as I was excited from the announcement to take on the role of Bond, James Bond, in a modern-day origin story. The gadgets, the cars, and all the other stuff someone far more attractive than me can stumble their way into. Sadly, I was through around half of the game, still questioning if I was even enjoying myself. This is a thing that can happen, and it sucks to feel that way.
Somewhere along the line, and I think it involved me saying screw it, it finally clicked in my brain, and the enjoyment at least started to come. This game isn’t Hitman, despite IO Interactive infusing some of their flagship franchise’s style into it. In my head, I think I was holding it to that standard, especially for stealth, which 007: First Light never even comes close to. This isn’t really a stealth game in that turning a mission of espionage into a license to kill shootout isn’t punished; in fact, it is occasionally rewarded, but I was still in a mental state. I mean, literally, when has Bond not solved his problems one bullet at a time?
This all started back at the beginning of the game. Bond’s first mission is pretty much a straightforward stealth action romp through a facility in Iceland. I was not under the impression that everything that followed would be as easy, with the game explaining the mechanics as it sets up obvious situations for the player to capitalize on. It makes sense there was such an emphasis on this, as it was the reason IO Interactive was able to convince MGM to license them the character in the first place, allowing the character of Bond to be a more rounded, immovable force.
This transitions to him blowing up everything in the first of many action set pieces that allow him to become a 00, or at least go to training for it. He skips the entrance exam and goes right to boot training, where two characters act as semi-rivals until he wins them over and they become the best of friends? Where have I heard this before? Oh, right, the 2001 anime Kaleido Star. I’m joking, of course. It’s literally just a trope that has been seen 100 times, of course, which helped kill the momentum for me. This is compounded by the fact that this segment is just drawn out and lengthy to begin with, as you wait for the actual Bond adventure to begin.
What helps, though, is that Patrick Gibson is a different type of Bond than we typically get. Brash and rebellious, but honestly, never as far in that direction as characters like Eggsy from The Kingsmen, though I would draw some similarities between the two. What matters is even beyond that, Gibson manages to bring through plenty of Bond’s suave sophistication while playing games with it in true origin fashion. This includes moments where he struggles to tie a bow tie (though a modern Bond, realistically, would always have that trouble) or when he asks what the difference amounts to when shaking a martini rather than stirring it.
His signature attitude blends into gameplay as well, with stealth sections having a metric that allows him to talk his way out of situations. It’s a weird mechanic because it requires the player to charge up a gauge that then allows him to bluff his way out. Which, I guess, makes sense given you could be standing next to three bullet-riddled enemies and convince an unaware enemy that he tripped and fell. Of course, he did, right onto my gun. The more accessible ability is the fake surrender, which allows you to lure an enemy in and knock them out. That said, tactically this can make matters worse, given that later stages usually have several people in eyeshot to watch you brutally beat down their ally.
What’s worse is that the lure ability also requires an amount of this gauge. It’s also odd in that Bond doesn’t knock on a wall or toss a stone, but rather he quietly yells, “Hey, over here,” which just feels odd. Anybody who has played a stealth game knows that the lure mechanic IS traditionally how you break up big groups of enemies to get them alone, unable to do so. Since the gauge is predominantly filled by clearing enemies, it becomes a catch-22. I need to lure enemies away to clear them, but to do so, I need to clear enemies to do so.
Thankfully, this isn’t your only tool to deal with enemies, but to make clear, you can still find yourself in the situation described. Everything has a gauge, so the battery on your watch, which you use to turn on machines from afar as distractions, can also run out. I had moments where all three gauges were drained, with limited mobility since I was in an enemy-thick area. In stealth, you can’t move enemies you eliminate, and enemies are quick to jump on the mic to inform of an issue. This means there are points where a distraction can actually work against you overall, as you get one per turn, and the enemies just sort of see this.
What 007: First Light does differently from Hitman is that it divides situations. The Chateau level, early on, where Bond sneaks in and wanders around the guests, hunting for a mysterious bellboy. This felt similar to an early mission in the new Hitman Trilogy, where you attend a fashion show hunting multiple targets. In Hitman, breaking cover pretty much results in the entire armed staff coming down on you in an attempt to kill you. In 007: First Light, though, this is not the case. Climbing in through a window, a few enemies entered a room, and I had the choice to stealth or fight my way through. Well, the game made the choice for me, and after beating them all down, I slipped back out, and nobody was the wiser. This is because the action segments are always kept separate from the main hub, which most levels have.
