GoKawiilWhen a trailer popped up at last year's Summer Game Fest for 007: First Light, fans breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that studio IO Interactive was behind it. Gamers thought that IOI's beloved Hitman infiltration and assassination games would provide good groundwork for a game about the world's most famous spy. And you know what? They were right -- at least for the three hours of 007: First Light I got to play.
At an Art Deco-themed Los Angeles restaurant space, I tried out three chapters of the game, giving me a sense of what's in store for prospective players curious about the first James Bond game to come out in 14 years. While the 1995 game GoldenEye was wildly popular, subsequent Bond games were far less successful in adapting the spy's adventures to the medium. From the preview, 007: First Light looks like it could be a confident and inspired take on the James Bond franchise. We'll know for sure when it launches on May 27.
Bond's handful of gadgets have varied uses depending on the situation. IOI Interactive
A lot of that comes from how heavily 007: First Light draws on the Hitman gameplay it's built on, to the point that it feels like a spy narrative wrapped around the games IO Interactive has already made. That's not inherently a bad thing, but there were several moments where I felt like Bond was just another disguise that Hitman protagonist Agent 47 wore. Much of 007: First Light's individuality will depend on the strength of its overarching narrative -- not just to distinguish it from the story-light Hitman games, but also to live up to the globetrotting, high-society and high-octane adventures of the James Bond films and books.
And as a wholly new version of Bond, complete with a unique origin story, 007: First Light has a lot to prove. I'm not surprised, then, that the first of the three chapters I played began at the start of the game, with Bond as a Navy airman. That was followed by a peek at his training as an MI6 agent and finally a slice of the game after plot intrigue (and tragedy) kicks him into high gear infiltrating a fancy gala.
What I played probably wasn't representative of the whole game, and there are plot twists and turns I've been forbidden to write about. But I can say that it seems like it'll be a unique 007 adventure that doesn't retread territory of any of the films. It offers something they don't: In this game, Bond has close friends, and their impact on him changes the story. Perhaps he'll grow into the womanizing lone wolf agent fans know so well, but at least in the early parts of 007: First Light, he's more social -- and human -- than we've come to expect of the superspy.
IOI Interactive
How 007: First Light retells the James Bond story
As the game kicks off, we're shown a young James Bond, portrayed by actor Patrick Gibson, as a Navy crewman on a routine mission who's about to have a very bad day. En route to a training exercise near Iceland, his helicopter is shot down over open water. He barely manages to make it to shore. Bedraggled and cold, Bond -- just a humble serviceman in a flight suit, for now -- evades patrols of unknown gunmen and snags a radio to call for help.
An MI6 agent responds, relaying instructions and pressganging the unarmed Bond into reconnaissance of what turns out to be one of the British intelligence agency's secret research bases that's been hijacked by a mystery mercenary outfit. Part tutorial and part introduction, the first mission shows the seeds of potential the young aircrewman has for skulduggery. He clocks key details to identify mercenaries, bluffs his way past gunmen and sneaks around to free imprisoned MI6 researchers, guiding them to safety during a hectic gunfight before finally blowing up the base. Like any good Bond prologue, it's followed by the story's signature theme song, "First Light," sung by Lana Del Rey.
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