AgtFox
11-11-2010, 07:48 AM
James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review
Title: James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Platform: 360/PS3/PC
Developer: Bizarre Creations (http://www.bizarrecreations.com)
Publisher: Activision Blizzard (http://www.activisionblizzard.com)
ESRB: T
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Xbox-360/dp/B003VKLABE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-2)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Playstation-3/dp/B003VKLAAU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-1)), $49.99 (PC (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Stone-Pc/dp/B003VWZ8SI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-3))
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek
What's Hot: The driving sections, Bizarre’s forte, are exciting and beautiful; original Bond story; a good, fun game that is incorrectly priced
What's Not: Cover system not as good as other games; feels like a going through the motions experience with a non-engaging story
We are now almost five and four years into the 360 and PS3’s life respectively and Bizarre Creations’s James Bond 007: Blood Stone is the perfect example of the type of game I’d like to see come out at a lower price point than the general $60 one because I feel it will sell far better and, in the long run, make the publisher more money. It’s obvious the budget for this game is lower than a top tier game and with less money put out to make the game a $40 or $50 price point would make this game sell better in my mind. Given how far both systems are into their lives companies should really start thinking about staggering the prices of their games.
This game is a change of pace for Bizarre. I never played The Club which may have gameplay that is similar here, so please bear with me. Bizarre is well known for their driving games, especially Project Gotham Racing and there are many parts of this game where Bond is put behind the wheel and the graphics and control take a big leap forward and into PGR territory. Outside of that the game is played from a third-person perspective and certainly feels like it is borrowing from several games with its mechanics and does a good job at emulating them. You’ll see a lot of Uncharted shadings here along with other games. All gunfights involve the use of a cover system, if you don’t take cover you’ll find yourself dead on the floor quite quickly.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/bloodstone/shot1.jpg
Although the story is minimal at best, it does spotlight Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and singer Joss Stone in the major roles from both a graphic and voice perspective. I never really understood the plot, but the opening with a Joss Stone sung theme is set up a lot like the opening of Casino Royale and has to do with diamonds. However outside of Joss Stone’s role as a jewelry designer, diamonds never really factor in to the plot at all. In fact, it has more to do with kidnapping, biochemical weapons and Bond kicking ass left and right. I found a lot of enjoyment in this game, but I did feel as if I was going through the motions because of the weak storyline. Add to this the fact that they leave you high and dry at the end for an obvious sequel against an enemy that is greater than any organization in the world and you may feel wronged as the game closes out its chapter of the overall story.
007: Blood Stone plays out over five locations. Inside of these locations you’ll be using your wits and a handy smartphone to find information you can scan, hidden enemies and the like. You can bring up the pseudo night vision of the smartphone by pressing down on the d-pad. There are a number of collectibles that can be scanned through the smartphone in each section, although I didn’t make it a point to collect them all since you’re too busy worrying about taking out your enemies via gunfire and finding viable cover than looking for trinkets and information.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/bloodstone/shot2.jpg
If anything, this game has a little too much action in it when compared to something it borrows so heavily from like Uncharted. There is some jumping and shimmying along walls, but just not at the level you could say this game contains enough adventure tinged sections. There’s just a little too much shooting for an intellectual property whose main protagonist isn’t all guns all the time, sometimes he is stealthy and strategic. Those traits never really come into play here, which is a bit of a disappointment.
I close this review much like I opened it. I think James Bond 007: Blood Stone is a good game, I just don’t think it’s good enough for you to blow $60 on. If it was $40 I could unequivocally recommend it, but at its current price it is a rental at best. The game isn’t very long and I honestly only spent a little time in the mundane run of the mill multiplayer section, so there may be a draw there. It’s a good effort from Bizarre, but as I was playing the driving sections all I could think of is the driving genre is where they shine and maybe they should stick to that. My guess is they will work on the sequel, so maybe they can work harder at making a better action game, one that draws you in and doesn’t let go instead of one that feels as if you’re going through the motions.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Loren says, “Would be a fantastic game if it was priced lower. At the full $60 price this is a rental at best given the length of it and the story that has no flow. Bizarre certainly has the building blocks, they just need to figure out how to tie it all together smoothly. Their finesse genre is racing and those sections in this game are relatively fantastic.”
