From Russia With Love Preview

Right now James Bond is officially M.I.A. Pierce was set to star in one last film, then the studio decided to get someone else to play 007 from now on. It'll be some time before that film arises, but come November Sean Connery will reprise his role as the most popular Bond in the video game adaptation of From Russia With Love.

Designed as a third-person shooter, From Russia With Love is a new direction for the series. Weapons are drawn and fired as soon as the enemy reveals itself. They may be hiding behind doors, behind fixtures, or dropped in by helicopter for an unexpected attack.

This might be too much for other spies to handle, but not James Bond. He can take on the enemy from a safe distance, hide behind objects, peak over walls – whatever it takes to stay alive. Or he can get a little daring, fire a few shots, and run up and attack the enemy with his bare hands!  An icon appears on screen when you approach enemies, indicating exactly which button should be pressed to take him down. Hit the button fast enough and Bond will punch or kick the guy, slam into a wall, or throw him down on the ground. 

I didn't mean shoot up the place. Well, maybe I did! 

Enemies that are attacked by hand are not killed (presumably), therefore the developers could have them cause more trouble for Bond later on. Whether or not that's the purpose of defeating enemies this way (to unintentionally make the game harder) will not be known until the game ships.

From Russia With Love's new targeting system almost completely eliminates the difficulty of aiming. Simply hold the targeting button (L1) and a green circle will surround the nearest enemy. To change targets, point your crosshairs toward the guy you want to target and hit L1 again. Fire a few rounds and he'll be dead. One down, a million to go!

Bond wananabes will have a much easier time killing the bad guys than they did in Golden Eye 007 and the more recent Bond games, but as previously stated this is a new direction for the series. From Russia With Love's locations are stocked with things to hide behind. You better believe that your enemies will use cover whenever they get the chance. The green targeting circle can hover in front of their faces all day and a bullet will never be able to reach them if they don't come out of their hiding places.

Character movement isn't as fast as most first and third-person shooters, but the controls work well. Bond can lean up against walls as most spies can (Solid Snake made it cool more than seven years ago). In a move that's a cross between Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, the developers added a feature that lets you zoom in (more intently focus) on your opponent and accurately shoot any part of his body. Headshots are a given, but you may be in a situation where only a certain part of your enemy's body is visible. Some enemies like to hang from ceilings – they're as vulnerable as a chandelier. Shoot the rope and it's bye-bye to the baddie.

Most PlayStation 2 games aren't looking too good now that the next generation is almost here, but From Russia With Love is one of those games that reminds us that we can still get beautiful graphics out of the current game consoles. Above all else, Sean Connery's polygon model is the most realistic video game character I have ever seen. It's clearly a game character – the game does not use some newfangled technology that no one else has. But the detail in his face, and how instantly recognizable he is even to people who don't regularly play games is very impressive.

You'll spend more time viewing the game action than you will spend watching real-time cut scenes, and let me tell you: the explosions, world detail and environment destruction is awesome. Buildings explode right in front of you. If there's an object, such as an antique or anything that looks expensive, shoot it and it's gone. (Many of the cheap-looking objects are impenetrable. Apparently they didn't think destroying them would be as fun.)

At the end of one level Bond will have to make a choice: risk his life to save the girl, or escape to save his own skin. The latter sounded appealing, then he realized that he'd need to fly a jet air pack to save the girl. When it comes to Fun vs. Safety, safety never wins!

The flight controls are excellent. The camera is pretty steady, so when it comes to dodging gunfire, a missile, or even an entire helicopter (something I like to call a kamikaze++), players will be able to do it without losing track of the action.  

I didn't mean to do this either (grins).

I've only nibbled the outer rim of From Russia With Love, and I can't wait to take another bite. We'll get the chance to chow down next month. Until then, let's keep ourselves occupied by examining the effects of the Dual Shock 2 controller: does it shake, or does it stir?