Although a good break from FPS, this doesn't give enough to the player to make them keep playing.
Gameplay:
The storyline is the game is decent. You play as Daniel Craig, who is sent on various missions to find bad guys who are linked to other bad guys (like last 2 Bond movies). The reason behind is somewhat lacking because this is all based off of information that some random unknown caller gave in the middle of Europe and MI6 decided to investigate. Bond is sent to different places in the world such as Istanbul and Burma. You generally will be faces waves of the same enemies throughout the levels, which can be fun since the game is so short. Which leads to another thing, variations in enemies are limited since there are very few guns in the game, you will find yourself often using the MP5 for majoirty of the game. The lack of guns is quite frustrating, but they are fairly fun to shoot and being able to shoot explosives instead of wasting ammo is amusing. I know this is knit picky but i noticed when i shot a cage which held gas tanks the cage blew up but the gas tanks just flew everywhere and i had to blow them up individually, i thought that was kinda weird.
The variation of different sceneries, a combination of stealth and cover based combat, and the occasional chase through a level after a bad guy makes the single player fairly fun. But the game truly stands out when in car chases, boat chases etc.. The driving scenes are very intense with things blowing up all around you and it is much the same for the boat scene at the very beginning of the game. The segments really seem to shine because of the high octane and speed chases that have you at the edge of your seat dodging cars flying through the air. The only i did miss was the fact James Bond's car is just an Aston Martin. Where's all the gadgets? I felt like shooting the car in front of me with maybe some guns on the side of my car but i guess they have gone away from that now. Lastly, the single player is very choppy since you will find yourself with your smart phone out for 90% of the game (it allows you to see objectives and find enemies) It felt wierd having to walk around with my smart phone out all the time like James Bond is some like business man or teenager addicted to twitter. I mean come on, the best gadget they could think of was pressing up on control pad to scan things....
Anyways, after playing the single player i had some fun and was somewhat satisfied, so i tried the multiplayer. (i guess thats what its defined as in this game) You can choose from 3 modes (thats creative) deathmatch, last man standing, and objective. There are only like 5 maps and the worst part is there are about 5 classes of guns with only 3 guns in each class. So really after playing multiplayer for an hour there's no more point unless you wanna unlock one gun or switch between the same modes on the same maps. The multiplayer was very very disappointing and was an add on at the last second that just didnt do anything.
Graphics: The graphics in this game have its ups and downs. The scenes with different vehicles have great graphics and and really fun to look at. The explosions happening around you are fun to look at also. The scenery is also fairly nice and makes each level unique. The problem is that the people in the game and some objects close around have last generation graphics and its disappointing. If the game was based on car chases maybe graphics would be better.
Audio: Obviously the sound in this game won't be as great or authentic as say call of duty, but you can definetly tell the distinction between a gun that will tear an enemy to pieces or just pinch them. The more powerful guns in the game such as the AK and AR are fun to shoot.
Lasting Value: After beating this game in about 6 hours, you might want to run through it again on a harder difficulty but then thats all there really is left in the game. The multiplayer will add about a couple hours of life to the game and thats it.
Decision:
Despite its many flaws, Blood Stone is still worth a rent if your a fan of James Bond video games, or simply just want a break from the traditional first person shooter. There are some fun levels in the single player that will definetly keep your attention and leave you craving more, but you dont always get more. The multiplayer is useless and the graphics are last gen. I suggest a rental but please don't buy the game, its fun while it lasts. As a response to the earlier question about whether i want Quantum for 30 or this for 60, Quantum is certainly what i would take.
Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 7
Audio: 7.5
Lasting Value: 6