Kotaku
I'm sure by now most of you are familiar with the genius cell phone PR stunt that Sierra threw together for the upcoming Bourne Conspiracy game. While it was cool, the real question is, how was the game? I met with some of the developers from High Moon Studios to check out the game being played and get some explanation of was all about.
The Bourne Conspiracy is somewhat an amalgamation of the three Bourne films although the books are used as reference pretty heavily. You'll find no Matt Damon character models here! They really wanted to make this as entrenched in the Bourne lore as possible and as such there is very little gunplay involved. You must rely on your McGuyver like wits to help you make your way through the game, using the things you can find around you and your trusty fists to their greatest use. Remember that pen stabbing scene?
The first level we watched was a flashback based on a short segment from the first Bourne film that had been expanded upon to create more gameplay. As in most games, Mr Bourne has light and heavy attacks as well as the ability to block. Running and fighting will build up your adrenaline which will allow you take out up to three enemies at once.
One of the main fighting mechanics here is the Takedown. Standing near almost any object, window or piece of furniture while you attack will cause you to grab your opponent and pull off a special attack on them. For instance, want to fry that guy who's trying to tear your face off? Simply back up near the electrical box, grab your opponent and watch the fun as you smash the guys head into it and the sparks fly. The boss battles use the same mechanic, allowing you to use the surroundings to deal damage and each boss has his own signature set of takedowns. The environments are so full of these Takedown moves that it would be impossible to use them all in any one single boss battle. So the game allows you to go back and repeat boss battles and levels once they have been unlocked so you can try and make use of all the environments have to offer.
Bourne Identity also contains one driving level that involves a red and white Mini Cooper, but unfortunately it wasn't there for us to check out.
The camera work in this game is pretty amazing and when you go into these take down moves, the camera switches angles several times, mimicking tricky movie camera work. I've never seen it employed in a game quite like this before and it was pretty impressive looking. Artisitc players can also play cinematographer by opting to take control of the camera themselves during these scenes and checking out the action from any angle. Music plays a large part in the game as well with tunes by Paul Oakenfold who provides a different soundtrack song for each of the game's many levels.
Ultimately, this Bourne game is a single experience, so don't look for any co-op or vs modes. At the present time there is no DLC planned nor is there Home support for the PS3. Those things aside though, the game itself looks great and while I didn't get to put my own hands on the controller,the movement was smooth and it seemed like it was easy to pull off the Takedown moves. It's really nice to see a game taking advantage of environmental attacks like this rather than relying solely on an arsenal of guns. So, if you want to check out what this game is all about for yourself before purchase, a demo will be coming to your PS3 and 360 early next month.
Comments
Sounds intriguing, but these 'takedowns', whilst obviously very cool - do they not run the risk of making combat rather easy?
Sounds pretty cool, actually. Sounds like it could be a Streets of Rage for the 21st century. Looking forward to the demo.
When is this due to be released, by the way?
Bourne Identity also contains one driving level that involves a red and white Mini Cooper, but unfortunately it wasn't there for us to check out.
Gonna go out on a limb here and say that that level will suck.
While I'm still very interested in this game, it's odd that there have been no hands-on demos yet. It's almost like they have something to hide. Maybe the game falls apart when you touch it.
@Werrick: Summer I think. Sometime beginning of June.
"...the movement was smooth..."
Was this the same game we saw a preview of earlier in the week? Because that looked anything but smooth.
I really hope this game performs well because the Bourne series is so good.
I hope this is the next 007 Everything or Nothing.
@freakout: That was "The Warriors".
That video yesterday didn't get my hopes up that much... I will admit though that the camera angles were cool, but the AI just looked too stupid to be any real challenge.
@freakout:
I hope not. I downloaded them for the Wii based on recommendations they were like Final Fight and it turns out that they're horrible.
Logo not to be confused with Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.
I'm interested by the comment made that they rely heavily on the books; however, the basis of the game is a combination of the three movies. The movies are so far removed from the books that it's an insult to Ludlum.
So my question is, how can they use both the original story from the books and the movie scripts?
@Flippy_D:
You have to 'stagger' an enemy before you can use them and they don't always finish an enemy off.
I question your evaluation of the camera Kotaku. I got to play a solid 40 minutes of the game a few weeks ago and the camera seemed to always want to give me a top down view of the action. It also enjoyed getting stuck behind shelves in the embassy level
I see you hands-on and raise you my own.
[thelastgunslinger.gametrailers.com]
The 'myserious' PR thing with Flynn was staged and he's probably written this to order for Sierra.
The game will be rubbish.
