007: First Light - Part 1: Opening (No intro song), Training & All The Time In The World

00:05:07 - Prologue 00:48:27 - The Needle's Eye 01:49:49 - A Night Out 02:25:31 - All The Time In The World Apologies - Twitch muted some audio so I removed the titles. It’s been 14 years since the last James Bond video game (not including the mobile one), and I’d class that as way too long. Our beloved secret agent has had a colourful history in electronic adventures, with some games being fantastic whilst others have been notoriously bad. Much like Daniel Craig’s 5-film arc, this game abandons a film license in favour of it’s own rebooted story which takes us all the way back to where James starts as an airman, who along with his team crash lands on an Island during a routine mission gone awry – and due to his performance is recruited into MI6’s recently resurrected Double-O programme for training. His first job in the field results in tragedy, and he sets out to seek vengeance on those responsible. IO interactive has treated this project with the utmost respect, and the development team are very obviously fans of the franchise. The game doesn’t rush whilst setting the scene, giving character development, scene setting and world building room to breathe. Bond is very well written, and Patrick Wilson tailors his performance to deliver what we would expect from him. Playful one liners and humour, flirty charm or where the situation calls, seriousness, urgency and determination. The supporting cast are excellent (M, Q, Moneypenny are all here!), and the standout performer is the tremendously compelling Lennie James (Snatch, Line Of Duty, The Walking Dead) who plays Bond’s direct command Greenway. The pacing of the game is spot on – considering its length. Whilst we get an original adventure worthy of a film – it is a little light at 15 hours. I feel stretching it too much further would have felt less like the feature film they were trying to achieve and may have been detrimental – but I could have done another couple of chapters. I hope the balance can be addressed on the next game as I feel a little shortchanged at full retail price and would have been super miffed if I shelled out for more than the standard edition. The world that our story takes place in has been given a high degree of attention too. Everywhere just comes across as believable and immersive – whether in Bond’s shared flat, Q Branch (Yes – there are gadget mishaps!), Universal Exports - or areas in Slovakia, Vietnam, London or Mauritania. The areas ranged from beautifully vibrant to dark and grimy – suited to whatever action is going on – storytelling and dialogue, driving, open combat or infiltration. The game handles somewhere between Hitman and Uncharted – with combat somewhat resembling a very stripped-down version of the Arkham games. You must parry, counter and dodge your way out of situations in hand to hand – or duck and dive behind cover whilst avoiding fire. It’s fast and frantic, and you need to constantly be aware of your surroundings, Bond’s life bar is small, and he cannot take too many hits. This raises the stakes, and forces you to plan your routes well, and decide when you’re going to either be stealthy (utilising your Q gadgets or bluffing past guards) or go gung-ho with fists and firearms. There are some great mechanics, like throwing your empty gun at an enemy (or other in-reach objects) to daze them or shooting guns from the enemies’ hands. Unfortunately, the absence of lock-on or the camera deciding to be an enemy can make what should be simple frustrating at times. There’s potential for replayability, with there being different ways to approach certain points of each mission – but I’m not in a rush to go back, even for the VR-Mission imitation Tacsim where you can win cosmetic upgrades and complete challenges. Music is fantastically written and delivered by videogame veteran duo The Flight (Alien Isolation, Horizon, Black Flag) , and is full of recognisable motifs – and of course there is an opening song (delivered masterfully by the dream team of Lana Del Rey and longtime series composer David Arnold) and a credits video that Daniel Kleinman would approve of. I mentioned earlier that the game was by fans for fans – with collectibles, quotes and series staples that will make you point like Leo in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – but what would a newbie/casual fan think of the game? It is hard to say, and that’s why I would consider what kind of adventure you’re after or how much you want to pay. As a Bond fan however, it ticked the boxes I needed ticked. #jamesbond007 #007firstlight #iosgames #PS5 #twitch #gameplay #nukeboxharris #fullplaythrough #firstplaythrough Broadcasted live on Twitch -- Watch live at   / nukeboxharris