Bond is back! A completely separate project from the upcoming Wii exclusive GoldenEye reboot, James Bond 007: Blood Stone is set to infiltrate the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and DS this Holiday season.
Blood Stone comes from the talented minds at Bizarre Creations, most recently responsible for the stellar Blur. As you would expect from a studio so long associated with driving games, Blood Stone will indeed feature vehicle segments, on both land and sea.
But driving isn’t Bizarre’s only talent - they’ve got some history with shooters, as well. Most recently with The Club, but going all the way back to Fur Fighters on the Dreamcast. As the trailer makes clear, Blood Stone is packed with third person shooting and hand to hand combat. Take a look at the explosive James Bond 007: Blood Stone reveal trailer:
Quite a group of talent has been brought together for this latest attempt at bringing James Bond to the world of videogames. As you might expect, Daniel Craig once again assumes the role of MI6’s deadliest agent, and Judi Dench returns as M. But that’s not all.
Every Bond has a Bond girl, and this game is no different. Enter Joss Stone, Grammy and BRIT Award winner. Stone will both portray a character in the game, and provide an exclusive original song, “I’ll Take It All.” The song is co-written and performed by Dave Stewart, most famous as half of the Eurythmics.
Also lending his talents to the game is writer Bruce Feirstein, who worked on previous Bond games From Russia With Love and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (which I thought was pretty great at the time), in addition to penning scripts for the films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough.
Clearly, Feirstein is someone who knows the world of James Bond, which is key, as Blood Stone aims to capture the definitive James Bond experience. From the press release:
Spies versus mercenaries? Sounds like Splinter Cell - which could make for a fantastic multiplayer experience.
“Players can engage in cover-based firefights, lethal hand-to-hand combat and speed their way through explosive adrenaline-fueled driving sequences as they embark on a global chase leading to action on land and sea through Athens, Istanbul, Monaco and Bangkok. Gamers can also feel what it is like to be a 00 agent, as they take the battle online in several robust 16-person multi-player modes that require skill, teamwork and strategy as players compete in matches that will have spies battling mercenaries.”
The last attempt at bringing Bond to consoles, Treyarch’s Quantum of Solace (which used the Modern Warfare engine), didn’t quite come together. Bond is such a perfect character for videogames, it’s frustrating that a truly worthy game has yet to materialize.
I have a lot of faith in Bizarre Creations, and I think including a wide variety of gameplay in Blood Stone is a smart decision - after all, there is no one skill that makes Bond who he is. Will this finally be the Bond game we’ve been waiting for? Suffice it say that I’m looking forward to seeing more of Blood Stone.
Ranters, what are your reactions to Blood Stone? How do you think it will compare to the new GoldenEye?
James Bond 007: Blood Stone goes undercover this Holiday season on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and DS.
