56 replies to this topic

[WhiteKnight2000]

I thought this was terrible. I can't even finish it. Why bother hiring Connery when they could have just hired any old man voice.

Thoughts?

[RedKelly]

I agree. I beat it in one day. They need to make a bond game in the form of GTA or something.

[commanderblond]

EA's ventures into the world of 007 have always been a bit of a mixed bag for me. After Rare's N64 classic, they had quite a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, Tomorrow Never Dies didn't manage it. TWINE is ok. 007 Racing was abysmal. Agent Under Fire is pretty good, as is Nightfire. Everything or Nothing is brilliant. Goldeneye: Rogue Agent is utterly dire.

When From Russia with Love was announced, I was really looking forward to it. I loved Everything or Nothing - which for me was probably the best Bond game EA did - and here was a return to classic 60s 007 using the same game engine as EON. And it even has Sean Connery in it.

Except what we go was a fairly run of the mill 3rd person shooter. I think From Russia with Love's main problem is that it was just so ordinary. Nothing about it felt particularly special. So much so, it feels like it could have been any old game featuring a particularly handy soldier facing off against some nondescript army. It certainly didn't feel like a big, ballsy Bond game set during it's most iconic period.

I think the the reason I was so disappointed with From Russia with Love is that I'm so familiar with the story. Like a lot of people, I've not read the book, but have seen the movie umpteen times. I've always felt the story is a little light on action (compared to most of the Bond movies), whereas a Bond game by nature is action-centric. So you end up shoehorning in loads of action sequences into a story that didn't need them. The result being that a lot of it feels a little forced. EON didn't have this problem, as by its nature of being an original plot, the could do what the hell they liked.

In the film, Red Grant meets his end on the Orient Express. But that's not enough for the game - that has to give him a giant metal octopus to play with. That might be forgivable if it were a challenge, but as it is, you can hide around the corner and pump a few shots at him before taking cover again.

EA also made a big thing about getting Connery back to do the voice of 007. Great. The original big screen Bond back in action - and you get to be him! How cool is that? Problem is, its well over 40 years since Sean first slipped on the tux. He's getting on a bit. So while the game has the young, dangerous 007 running around and shooting the bad guys, he sounds like retirement home 007; who's womanising ways are reduced to flirting with the woman at the post office as he collects his pension.

So yes, because it was built up to be huge in so many ways, only to fail so badly, I would have to agree. While it could, and should have been great, From Russia with Love was a crushing disappointment, and therefore gets my vote for the worst (EA) Bond game of all.

[DamnCoffee]

To be honest, i hate FRWL, it's a terrible game, i dont know whats terrible about it, just that i hate it - i preffered EON.

[sharpshooter]

FRWL - too easy, too short. EON is better by a mile. The only thing better is the aiming system, which I hope is retained for any future titles by Activision. Not being able to skip cutscenes is infuriating also.

[TheREAL008]

I thought it was really good, right up until the very last level which was just really REALLY cheesey.

Red Grant as a mechanical octopus???? Better to have the fight on the train (The train level did kind of suck as well) then fight it out with Rose Klebb in the hotel room in Venice.

In short, the ending did leave me wanting.

But it could have been worse, after all it could have been like Goldeneye Rouge Agent.

[commanderblond]

But it could have been worse, after all it could have been like Goldeneye Rouge Agent.

In may ways, I would contend that it's worse. Goldeneye: Rogue Agent is like an awful focus-group designed game based on the premise of what would it be like to play a game as a Bond villain. Bionic Eye? Check. Meet Goldfinger? Check. Fight Dr No? Check. It was always going to be terrible. From Russia is pretty much supposed to be the ultimate Bond game, set during the series most iconic period, with you playing as the most iconic Bond of all time. EA proved that they can deliver the goods with EON. FRWL should have expanded on that - the same, but bigger and better. It should have been the best Bond game of all time. Instead, it felt like a piece of shallow, insipid tie-in nonsense of the kind that gives licensed games a bad name.

[Doctor Shatterhand]

I thought this thread was about the worse Bond game in history, not the game FRWL. For those who remember the worse Bond game ever, I would have to vote and say THE STEALTH AFFAIR. It was a spy game made for the old DOS system and it was obviously changed to a Bond game as soon as the company received a licensed agreement from EON. You can tell right away when Bond receives his orders from his boss in Washington, DC. - hmmm.

As for the EA games, I have always been impressed with the detail work that goes into their games. Something that is not easy to do for the average game artist. I have enjoyed all of the EA games and have done my best not to compare them to the last Bond game.

Let's face it, can you honestly create a game like EA did, by yourself? If you could, it would take years to program it and perhaps just as long to get the bugs out of the system. I tip my hat off to those programmers. True the story lines may be over-the-top, but they are games and not true Bond stories or films. Just enjoy them for what they are - video games.

[Safari Suit]

Let's face it, can you honestly create a game like EA did, by yourself?

If we buy into that theory, it prevents us from criticising practically anything!

