IO Interactive has said its new James Bond game is "not a reskin" of its iconic Hitman series, but that's certainly how the journey started anyway.
IOI just unveiled a significant chunk of footage from 007 First Light, showing a much younger James Bond who's as invincible in an exploding shootout as Nathan Drake, yet still stealths around with as much wit as Agent 47. Smashing the two gaming heroes together (quite literally) was also how IOI secured the license (to kill), though.
Speaking to IGN, 007 First Light director Hakan Abrak revealed that the team won the game rights to the series actually by making Agent 47 wear the face of the last James Bond, Daniel Craig, all while running around a classic Hitman mission.
"We actually did put Daniel Craig in there," Abrak said. "We just modeled his head and put it in instead of Agent 47, just for demo purposes, giving an impression of what these living, breathing spaces mean in an IO game. And if you are acquainted with the franchise, there is a level called Sapienza with the virus in the caves underneath the compound. So we showed some things off there and, yeah, it was well received."
Sapienza is clearly the perfect World of Assassination level to pitch for a James Bond game, just because it encapsulates the fantasy of going to a luxury holiday destination for a covert operation. It's sun-kissed and lush; some buildings scream luxury, but it's also hiding a dark secret under the surface.
IO Interactive chose to demo the game in this fashion to show 007 First Light is "not necessarily about only shooting and cut scenes - there's certainly that in our game as well — but it's also being able to explore the part of the Bond fantasy where he is in social spaces where he is using not only his fisticuffs, but also his charms and bluff and figuring out different ways in those social spaces to overcome the obstacles or get what he wants." Again, it's sort of an Uncharted meets Hitman situation.