:-)
I take it then that Sierra got the rights to the book and not the film? Maybe they should have licenced Richard Chamberlain's image for the game!
Odd, as the trailers for the game they have put out so far are NOTHING but shooting gameplay, and it looks like really badly done shooting at that.
@Bluecell: I have to go with you there. That singular driving level, while cool to the movies, will probably be the game's weakest moment. For their sake, I hope it won't be.
ummmm, boss battles? Fail.
As much as I loved that PR stunt, I do find myself not trusting anything that gets reported as a result of it.
While some of the mechanics of the game do sound interesting, everything I've seen so far makes it look like nothing more than above average licenced fodder. I'd love to be proven wrong though.
Not to be a dick, but the end of the article mentions that there will be no Home support for the PS3 version. The Home beta won't even be out till Fall-- can we reasonably ask for developers to support it when the beta launch is already a year delayed?
@NPlace: Home is already part of the Sony development kits, and some developers are already putting in support for home in their games coming out in the next few months. The functionality is there, just Sony is not opening home to the public yet. But yea like it really matters much now.
Very excited the Bourne franchise is shaping up really well.
i think this will be a solid "rent until i beat it," but it probably won't be on my "must buy" list.
i loved the books(including the ones after Ludlum died), and the movies were fantastic, even if they diverged from the novels fairly significantly. but i'm not such a fanboy that i'll buy anything with the bourne name on it. heh.
Its "MacGyver"
buying it :)
I think the game looks pretty good actually. A lot of people seem to want to hate the fighting based on a couple of videos, but it could just be the person playing isn't very good.
I'll save my judgment until after I play the demo in a couple weeks. No use condemning a game you haven't even played yet.
I loved the films, and I'm totally pumped to play the game.
To be clear though, if the game doesn't live up to its PR campaign I will be hugely and irreparably disappointed with the PR/social media universe.
I know it wouldn't be the agency's fault, but if a game plays crummy (and you can afford to turn away clients) then take a pass. Use your creative ideas on a title that deserves them.
All the buzz in the world can't stand up to a crummy delivery.
/we're blown!
watching the video i thought i was watching uncharted 2 videos, no joke.
Is it bad if press bash a game before it comes out. I'm not using Kotaku as a reference point (how about IGN or PSN magazine) but they always say how good a game is with their hands on and than it comes out and it sucks. I can remember reading how good 50 Cent Bulletproof was "It features 50 in a gritty urban setting with incredible gun toting action backed by his music catalogue. This is certainly one to check out." Than the review of 5/10 came out. It's like they felt obligated (or paid) to hype it.
This game could be done well, but I don't want to be excited for something that might not be good.
Early next month is good. I'll make sure to check it out. Along with the rests of games that have been neglected for the past few months due to work...
@kylo4: The current IGN team is being a lot more honest about that sort of thing actually. If you listen to the Three Red Lights Podcast you can see they actually don't like quite a few things. I don't read PSN magazine so I can't really say about that one. If it were Play, that'd be interesting since they seem to love every game they play (I mean really, PERFECT SCORES for Lair and Heavenly Sword).
Hey Flynn,
If you have time to reply, do you know how closely did they follow the books?. Like for example storyline wise, character development or production values?.
I liked the movies but they were worlds apart from the books which I enjoyed tremendously (the first three by Ludlum, not the awful ones by Lustbader).
You got my interest pique with the excellent coverage you did on this software but I don't want to get my expectations too high, so I would really appreciate any other input you could share on this matter.
Thanks in advance.
This is sounding an awful lot like Assassin's Creed. I really love Bourne, just as I fell in love with Assassin's Creed. But then people hated it (I haven't played it yet, I sure hope everyone's wrong) and there was no Jade in the game.
I'm of a mixed opinion on the camera angle thing. See, I like controlling the camera, but if you're controlling only the camera and not the gameplay, then that's called a gimmick in my book. So long as these takedowns don't take the player too much out of the act of playing the game, then I'm fine with it.
The environmentally contextual takesdowns reminds me of Rise to Honour which was a PS2 game starring Jet Li.
If you stood near chairs, you could access them as a weapon. Run towards a suitable wall and you'd do a jump off the wall kick. Stand near a table and you could grab the incoming perp and break the table with their head.
Stranglehold also let Inspector Tequila interact heavily with the environment to get the trademark John Woo feel.
But I'm hoping from the sound of it that it's more than just the fighting as Jason Bourne's inventive mind was wicked to observe in action (like the numerous times he walks thru a supermarket and appropriates the required stuff for his next objective).
From the interviews it sounds like the know what they are trying to achieve. Hope that they do pull it off!
the perfect rental as they say.
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