James Bond is a spy that can say or do the right things in any situation. In Bloodstone, that's sometimes not the case.
The story is completely original and has all the classic elements that make up a successful James Bond plot to be enthralled with. Players will portray the role of James Bond, the world's greatest spy, as he is on the hunt for an arms dealer in Athens. This arms dealer wants to deliver a bomb that may possibly explode at an important summit in Athens, so it's up to Bond to track down the enemy and stop them before the situation gets even worse. As usual, Bond eventually discovers a bigger conspiracy that may threaten the entire world and goes after those responsible. As you would expect from a Bond film, you will encounter old friends and new rivals as you progress in your journey to save the world. What makes this story triumphant is certainly not the sentimental attachments you'll feel for any character in particular, but for all the unique situations Bond winds himself in. One moment you'll be stuck in a small, enclosed room, fighting off guards in Siberia, the next you'll be chasing down the main villain in a spectacular driving sequence in Monaco. In each instance, the tools handed to you work well to your advantage and don't feel misused at any point in the game. Once the credits roll at the end of the game, you'll be glad to get yourself invested in the story from top to bottom.
Of course, to unravel the story, you must complete various tasks that are accomplished in different scenarios. The game asks you to rely on a set of skills that you'll need to quickly perfect and use to the best of your ability, such as shooting guards or driving through streets of chaos in order to keep up with your primary target. Other times, you'll be asked to stay within the shadows and slip by unnoticed, even if it means taking down the enemy without raising the alarm. Of course, stealth isn't the best option during some points in the game, since you'll be forced to deal with the enemy in gunfights in areas that are either large or small. These interesting but exciting scenarios take up the main bulk of the gameplay. Unfortunately, the biggest weak point lies in gathering evidence or looking for bugs with your incredibly powerful Smartphone. Moments like those slow the game down a bit and you'd just wish that it would be quickly over, but it's a minor nuisance that doesn't last for long, as you'll be pulled into the frantic action very quickly.
Before you can reach the end of your adventure, you must battle multiple combatants via the art of gunplay. You will be taking cover constantly, avoiding continuous gunfire from the enemy, and fire back with a hail of bullets towards your foes. It's unfortunate to report that the developer forces you to lose many bullets in the process, as they don't die very quickly, even when you hit them. Shoot them in the head and they will wiggle around for a second, and then act like nothing ever hit them and keep on firing. You shoot them as they are recovering from the initial hit and it just passes right by them. It's moments like these that make you grit your teeth in frustration, for they should have been dead by this point. Thus, the gunplay in this game, while fun, can be unspectacular and irritating to a point. However, should they get close to your cover spot, you can take them down with a press of a button and be rewarded with a gruesome-looking kill. From smashing their heads into the wall to throwing them out of the building, takedowns are often satisfying to execute and it never gets old. An added bonus with takedowns comes in the form of a Focus Aim, similar to what you saw in Splinter Cell: Conviction; one-shot kills to the head. Its kills like these save a great deal of time on the battlefield and are immensely helpful in critical situations. That being said, there is simply no excuse for inaccurate gunplay, no matter how fun it can be sometimes.
The good news is that whereas the battle sequences aren't quite as exciting, the driving sequences, on the other hand, are an absolute thrill. You'll be constantly twisting and turning as you attempt to avoid obstacles while trying to stay close to your primary target on the road. All the while, as you are driving through the streets, you'll see people fleeing from the carnage as explosions come to life here and there. Unfortunately, the controls during these exhilarating chases feel a bit wonky and unresponsive to the touch. When you turn a corner and try to steady your car, it doesn't do so unless you play tug-of-war with the left thumbstick until the car is completely centered again. To make matters worse, when you hit the break pedal and try as hard as you can to make that turn without losing your speed, the car swerves and you lose total control over your car. Due to mistakes like these, you will either fall in water or get rammed by a minor nuisance, ergo losing track of your target and forcing you to start from scratch. It's very annoying, especially when one achievement asks you to complete one driving stage in a specific time, requiring a lot of repeats before finally nailing it right. Overall, this is perhaps the most exciting part about Blood Stone, but when you are finally behind the wheel, it doesn't end up being a smooth ride in the scheme of things.
As James Bond, you will execute these aforementioned actions in exotic locations that range from Istanbul to Siberia. Thanks to the visuals incorporated in Blood Stone 007, each place has a distinctive feel, making them look different and stand out at the same time, all the while not feeling totally out of place. Although unspectacular, the game's animation is good enough to hold its own, even when a slew of enemies appear on screen all at once. It feels satisfying enough to watch guards die in different ways, whether it's shooting them in the head or taking them out with a great-looking takedown that is exciting to watch. Daniel Craig's take on James Bond required more physicality than his previous successors, so it was important to match both his attitude and confidence as Bond in a videogame. Fortunately, this translates very well, due to his stunt double performing every move of his with total accuracy and it shows on the screen when you perform what he is capable of in Blood Stone. Musically, the game blasts your ears with an orchestrated soundtrack that feels like it came right out of a Bond movie, although the main Bond theme remains absent until the credits roll. Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Joss Stone, and Rory Kinnear all reprise their roles for an original story that was never seen in any of the movies before it and do an excellent job portraying their characters in every scene or voiceover that you hear throughout the adventure. Hearing the bullets from each gun also sound unique and the typical grunts and death throes echo loudly as guards get killed are also included as well. Overall, both the visuals and sound do a great job pulling in gamers in the atmosphere that makes the James Bond universe fortunately believable for those that do decide to undertake the quest to save the world from another evil abomination.
Once you have completed the single-player campaign, even on the 007 difficulty, multiplayer awaits. Unfortunately, it's pretty typical and what's offered here doesn't really stand out in the grand scheme of things. You will once again find both deathmatch and team deathmatch modes, but it's all done in a third-person shooting perspective that will quickly become familiar territory to anyone who has entered that genre many times before in previous third-person shooters before it. There's also objective-based modes you can do here, but the action is not as frantic or exciting as to what the single-player campaign offers. Truth is, if you are an achievement hunter and wish to get them all, you'll have to spend hours in earning them by meeting certain criteria while winning first place at the same time. Otherwise, it makes you wonder what they could have done with Blood Stone. Why not throw in some co-operative gameplay that would be for both online or offline modes? Why not put Bond in a mode that requires him to take on missions that require good timing and score, allowing gamers to rank up high on the leaderboards? Instead, this all really feels like a missed opportunity overall, so unless you crave more multiplayer in the form of third-person shooting, you may as well just avoid multiplayer altogether and place your focus solely on the single-player fracas.
James Bond 007: Bloodstone is a game that's fun while it lasts, but if you play it on the lowest difficulty setting, it will be all over in a time span of three hours or more. You will receive a greater challenge should you decide to increase the difficulty; but even then, with a bit of patience and some luck, the game can be conquered just as easily as it was before. Therefore, this game is best checked out as a rental instead of a purchase. The single-player campaign is fantastic with some thrilling moments, but ugly issues rise to the fore and make the experience frustrating and unbearable at times. The controls are off the mark, inaccurate and fussy, and collision detection from bullets to your enemies doesn't necessarily mean one-hit kills when they should be. The driving sequences, while once again electrifying, loses its momentum when the controls are shaky, unresponsive, and not perfect to the touch. But if you can get past those issues and look beneath the surface, you will truly find an adventure worth pursuing and an ending that wraps everything up nicely, even hinting at a possible sequel. A spy like James Bond may be great to play, but sometimes, even he can't do or say the right things in a game like this. Even if that's the case, being James Bond and becoming a part of his world is worth it in the end, despite those nagging nuisances.