Having said that, I didn't really have any complaints with FRWL, although I am not exactly an expert gamer these days. The 16-Bit era was my time.

[YellowDetective]

Ok, apparently, I'm going to need to talk to you guys who beat it in a day... I've been stuck on the Gypsy Camp for a week (though, I only get to play it about every 2 days...) It takes me 10 secs to steady the sniper rifle, and by that time, Karim Bey is already dead...

But I digress, as I am moving off topic...

[Mister Asterix]

Ok, apparently, I'm going to need to talk to you guys who beat it in a day... I've been stuck on the Gypsy Camp for a week (though, I only get to play it about every 2 days...) It takes me 10 secs to steady the sniper rifle, and by that time, Karim Bey is already dead...

But I digress, as I am moving off topic...

Seems on topic to me.

From Russia With Love is a great game for medium skill level players. I believe it is the best James Bond video game ever. Everything or Nothing is a better video game, but From Russia With Love is athe better James Bond video fame, if you understand me. I will admit the last level was cheesy in a Sonic the Hedgehog sort of way but up until then it is just pure vintage Bond. It’s a beautiful thing. Those who finished it in a day, well sorry, From Russia With Love is just not for someone of your skill set I guess.

[chris-o]

FRWL was to easy but it had the typical 60s flair and the DB5 that are the only things I liked. I beat it in a day, I finished EON in one year!

[PlayItBogart]

I certainly don't hate FRWL, I like it. It's like a lot of things, it meets the requirements, and doesn't do anything else.

For some reason I felt the Aston Martin handled absolutely terrible, but the other cars were just fine.

I didn't like how Bond can't just put his weapon away and then start punching people like he could in EoN, now it's dumbed down to when you try shooting the guy, but you're in arm's reach.

The thing with Connery's movies is they're not really big on action. If you tried making a video game out of half of Moore's movies or (god forbid) Die Another Day, it would work better.

Then again, Goldeneye really didn't have a whole lot of action for how much action was put in the game. The game designers have to do a good job of designing the in-between of Point A and B, and unfortunately in FRWL it doesn't always work.

Coolest thing though: Changing up Sean's outfit in mid-level. Suddenly decide you want the black tux? Make it so.

[YellowDetective]

Coolest thing though: Changing up Sean's outfit in mid-level. Suddenly decide you want the black tux? Make it so.

HOW DO YOU DO THIS?

I found on Gamefaqs and some other sites, that you can pick up other outfits, but I tell you, I spent a good 5+ minutes walking circles around Moneypenny's office (as well as Q Division) and couldn't find jack... Is there a special button/combination you have to use to find them?

[Qwerty]

It definitely seemed to be a middle-of-the-road Bond game according to the game critics: http://commanderbond.net/article/3113

[chris-o]

It was easier than EoN. But it was worth because of the classic Bond adventures!

[YellowDetective]

Wow, now i see how some of you beat it in a day... After spending a week on the sniper part of the Gypsy Camp level, I finally beat it (not using the Sniper Rifle once). Anyway, I got all the way to OCTOPUS base in a matter of hours... Got creamed by the airplane several times, though, so I'll be working with that for a while...

[Goodnight]

I once played 007 racing, which I didn't like at all.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Never played "From Russia with Love" I've heard mixed reviews on that. And yes 007 racing was the biggest piece of EA offered out there. Just a total lack of effort.

[Gothamite]

007 Racing was godawful and Tomorrow Never Dies wasn't a whole lot better (although I made myself believe the complete opposite as a child).

I adored The World is Not Enough on PSOne and while it's dated too much to be enjoyable now, it and EON are the only games that have ever truly made me feel like James Bond. And yes, I've played GoldenEye (granted it was an emulator).

When I bought FRWL, it was the first Bond game I'd bought since Nightfire (which for me, was a tremendous disappointment, after hearing people harp on about it for years) and I enjoyed it enough. However, then I bought EoN and I found myself angry at how bad FRWL was in comparison to the epic that had come before it. EON is just a sublime use of the Brosnan era in game-form. I guess Die Another Day really gave the game developers free-reign to go ahead and introduce all of the sci-fi elements they were a bit apprehensive about before, and it really works. It's silly and it's a far-cry from Fleming. But it's also extremely cool and certainly still feels like Bond.

So anyway, I'd say the worst Bond game is 007 Racing. My least favourite is probably Nightfire.

[mttvolcano]

So From Russia with Love is bad?
When I first saw the trailer a while back I thought WOW! I haven't gotten it or played but I have looked online at some videos of it and am rather...annoyed you could say at Sean Connery's voice. His old man voice just doesn't suit his younger face and it didn't match well with the lips moving either.
I would like to hear, though, what else makes it not a very good game?

[Gothamite]

Honestly, FRWL is definitely worth buying (you can get it piss-cheap nowadays) if you're a Connery fan or an Everything or Nothing fan, just as Blood Stone is for the same reason.

It's just very average as a game, when Blood Stone is at least a lot better and EoN is a Bondian powerhouse in almost every respect.

