007: First Light - The Final Preview

The international super spy James Bond

is certainly no stranger to video games.

However, it would be fair to say that

many Bond games have often focused on

more familiar shoot them up action

spectacle while ignoring the rest of

what makes 007 so much fun. There's so

much potential for a Bond video game to

really lean into those stealthy and

socially charismatic encounters that the

films capture so well. And that's what

makes Hitman developer IO Interactive's

long awaited turn towards the James Bond

franchise so appealing.

That's it. Hey, silent but violent.

>> Bringing the Hitman series's social

stealth and open-ended design for its

take on James Bond, 007 First Light has

the makings of an incredibly ambitious

attempt at a fully realized spy story

starring the iconic character. After

spending some time with the opening

hours of this new James Bond origin

story, I came away feeling more

confident that the Hitman devs were the

right team to take on this reboot. And

they may just deliver on the most

original take for Bond's breakout

adventure.

>> It's really quite simple. Bond is a

bullet without a target. Let's give him

one.

>> My hands-on time focused primarily on

three missions. The opening mission set

in Iceland. The MI6 training set in

Malta, Italy, and a spectacled-driven

infiltration and escape set at a ritzy

gala in London's Kensington Burough. As

a modern origin story, 007 First Light

focuses on Bon's early days as an MI6

recruit and on the decisive missions

that grant him his status as a true Oc.

>> Listen carefully. You have less than 1%

chance of success. Now, stand down.

I'll take those odds. Bond.

>> Kicking off with an explosive mission in

Iceland. Bond encounters a ruthless

organization stealing secret technology

at a remote facility, setting off a

global chase to find those responsible.

After being recruited into the agency,

Bond partners up with re-imagined takes

on Q, Money Penny, and other original

characters who guide him and help him

earn his place within MI6. There's been

a variety of tones across the Bond

franchise, ranging from gritty spy

thrillers to more over-the-top comical

spectacles. From my hands-on time with

First Light's opening missions, it

certainly lands more so in the slick and

punchy style of both the Pierce Brozen

and Daniel Craig eras of Bond. But as a

game, First Light is a balance between

II's Hitman series and its focus on

choice and consequence gameplay within a

structured spectacled-driven narrative

similar to Naughty Dog's Uncharted

series.

>> Who do you work for? It's a very

character focused take on a

stealth-driven action adventure game

which packs in a lot of personality and

charm, showing how Bond came into his

own as a spy even when his attempts

don't go so smoothly.

This aspect also comes through in Bond's

approach to engagements, which really

sells his status as a well-trained yet

still impulsive 20-something spy who can

make the most of every opportunity. The

training stage in Malta, Italy, served

as a good primer to the flow of First

Light's take on stealth action. I gave

this stage two attempts to see how much

it would change with my choices, which

was a good way to comprehend how the

balance between stealth and combat

works. Generally, the goal is to avoid

suspicion from foes. And if you fail,

you'll need to contain the situation.

>> Nice. If things escalate and suspicion

reaches a boiling point, guards may

become hostile and even call in

reinforcements

down here. Send people.

>> However, each scuffle with enemies is an

isolated encounter, helping keep

engagements from spiraling out of

control for the mission. Firearms are

often a last resort, and that's where

melee combat fits in as the preferred

choice for taking out enemies. It does

well to showcase how brutal and quick

Bond can be in taking down foes.

However, I did feel it was a bit

cumbersome to find the flow of fist

fights, especially with multiple enemies

coming in.

First Light is a spy game through and

through, and I certainly had options at

my disposal. In addition to ruthless

aggression with Bon's fists and

firearms, he's also got a handy Qatch

and Q Vision gadgets. In a similar vein

to Watchd Dogs, you can perform quick

hacks and dismantle objects in the

environment to create setups or

distractions. This opened up some

amusing moments where I could use a

broken fax machine or radio to draw a

target in, then either knock them out or

lock them in a room to keep them out of

sight.

However, it should be stated that First

Light takes a more punchy,

momentumdriven approach to its stealth

action as opposed to the clockwork world

design and slower pace of the Hitman

series. This means you likely won't stay

in locations too long to examine

character routines or come up with Rube

Goldberg solutions as with Agent 47. I

was also let down to see that you

couldn't perform some familiar stealth

actions like picking up bodies and

hiding them from view. But the more I

played, the more I got used to First

Light's particular take on stealth

action, which is really about making a

beline to your target and getting in and

out as quickly as possible.

The core missions I played had a fairly

guided approach, yet they still offered

plenty of opportunities to find my own

way to clear the objectives.

The mission set in the gala event was

particularly fun and intriguing,

featuring a more open-ended design that

showcased First Light's tone and

gameplay structure to full effect. To

infiltrate the upper floors to secure

valuable intel about a key target, this

is where the Hitman influence kicks in,

and you're given a different set of ways

to infiltrate the facility in ways that

tap into social engineering or even some

sneaky brute forcing.

>> Hang on. In my attempt to eavesdrop, I

overheard a phone conversation with a PR

agent complaining about a journalist

late for their appointment.

>> She might be able to help me here.

>> Assuming their identity, I then talked

my way into the meeting, but I first had

to get a press pass and a camera to look

the part. What initially seemed like

clear-cut objectives quickly went

sideways when the real journalist showed

up and had already checked in.

>> I think there must be a mistake.

Mike's already checked in,

>> leaving me to improvise another way up.

I was able to pull that off by listening

to a guard complaining about the current

state of security in the building. This

opened the door to using one of Bon's

most impressive and valuable skills, his

quick wit and charm.

>> Oi, have you seen a woman? One of the

suspects I saw her crawl out a window

and followed her this way. With the

bluff skill, which requires action

points to pull off, you can actually

trick enemies and even disengage

hostiles from your suspicious behavior.

The power of this skill is improved when

you read up on intel or gain knowledge

from the environment, which lets you

leverage the information to make an inn

with the NPCs in the level. It

essentially turns those familiar Bond

quips and oneliners into a gameplay

maneuver, leading to slick, hilarious

moments where social engineering is in

full effect.

>> Can I help you? Security. Don't mind me.

Just doing a quick sweep.

>> One of the more memorable moments from

bluffing was during a tense stealth