*Note - Review based upon the 360 version of game
Title: James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Platform: 360/PS3/PC
Developer: Bizarre Creations (http://www.bizarrecreations.com)
Publisher: Activision Blizzard (http://www.activisionblizzard.com)
ESRB: T
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Xbox-360/dp/B003VKLABE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-2)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Playstation-3/dp/B003VKLAAU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-1)), $49.99 (PC (http://www.amazon.com/James-Bond-007-Blood-Stone-Pc/dp/B003VWZ8SI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1289355142&sr=8-3))
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek
What's Hot: The driving sections, Bizarre’s forte, are exciting and beautiful; original Bond story; a good, fun game that is incorrectly priced
What's Not: Cover system not as good as other games; feels like a going through the motions experience with a non-engaging story
We are now almost five and four years into the 360 and PS3’s life respectively and Bizarre Creations’s James Bond 007: Blood Stone is the perfect example of the type of game I’d like to see come out at a lower price point than the general $60 one because I feel it will sell far better and, in the long run, make the publisher more money. It’s obvious the budget for this game is lower than a top tier game and with less money put out to make the game a $40 or $50 price point would make this game sell better in my mind. Given how far both systems are into their lives companies should really start thinking about staggering the prices of their games.
This game is a change of pace for Bizarre. I never played The Club which may have gameplay that is similar here, so please bear with me. Bizarre is well known for their driving games, especially Project Gotham Racing and there are many parts of this game where Bond is put behind the wheel and the graphics and control take a big leap forward and into PGR territory. Outside of that the game is played from a third-person perspective and certainly feels like it is borrowing from several games with its mechanics and does a good job at emulating them. You’ll see a lot of Uncharted shadings here along with other games. All gunfights involve the use of a cover system, if you don’t take cover you’ll find yourself dead on the floor quite quickly.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/bloodstone/shot1.jpg
Although the story is minimal at best, it does spotlight Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and singer Joss Stone in the major roles from both a graphic and voice perspective. I never really understood the plot, but the opening with a Joss Stone sung theme is set up a lot like the opening of Casino Royale and has to do with diamonds. However outside of Joss Stone’s role as a jewelry designer, diamonds never really factor in to the plot at all. In fact, it has more to do with kidnapping, biochemical weapons and Bond kicking ass left and right. I found a lot of enjoyment in this game, but I did feel as if I was going through the motions because of the weak storyline. Add to this the fact that they leave you high and dry at the end for an obvious sequel against an enemy that is greater than any organization in the world and you may feel wronged as the game closes out its chapter of the overall story.
007: Blood Stone plays out over five locations. Inside of these locations you’ll be using your wits and a handy smartphone to find information you can scan, hidden enemies and the like. You can bring up the pseudo night vision of the smartphone by pressing down on the d-pad. There are a number of collectibles that can be scanned through the smartphone in each section, although I didn’t make it a point to collect them all since you’re too busy worrying about taking out your enemies via gunfire and finding viable cover than looking for trinkets and information.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/bloodstone/shot2.jpg
If anything, this game has a little too much action in it when compared to something it borrows so heavily from like Uncharted. There is some jumping and shimmying along walls, but just not at the level you could say this game contains enough adventure tinged sections. There’s just a little too much shooting for an intellectual property whose main protagonist isn’t all guns all the time, sometimes he is stealthy and strategic. Those traits never really come into play here, which is a bit of a disappointment.
I close this review much like I opened it. I think James Bond 007: Blood Stone is a good game, I just don’t think it’s good enough for you to blow $60 on. If it was $40 I could unequivocally recommend it, but at its current price it is a rental at best. The game isn’t very long and I honestly only spent a little time in the mundane run of the mill multiplayer section, so there may be a draw there. It’s a good effort from Bizarre, but as I was playing the driving sections all I could think of is the driving genre is where they shine and maybe they should stick to that. My guess is they will work on the sequel, so maybe they can work harder at making a better action game, one that draws you in and doesn’t let go instead of one that feels as if you’re going through the motions.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Loren says, “Would be a fantastic game if it was priced lower. At the full $60 price this is a rental at best given the length of it and the story that has no flow. Bizarre certainly has the building blocks, they just need to figure out how to tie it all together smoothly. Their finesse genre is racing and those sections in this game are relatively fantastic.”
*Note - Review based upon the 360 version of game