It was in these segments that I learned to stop caring about it. There is no forced stealth, so once you lose that element, you need to fight. I have heard comparisons to Uncharted, but even more so than platforming, it was in the concept of stealth that I feel the two overlap the most. Uncharted is in no way a stealth game, but you have moments where you can do so. These segments usually end at best with an enemy you can’t stealth, making it impossible to progress since you can’t kill him that way, which just triggers more enemies to arrive. Stealth here can get you all the way through, but it is largely with the goal of thinning the herd so that when you need to go lethal, it’s more manageable.
This is good because Bond has a low health threshold, and enemies do understand the concept of flanking. All of this is made clear when you need to reach a plane on the other side of a tarmac. What becomes more annoying is that in these high-octane sections, enemies seem to spawn from every which way, so cover becomes pointless when, as soon as you take cover, six enemies fire at you, then have another just walk in from a door behind you and start blasting. I understand this is to pressure you to move, but it’s never fun when dashing out from cover can result in a hit that puts you right on the verge of death.
It helps, though, that combat is insanely dynamic and cinematic as you take part in it. Running out of ammo allows you to throw your gun at an enemy and dash in to beat them down and rest. You can also slam an enemy off a balcony and start blasting away the army that is now disorganized, thanks to your quick thinking. There is also a throw in stealth that doesn’t allow you to create a distraction and can only go straight into an enemy’s face. Great if a guard is solo. I learned this when I wanted to distract a group and instead just broke one guy’s nose. Another indicator is stealth doesn’t really want you to fully stealth.
On top of gunplay, which is extremely solid from the jump, hand-to-hand combat was frustrating, due in part to the timing. Again, there is a cinematicness to everything you do as you throw enemies into each other or slam them into the wall. Countering a yellow attack allows you to throw an enemy, then come back with a counter-flurry of punches. The issue is that it took me way longer than the game clearly expected me to actually learn how to hit it. If your timing is off on a counter you block, which drags you into more static movements.
In a one-on-one fight, the punishment for not creating openings is time, as the fight is dragged out to a sometimes frustrating degree. In a multi-person fight, this can put you in a bad position to counter the next attack coming from behind. When an enemy goes for a grab, you dodge, and this may throw you right into a punch from another guy. Trying to adjust yourself in combat might be the worst part, as I often just broke into a sprint that disconnected me from combat, making me unable to block at all. However, when you do get a handle on this, the flow becomes more fun as you bounce enemies around. Regardless of struggling or succeeding, the mode is probably the most egregious for the camera, as it flows against walls and very frequently blocks visibility, forcing a fight with it while four people glowed yellow around me.
007: First Light features a great turn at Q from Alastair Mackenzie, which is honestly the saving grace of the fact that several missions require you to go to the research department to load up on tech for your next mission. These segments showcase how certain items work, and, in the context of Bond, I get them, even if they really only offer a ten-minute break in between before you can go out on your next job. The tools, though, do diversify how you can deal with tasks. I was partial to the phone dark, which gets people sick, forcing them to move around. Despite this, I found minimal places I used it for that purpose, instead liking that it could distract enemies you need to pickpocket, making that easy. Of course, if you need to get into a room where one person is lingering around, it works well for that too.
In between the combat moments, as stated, each level has a hub where you must advance your progression, either by finding keycards or charming your way in. While the game is more linear than the Hitman titles, it is here that 007: First Light at least allows for you to explore different options for how you achieve your goal. These are done through hint strands you can follow, as they typically tell you where to go next. These can hit a roadblock, though, as you are given a task with very little direction, and you might wander around aimlessly looking for the objective. This can be annoying because, for the most part, using your watch directs you right to where the task is.
If anything, these areas can feature slow progression. Bond needs to eavesdrop on enemies, with a slow cutscene playing out of him leaning against a wall to listen. Talking to characters for information also has no skip function, either. This is also why I preferred the dart, as, in most cases, if a door is blocked, you need to find your way around or get someone alone with an item. If they are civilians, you can’t just take them down; you have to distract and steal. This cut down on my wandering in an area, looking for just the right way to gain access.
Where the game really shines, though, is the set pieces. Several of these play out as car chases or escapes, but not always, and they are always a joy. Bond is on the roof of a plane, fighting his way in, or he is driving a garbage truck, smashing through a mall. These moments ratchet up the excitement and, honestly, are the closest we have ever come in-game to fully playing out a James Bond adventure as we see in the movies.
Verdict
If GoldenEye didn’t have such a cultural importance to gaming, I might hazard to say this is the best James Bond has ever been in video game form. If not, it’s a close second. There isn’t really anything groundbreaking done in 007: First Light, but then again, it doesn’t really need to. IO Interactive successfully adapts an action film franchise into a game that puts you in the driver’s seat. It also helps that this isn’t just Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan rehashing one of their films but a unique experience that is worth undertaking. Some parts never gelled with me, some parts probably never will, but all that is worth it to experience this definitive take on 007.
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