GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
- +
A wide variety of weapons and gadgets
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Voice acting from Sir Sean Connery
- +
Jetpacks!
Cons
- -
The game's fairly easy
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The enemy AI is pretty dopey
- -
Clunky vehicular controls all around
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Super-spies don't get any cooler than James Bond. Unfortunately, most video games based on this badass Brit have come up short (with the possible exception of Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 ... eight years ago) in their ability to place you in the sneaky shoes of the top agent of MI-6. At least, that was true until the release of From Russia With Love,easily the most exciting and accurate recreation of the Bond experience in a long time.
EA has captured the heart and soul of Bond by using Sean Connery to voice the character. This sounds simple, but it adds a degree of authenticity that gets you into the mood for spycraft right out of the gate. Most of the trademark Bond gadgets are on hand (even some that never appeared in the film... EA took a creative license to kill) and can be upgraded for increased lethality as you progress through the story. Battling the nefarious agents of the mysterious “Octopus” through a decent variety of stealth, vehicular, and all-out-bullet-shower missions, JB can employ the new "Bond Focus" mode in order to target enemies with greater precision, or (and this is our favorite) at short-range to deliver brutal Judo chops to bad guys in their standard issue evil-dude coveralls. Thankfully, the stealth aspects never get boring and the vehicles, though clunky in the handling department (even the beloved Aston Martin DB5), deliver serious amounts of damage in whatever direction you point them. Split-screen multiplay rounds out the package and adds replayability to this already fairly expansive title, although serious battles are hampered by the tiny levels, and Bond's signature moves are not as easy to pull off against flesh-and-blood foes.
