Review:
JAMES BOND 007: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Genre: Action
Publisher: EA Games
Players: 1-6 (AD Hoc)
Online play: No
Firmware: 2.60
Video: Windows Media Player:
007: From Russia With Love - Trailer QuickTime Player:
007: From Russia With Love - Trailer
Enter the life and actions of 007 in this game, based on the classic James Bond movie From Russia With Love. The game has been a very successful port from the console version and very little has been left out in doing so. There are 8 missions to complete including 1960’s-styled classic cars, architecture, fashion and exotic locations. Intense action, driving, flying and stealth missions are all included in the package to make this a brilliant first Bond game to arrive on PSP.
Espionage is hard, but controlling your Bond character can also be quite challenging in this game. If only the second analogue stick was designed for the PSP, think how much greater our gaming experience would be?! However, From Russia With Love isn’t as bad as the controls on other PSP games. Instead, you can choose from 2 different control settings to aid the comfort and ease of your covert missions.
The AI tend to be quite boisterous and aren’t the best at taking cover, but their aim is usually quite accurate and therefore forces you to carry out a more stealthy approach to your game style. The driving missions can also be a refreshing change to the game, but don’t expect the handling of your Aston Martin DB5 to be any better than go, stop, left and right. However, do make full use of the hidden machine guns and lethal axel jabbers to damage enemy vehicles.
Playing multiplayer is great fun in all of the 6 game modes. Dr. No, Xenia Onatopp, Pussy Galore, Goldfinger and Oddjob are all playable characters in multiplayer, including James Bond of course. You can select which stages, rules and weapons you wish to use during your game, so lots of fun is here.
The visual is smooth and vibrant which suits this game perfectly, and the famous James Bond soundtracks are subtly played as background music throughout the game, and adds a further sense of suspense and action to the game which is very enjoyable.
The most noticeable change to the PSP title of From Russia With Love is a refined targeting system for dealing with the enemy. This auto-locking aim will target your nearest and most threatening enemy first, however you can override this setting if you wish by aiming manually for a precision or sniper shot. ‘Bond moments’ are rewarded for taking the hard route through a mission and eliminating several enemies by shooting an explosive barrel or other explosive object. 'Bond moments' also unlock the 6 bonus characters in the multiplayer games.
This first Bond game on the PSP has been a great success to the James Bond series and is a very recommendable game to any action-adventure gamer. This game is a brilliant representation of the movie, and we look forward to more classic movie-based Bond games to be released soon. A return to the Sean Connery era of James Bond has been fun and chic.
The verdict:
Uppers:
- Classic bond movie theme
- Sean Connery and the stunning Aston Martin DB5
- Good targeting system
Downers:
- No online play
- The handling of the Aston!
- No special features for the PSP title (if being picky!)
Overall score: 80%
Henry
30/01/2007
Linear Mode