In terms of specifics, I would say that the levels and the music just tend to be very dull and there's very little in the way of interesting action scenes. It's a huge step down from EON in terms of level originality. Where EON had multiple exciting vehicles (including a motorbike), this game just has a few really crappy ones, including a depressing use of the DB5 (with left-hand driving because the American idiots who made this game didn't do any research). The aiming system is quite a bit better than EoN though, I will say.

Plus, from a story perspective, FRWL really was a bad movie to draw inspiration from as the game is basically a Bond-and-Beyond bastardisation of one of the most down-to-Earth of the films. The problem of who-owns-the-rights-to-SPECTRE also troubles the game as they had to awkwardly rename the evil organization "OCTOPUS" and completely remove Blofeld from the proceedings. If they'd made a Goldfinger game, they could have avoided this altogether.

Again though, it's really not a terrible game and it's worth wasting an hour or so on if you're in a Connery mood. But I just can't stress how much better EoN is (not surprising that I never seem to see that game in bargain bins everywhere).

Edited by Gothamite, 05 January 2011 - 08:59 PM.

[00 Brosnan]

As another user stated, EA's Bond games were always a mixed bag. There wasn't a whole lot of consistancy and I suspect that's why they got out of their contract early. Out of the Bond games I've played: GE007, TND, TWINE(N64), AUF, 007NF, EoN, & GEWii it comes down to 2 games.

1. Tomorrow Never Dies - GoldenEye was a revolutionary game in many areas so I (along w/ most people I suspect) expected the follow up to be at least as good (at age 11, I didn't realize Rare was not developing it). TND turned out to be a total dissappointment. The game is horribly designed in so many ways. The controls are awkward and slow, the animation is choppy, there's graphical glitches in every level, the aiming is not acurrate, I can go on. The only good thing about this game is the music. I own this game, I got it when it came out. It's a mediocre game at best, but it does hold a little nostalgic value with me.

2. Agent Under Fire - Okay, first Bond game for "next-gen" systems. I want to be blown away. In the end, I really wasn't. Design wise, this game is leaps and bounds ahead of TND. The animation and framerates are generarlly smooth, the aiming is usually precise, and of course the graphics looked wonderful. The music was little bit over done though. My problem with this game is that I just found it boring. It felt like a very generic FPS (First Person Shooter) to me. Minus the graphics, nothing really stood out and made me say "wow."

I haven't played it, but from what I've read/heard FRWL is a hit or miss game with people. It's gotten mostly semi-okay to decent reviews. So, idk..

[O.H.M.S.S.]

FRWL is my favourite Bond game. It's I think the only Bond game that has the atmosphere of a Bond film. NF and AUF had a few missions with the right atmosphere (Austria for NF, Romania for AUF) but overall there were far too many missions which could have belonged in xXx. Same goes for EON, too noisy, too gadget driven, too American and so on.

[Dustin]

Agent Under Fire, I was really disappointed. With FRWL a close contender.

[Solex Agitator]

FRWL is terrific. AUF not so much. NF is just okay. I am awaiting EON in the mail.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

TND and 007 Racing are quite dull IMO.

[Matt_13]

FRWL is terrible. Runs fine, but is absolutely terrible.

[sharpshooter]

FRWL is terrible. Runs fine, but is absolutely terrible.

FRWL lacks excitement and is a breeze to play. But I don’t think it’s terrible. EA were on the right track, and it took until Blood Stone to get back on it. FRWL was similar to EoN's intention. Third person was a plus. The controls were tight – loved the improved focus aim. It captured the era pretty well.

[Matt_13]

The controls definitely were tight, but severe problems existed with the gameplay. The focus aim was weird because it didn't encourage head shots. Shooting guys in the chest 4 times or hitting a grenade on their belt was encouraged, and while hitting the grenade always felt great, only certain types of enemies had them (and they all looked alike). The takedowns were nice and smooth, but the framerate was pretty choppy at times, and the music was always terrible. The DB5 was a chore to drive, the missions lacked any flair aside from some really impressive flame effects that I haven't seen in any of the newer games, and the story was a disjointed disaster. It was a great experiment, and some elements did pay off (Bond being resourceful in taking out his foes, brutal QTE takedowns), but the elements did not work in harmony, and the best parts of the game (anything on foot) were always in boring, seemingly monochromatic environments. Plus the jetpacks weren't used effectively. We were required to use them, rather than allowing them to simply be a fun option located around the map. It was a step forward and a giant step back at the same time. A very peculiar creation. EoN had it's problems with level design too, but there was enough variation in the color palette and in the layouts that it didn't matter. Were there one too many control rooms? Yes, but at least there was a fair amount of creativity to be found elsewhere in each mission. FRWL was a breeze but also a bit of a chore.

It just was not fun enough, and the way Tatiana ROMANOVA was pronounced has irked me to this day.

That said, every mission Feistein created on his own is wonderful (Parliament, Factory, Octopus Base etc).