James Bond 007: Blood Stone review (2011)

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James Bond: Blood Stone review - PC Gamer issue #210 (US, February 2011)

From the archives: The review below appears as originally written, with only minor changes in formatting and newly taken screenshots. By Tyler Wilde

Out of respect for you, the Bond franchise and the English language in general, I had planned to avoid using hackneyed puns in this review. Plan aborted. Blood Stone doesn't deserve bad wordplay immunity, and I refuse to give it a single quantum of solace. Well, maybe that's too harsh—it can have one quantum. Blood Stone isn't entirely un-fun, but it's no more fun than, say, watching Quantum of Solace. (Double zing!)

Need to Know

What is it? A third-person stealth shooting and stunt driving game with an original Bond story
Release date November 2, 2010
Expect to pay $50 (in 2011)
Developer Bizarre Creations
Publisher Activision
Play it on 2GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM, GeForce 7600GT / Radeon X1650
Link Official site

This licensed shooting-and-driving game was built by Blur developer Bizarre Creations, which is why I expected more going in. Most of the shooting follows a "find cover, shoot wave of dudes, move to new cover, shoot next wave" pattern. When enemies get close, you can drop them by triggering a motion-captured "Takedown" kill, and performing these earns "Focus Aims." Those really aren't worth going into. The best of the fighting is the few stealthy segments, which actually require a smidgen of care.

It doesn't break the game, but the camera is a constant annoyance. It seems to be attached to Bond's back via a limp bungee cord. Walking around is like steering a boat with half a rudder, and it's as awkward as describing something with three different metaphors.

Driving is better, but inconsistent. Some sections feel truly Bond-like—time slowed down as I sped under tumbling big rigs (without pausing to consider how many bystander deaths just happened). Other parts, however, contain multiple hairpin turns that'll end the chase if mishandled. Checkpoints are plentiful, but some took more tries to reach than was good for the enamel on my clenched teeth.

Shaky, not stirring

From the archives

This review was originally published in PC Gamer #210 (US, February 2011).

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The action is justified by an original story by Bruce Feirstein, whose words have been uttered in three Bond films and two games. So it's a passable spy yarn about bioterrorists with names like Bernin and Pomerov. It's not bad, but it's not interesting, either. The voices of Daniel Craig (as James Bond), Judi Dench (as M) and singer Joss Stone (as the Bond Girl) advance the story in frequent, soporific cutscenes and phone conversations.

They're dull, but they offer a short, welcome break from the mediocre shooting, which is in turn broken up by hands-off moments meant to ensure that Bond's nick-of-time escapes look properly cinematic. All of that is better than the inane scanning and "hacking" of stuff with Bond's magic smartphone.

Blood Stone's five-hour campaign, like the world, is not enough. It also comes with three generic multiplayer modes, all of which leave out the best part (the driving)—but trust me: you don't care.