“007 First light” mixes Bond, Batman and Hitman well
REVIEW. Spy toys, infiltration, Rolex watches and charming dialogues.
007 First Light manages to deliver the classic James Bond feel, but is the game really just a Hitman copy in a suit and backslick?
007 First light
Platform: Xbox Series, PC, Playstation 5 (Played on Playstation 5, Switch 2 version coming later this year)
Price: About SEK 650 for the standard edition
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: IO Interactive
Best: The Bond feel, the action sequences, the dialogues, the infiltration and the varied environments.
Worst: Uneven pacing, limited variety in gadgets and cinematic sequences that sometimes take over gameplay.
In “007 First Light” you play as a young James Bond who is recruited by MI6 to uncover secrets that threaten Great Britain. This takes place before Bond became the legendary spy we all know, and I thank the gods that game developers IO Interactive didn’t choose Sean Connery or Daniel Craig as role models, they are shoulders that become difficult to stand on. Instead, they created their own version of the character. Patrick Gibsonwho plays Bond in the game, does an incredible job. The charm, elegance and intensity are there. Yes, even at home in sweatpants and a t-shirt covered in cheesecloth dust, you are sucked in and feel as cool as Bond himself.
Just like in the movies, a lot is about infiltration. Using spy gadgets, outsmart enemies by sneaking around and hacking your way through challenges using everything from lasers, smoke screens and poison to pure violence. Or you can lie your way through dialogue choices and take down sluggish NPC guards. However, I would have liked a little more options when it comes to gadgets. Of course, the systems work well together, but the variety feels somewhat stingy. You also can’t push through all the problems because you haven’t yet received a “license to kill”. It’s a believable choice, both for Bond as a newly recruited agent and for the player who is still proving himself.
More like Batman
But it is when the challenges are stepped up and lives are really at stake that “007 First Light” shines. You’re given a temporary license to kill, and when the ammunition quickly runs out, you’re forced to get creative with both spy toys and fists. Quite honestly, sometimes it feels like you’re more Batman than Bond in the melee, with counters, parries and really hard punches. I feel like I can save the whole world with these fists. It also never gets particularly repetitive because the pace is constantly increased. When the game throws you into bigger action sequences, like fighting on top of an airplane, you never tire of combining the game’s various systems to win.
But there are also problems in the large-scale sequences. Sometimes the cinematic feel takes over too much, and it almost feels like you’re playing a cutscene rather than actually controlling the secret agent. It eliminates some of the sense of threat and gives you a handicap you never really asked for. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes are awesome and very pretty. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this invested in a game’s story. With both character development, well-written dialogues and a story with several disputes. Very rarely did I feel like avoiding the dialogue. But it can quickly take over the feeling of the game and you become more interested in beating a Bond movie than continuing to play.
Loud vacuum cleaner
The love for the Bond universe is clearly visible. It’s not just about Aston Martin, flirty dialogues and the British accent. Several of the environments feel like places where a Daniel Craig movie could have been shot. Aleph, an illegal gun town ruled by the pirate king Bawma, played by Lenny Kravitz(!) or the luxury resort in Vietnam that quickly turns into a war zone, makes the world feel rich and varied. It makes a good contrast to all the office and hotel environments, and there is always a desire to keep moving forward to see what awaits next.
But not everything feels as polished. If you, like me, have recently played “Forza Horizon”, you will not be immediately impressed by the driving in 007 First Light. Here, too, it feels more like an action sequence than actual driving, where you can almost only fail if you drive straight into a wall at 180 kilometers per hour. The game takes about 15-20 hours to complete and it is noticeable that some parts are mostly there to drag out the playing time. For example, I spent an hour or so unlocking doors with the help of a robot vacuum cleaner. It’s fun at first, but quickly becomes annoying. There is thus a certain unevenness throughout the journey.
Like playing the lead role
There have been many question marks surrounding “007 First Light”. Will it resemble “Hitman” too much? Will IO succeed in selling Bond? The answer is yes, there are clear traces of “Hitman”, but also of “Watch Dogs” and “Uncharted”. IO has borrowed from many modern action games, and from its own previous titles, but they also remind those who wrote the rulebook in the first place. Because if anything, “Uncharted” and “Hitman” now resemble Bond more than the other way around.
“007 First Light” may not always hit the mark, but when it does, it feels just like playing the lead in a Bond film. For those who want to sneak, fight and talk their way through a classic spy thriller, “007 First Light” is an obvious choice.
