June 13, 2012 by Vinnie Leduc
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the longest running film franchise in history, 007 Legends will offer gamers and Bond fans a walk down memory lane through five classic 007 films. Like developer Eurocom’s previous Bond game, the GoldenEye 007 reimagining that put Daniel Craig into the shoes of Pierce Brosnan, 007 Legends will again adapt the plots of prior Bond films and again feature Craig in the roles of his predecessors to provide players a unique twist of an experience that combines nostalgia and modern gameplay. During E3 this year, publisher Activision was gracious enough to grant us an exclusive look at 007 Legends behind closed doors with Eurocom’s project manager Rob Matthews.
007 Legends is an FPS that will include six movie-based missions, each with several levels that emphasize the spy aspect that fans have come to love over the last half century. At various parts in the Moonraker mission we witnessed, Matthews and his team demonstrated how using some of Bond’s arsenal of gadgets would help players get through levels stealthily with investigation and surveillance as opposed to a run-and-gun style. These included a pen gun that can distract or tranquilize enemies, a portable radar that can be deployed from Bond’s wristwatch, and a smartphone with one of several view modes that can detect hidden electrical wiring to power sources of key objects and machines.
Matthews and his team also showed off a new context-sensitive cover system in which players can use the thumbstick to peek out from behind cover and an XP system in which players can upgrade Bond’s physical abilities, weapons, or gadgets to suit their playstyle. Mi6 Ops mode will return from GoldenEye 007 Reloaded, and so will four-player split-screen multiplayer along with conventional online multiplayer.
To complete the Bond experience, we were shown an electrifying boss fight against Jaws, one of the many iconic characters of the 007 franchise that Matthews promised would be included in Legends. The game will also feature familiar weapons (laser guns for Moonraker and the Walther PPK for 007 in general, of course), original film talents for authentic voice acting (e.g. Lois Chiles as Dr. Holly Goodhead), and in addition to the five classic missions immediately available at launch, a sixth mission tying into this fall’s new Bond film, Skyfall, which will be available as free DLC coinciding with Skyfall‘s theatrical release.
Asked whether we could expect a post-credits stinger in 007 Legends, Matthews, who also serves as a writer for the game, would not confirm or deny the specific existence of one, but he did assure us that in an effort to provide for a great Bond experience, there will be something aside from the gameplay that will please Bond fans. “Read into that as you will,” he said with a smile. I guess we’ll find out for sure once 007 Legends is released on October 16, 2012.
