007 First Light review: "Bond's greatest game to date, this is a well-oiled spy thriller machine"

007 First Light is undoubtedly the most ambitious video game in IO Interactive's history. It's far wider in cinematic scale than the Hitman series, and more foundationaly solid than other studio side-quests like Kane & Lynch and Mini Ninjas. If you're willing to disconnect GoldenEye 007 from 30 years of nostalgia, there's a compelling argument to be made for First Light being the best of the James Bond games – not to mention a step above other spy thrillers operating without the licence, Alpha Protocol and The Operative: No One Lives Forever.

It's an occasionally excellent, albeit somewhat uneven, adventure. A slickly produced thriller that brings the best elements of a bygone era of action games together with one of the most challenging IPs in the world. You get a lot of the linear, blockbuster spectacle of the Uncharted series as Bond scrambles through firefights and wheels around lush locales in exotic supercars. There's a bit of the Sleeping Dogs lineage in the improvisational melee combat, as fists and feet connect with metronomic precision. A smattering of Hitman in a handful of showpiece missions, where you've free rein to wield gadgets, stealth, and social influence to burrow behind enemy lines.

IOI should be commended for how competently it has stepped outside of its comfort zone. There's a fluidity and flourish here that is leagues beyond the studio's towering Hitman: World of Assassination trilogy, although there are aspects which would benefit from some refinement. Traversal is a little static, particularly as Bond slowly navigates larger environments – 007 First Light lacks the finesse found in decade-old games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Uncharted 4. Fistfights can be a little finicky, especially when managing multiple targets. Moments of spectacle are often governed by rather rudimentary quick time events; peril massaged into uninspired boss battles. Bond narrates every action, except for why, at the eleventh hour, he suddenly has the wherewithal to carry a third weapon.

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007 First Light is at its best when IOI settles into more familiar rhythms. An early mission has you infiltrate the Grand Carpathian Hotel, nestled in the picturesque High Tatra Mountains of Slovakia. It's a stunning space, a layered labyrinth where you're afforded the freedom to use distractions, disguises, and overheard information to push beyond security checkpoints. This open-ended approach is the closest First Light comes to making you feel as if you are truly embodying the 007 role.

It's been nearly 15 years since the last James Bond video game, but this sequence alone proves why IOI was the right studio to take on the challenge. The pacing in this mission is phenomenal, transitioning smartly from tactical sandbox into more cinematic, guided sequences. Suspenseful spycraft across a layered playspace gives way to a thrilling car chase; an explosive airfield shootout shifts into a death-defying stunt fit for the Pierce Brosnan-era of theatrical espionage. 007 First Light never quite reaches these heights again, but it does come perilously close on occasion.

This blurring of guided and open-ended gameplay is precisely what has been missing in previous attempts to bring Bond to life beyond the silver screen. Part of the problem has always been that Bond games are effectively shooters at heart, where Bond's primary interaction with the world around him is a Walther PPK rather than a disarming smile. IO gets around this by combining an adaptable stealth system with degrees of social manipulation, and by implementing a strict interpretation of the License to Kill – you can only pull your weapon if enemies first show intent.

Ironically, gunplay is one of the best elements of 007 First Light; snappy, slapstick, and propulsive. There's also a truly wonderful mechanic where Bond is able to whip his weapon at an enemy, knocking rushing guards off balance once your clip runs dry. Sometimes the simplest touches sell the fantasy.

Capturing that sense of improvisational action that the character is known for like this is critical, because IOI put itself in a difficult position with the way 007 First Light is framed. Here you play as a young James Bond, one who is yet to earn his '007' designation.

The story is mostly fun and well-scripted, anchored around a fantastic performance from actor Patrick Gibson, but there are going to be occasions where you'll wish you were embodying the Bond you already know and love. Frankly, it's not all that dissimilar of a position Eidos Montreal found itself in when it rebooted Tomb Raider. Here's hoping IOI is similarly afforded the opportunity to make a sequel, if only to continue the character's journey towards more luxurious gadgetry and tailoring.

007 First Light is the start of something special. That's my prevailing thought after investing 15 hours into this adventure. It's an infusion of fresh energy into a genre in desperate need of it, and an ambitious foundation that leaves so much room for iteration and evolution in the future. First Light isn't without its flaws, but I certainly don't regret any of the time I spent with it. Hitman fanatics may come to resent the lack of tactical depth or replayability, but everyone else will delight in playing a James Bond game that not only understands the impulses of the character but finds a way to bring them to life like we've never experienced before.

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