Posted 29 August 2009 - 07:32 AM
I've come to the game pretty late, having picked it up for the PS3 only in the last week. I've finished once on Field Agent difficulty (I think that's the name of the 2nd difficulty), replayed some levels on New Recruit to get the trophies for cellphones, power weapons and such, and am now replaying it on 007 difficulty (the hardest). I've also tried a little of the on-line multi-player.
I'm really enjoying the game, and would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes shooters. There's more to like about it than dislike, but there are also some missed opportunities. And as a game that is based on a movie it really could have ended up much, much worse. I don't really understand the complaints of the single-player game being too short. I doubt that adding more levels would really increase the enjoyment. It would run the risk of the repetitiveness that arises from it being primarily a first-person shooter. How many hours do you really want to spend just shooting to finish the game?
If the game is too short, then there are four difficulty levels, and each difficulty level gives the opportunity to play through with a different style of gaming, so should you choose to play them all that's quite a few hours of single-player experience. New Recruit lets you enjoy shooting up bad guys, but 007 forces you to be much more cautious and alert, with cover mandatory. And frankly 007 difficulty is really challenging, with very aggressive AI that will charge, flank or hand-grenade your position, and even hunt you down should you go up or down stairs (I'm looking at you Science Center Interior). In the big firefights when to pop out and take one shot becomes a deadly waiting game, except the AI won't let you wait. At this difficult level I think the number of levels is just right. More levels and it would become a chore to get through.
And after the first single-player play through there is the search for the collectibles and multi-player to add hours to the value of the game. In short I think that the game is excellent value. And I paid full price for it months and months after it came out!
However the game is a mixed bag. There are some good level designs like the Opera House and the opening of the Miami Airport which support either stealth or run-'n-gun play styles, but there are some dull ones, like the train which is just so linear that it seems like content filler, or the construction site chase which (although fun) forces you along a single route when having multiple paths could have added value for replay.
As I think MattofSteel pointed out, the inexplicable abundance of gas cylinders is just laziness in making constructive environmental kills. And while the cover system for the most part works well (I've had 3 instances where Bond got stuck to cover and was left doing a jittery dance that was only remedied by a restart), sometimes the angle just isn't right to get the "dash to cover", "cover" or "climb over" prompt, even though it seems to be OK, which in 007 difficulty is a death sentence. I also find it annoying that Bond has to leave cover to climb over something he's already next to, and that there is the added button complication of using 'circle + left' to remain crouching when breaking cover. Why not just break cover in the position that Bond was already in cover in, and do away with the addition of 'circle'? And the cellphone is painfully slow to look at and put away. Again this really becomes important in 007 difficult, when in the middle of a firefight you want to take a peek at the enemies' locations, only to see that you're being charged by two right now, and then agonizingly waiting for the phone to closeup so that you can defend yourself.
And then there is the over-reliance on QTEs for the boss fights. Hacking the electronic locks and the boss fights are basically the same mini-game, just on different pads. And there is no sense of urgency about either of them. If you fail you just do it again. Keep it for the hacking, and alert the guards if you fail. And for the boss fights, a fleshed out hand-to-hand system in third person would have been nice and a refreshing change of play to the shooting and hacking.
Finally, the story as presented is difficult to understand - and I've seen both movies several times! More explanatory cut scenes might have helped, and might have added a more cinematic feel to it.
Well after those complaints I should reiterate that I do enjoy the game and highly recommend it. I guess as I play it I can't help feeling that Bond would work better on a third person GTA IV style engine, which can handle shooting, hand-to-hand, and exploring of levels really well.
