FREE DOWNLOAD LAPTOP | Oh. Oh dear. In the same week that nostalgia buffs finally get their hands on the Wii (and DS) revamp of GoldenEye – the first-person shooter that pretty much started it all – the rest of the gaming world has to rely on Blood Stone for their Bond-related jollies. And that's probably the last time "jollies" will ever apply to this title.On the face of it – and at an early preview session – things looked good. The game features Daniel Craig's back-to-basics violent Bond, and puts the focus on gritty realism rather than jetpacks and cars that turn into submarines. Craig and Judi Dench are on hand to voice Bond and M respectively. The production values – international locations, big theme tune (by Joss Stone, also on hand to voice the love interest), a story by Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein – suggest that someone's taking their responsibility to the franchise seriously. Craig's stunt double has even done weeks of motion capture to make the hand-to-hand combat and stealth takedowns as authentic and as varied as possible.
And it's all over in about five or six hours. Worse, for all its authenticity in terms of voicework, the cut scenes and animation are all too often hilariously awful. Craig's craggy face may well be a challenge for animators but surely Bond should never resemble Mad magazine mascot Alfred E Neuman?
The thing is, you could probably live with that if the game was better. Instead, within what's actually a pretty good story – international terrorists and wealthy industrialists developing biochemical weapons — it's a dully repetitive combination of shoot-em-up interspersed with some driving levels.
There are attempts to be different, with takedowns being rewarded by "Focus Aims" – a one shot kill that can pick off distant or plentiful foes with brutal efficiency. While there is some satisfaction in this, it doesn't serve much purpose, as aiming is disappointingly easy with any of the game's weaponry. Also, for all the promised variety of takedowns, they all look pretty damn similar to me.
As for the driving sections, as you'd expect from the makers of Project Gotham Racing and Blur, these are slick, speedy and generally unforgiving, and provide a welcome adrenaline boost … and then you can feel yourself slump a little when they're over and it's back to the monotony of the fire fights and general espionage challenges that make up the bulk of the game.
It's a crying shame, because Blood Stone ticks so many of the right boxes and the in-game mechanics – the use of cover, the ability to shoot from behind objects, etc – feel wonderfully natural. However, with just one battle that's even remotely a challenge, all the problems listed above and the one bit of gadgetry you do have – Bond's smartphone – "spoonfeeding" the way, Blood Stone simply keeps shooting itself in the foot.
SCREENSHOT :
GOOD LINK
{ 0 comments... read them below or add one }
Post a Comment