Second Opinion
Second Opinion: Matt Bateman
I can picture Nick about to dial my number in an attempt to beg me to try a shoot ‘em up on a console, based around my least favourite film hero, James Bond. I can imagine his evil, cunning mind scanning through the myriad arguments that I might throw up, mentally listing his counter attacks, his defences to tempt me to try a console shooter. If need be, he’d tie me to a circular-saw bench, legs akimbo, and say “No Mr Bond, I expect you to die”
You see the fact is that I can’t use consoles to shoot anything with any accuracy. It’s just not my thing. And I hate James Bond films more than I hate Anne Robinson. That’s a lot of hate.
In theory, if Nick had a cat purring on his lap, if he had evil henchmen scheming around large scale maps in orbiting satellites, he’d need something darn clever to tempt this gamer. No Russian planes? No swords and dwarves? No? Then its no thanks, bud.
As with all great bad guys (?), I underestimated him. He must have contacted “Q” for his arsenal of weapons, because the barrage of reasons for me to take this game for a trial, came thick and fast.
“It looks great, it sounds phenomenal, it’ got full-scale orchestral pieces, Sean Connery and the surviving original 1960’s cast recorded the voice-overs, and frankly it will sound amazing in your home cinema with Pro Logic 2. It’s got gizmo’s, jet packs and car chases, laser watches and you don’t even have to aim to shoot people!”
OK, trap sprung. Lets see if this James Bond can perform. He needs to be good. I’ve got planes to fly!
Well, let’s first describe the stunning music, and the visual feast. It’s a PS2, so I didn’t expect the world (actually….the world is NOT enough), but the words “Blimey, that actually is Sean Connery” fell from my own lips within minutes of starting. The bodily movements, the swagger, the way he loads his pistol, and his FACE. It’s incredible. As for his voice, ah, you Spanish Peacock (wrong film), there is no other Bond. I must say that as games based on films go, this IS a 1960’s classic..
Click for larger imageJames Bond 007: From Russia with Love is incredibly easy to enjoy and enjoyment is actually quite hard in modern games. Most are challenging but not all are actually constantly fun. The special moves for backing along walls, accurate aiming, and rolling from doorway to doorway in the stealthy Bond-esque way are fun and easy to master. The car chases are sadly dull, and an early jet pack section was a tad tedious, and over in minutes, but the simple fact is, they added to the variation on offer in a game that dishes out other excitement in black attaché cases full to the gold combination locks. A small remote controlled helicopter with camera (and 1960’s interference to your transmitted picture) is used to access buildings, and Bond has a laser watch to detonate electronics through bullet-proof glass. This game is all about being a spy with cool toys, and it’s very good. Q’s gadgets bring smiles to your face in sufficient quantity to make it worth the mention.
As I write this, the game is on hold, speakers tantalising my ears with a huge array of frankly amazing orchestral 1960’s film masterpieces. The familiar James Bond musical velvet, “ta da, da daaah…da da dum” is calling me back to play some more. And I know that another few hours will be lost in a world that I didn’t expect, or even want, to enjoy.
I wholeheartedly nominate this as an easy game to pick up on PS2 falling just behind the brilliant Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. James Bond 007: From Russia With Love is not quite as natural to move and control as Prince of Persia, but it is hugely easier than most. If you have a PS2 and a halfway decent audio system that supports Pro Logic 2, it is a must.
In essence, this is actually good fun, brilliantly made and polished to a shine with top quality audio. It’s taken longer to arrive than I’ve been on the planet, but I’d suggest you ask Santa for a copy. On Christmas day, when the family settle down to watch the 168th repeat of For Your Eyes Only or Moonraker you could be James Bond instead of watching him. That’s what I’d do.
