By Johnathan Kroncke
By Johnathan Kroncke
This one will leave you shaken, not stirred.
“From Russia with Love,” the new James Bond game based on the original movie, is stylish and lethal.
Starring Sir Sean Connery (“From Russia with Love,” “The Rock”) as James Bond, you must stop the deadly assassin Donald “Red” Grant before he kills you, steals your girl and carries out his sinister plans.
Maria Menounos (“Fantastic Four,” “Entertainment Tonight”) stars as Grant’s driver and head henchwoman, Eva. Not in the original movie, the lovely Eva was created exclusively for the game.
“From Russia with Love” looks to be the best installment yet in a long line of great video games based on the Bond series. It features a new aiming system in which Bond can lock onto an enemy and then “focus” in for more accurate shots that end up saving on ammunition.
The game also has a new rewards system for players. Depending on how you do on each level, players can customize Bond with new equipment and skills that can be used throughout the game. The non-linear levels make for a more interesting experience as each level can be beaten in more than one way.
Players can still battle it out with each other in the multi-player deathmatch mode, which is certainly good considering many gamers find the multi-player option to be the most enticing. Like “GoldenEye” and “Nightfire,” it utilizes a third-person, split-screen view.
Of course, what Bond game would be complete without a few cars and gadgets. Because “From Russia with Love” is set in the world of 1963, Q has provided the 1963 Aston Martin DB5. This sweet ride is complete with tire punchers, machine guns and rocket launchers.
If that weren’t enough, players are also given access to a speedboat outfitted with machine guns as well as a gas-powered jet pack which is not only good for getting out of jams but necessary for survival against a heavily armed helicopter.
The gadgets are Bond classics. Bond is equipped with a laser watch that can fry an enemy from across the room, sonic cufflinks which emit a high-pitched noise that disables anyone standing nearby, and even a remote controlled miniature helicopter called the “Q copter.”
Lifelike graphics will enthrall gamers of all types while the smooth controls and involving storyline based on the original movie will appeal to serious gamers looking for that next great video game experience. Debuting this fall on Playstation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, “From Russia with Love” looks to put the competition to shame by being 2005’s game of the year.