007 Legends Review – A Bond Adventure, That Coulda Been Much Better
Right off the bat, Eurocom’s 007 Legends takes us into a freefall. The game’s opening sequence has our beloved James Bond, a version of Daniel Craig, getting blown off a train by a friendly sniper’s misguided shot and taking a refreshing dive into a river. Think Skyfall and Eve Moneypenny. That’s kinda the theme throughout the game – falling from grace, and not living up to its potential. Let’s take a look at this 007 Legends Review.
Downfall From The Pinnacles of GoldenEye 007
Falling from the pinnacle of GoldenEye 007‘s innovation this poor excuse of a James Bond game is more like a blooper reel of the franchise’s rich history. Everywhere it should be hitting high speed, it’s more like watching a puppy trip over its own paws. With its cringe-worthy AI, mechanics that make stealth feel like a bad joke, and some mind-numbing boss battles, this game is like a skit that’s lost its punchline.
Even the multiplayer modes and challenges, which are pretty decent in comparison, can’t help the game stand back up. It’s like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound – ineffective, to say the least.
Wasted Opportunities: From Iconic Moments to Uninspiring Adaptations
The sad part? The folks at Eurocom had a goldmine of source material. Think about it: legends from the era of Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day, and Moonraker.
They replaced Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and others with Daniel Craig and there’s no other Bond option – another missed opportunity. Craig’s voice is offered by a less-than-inspiring Timothy Watson, which kinda says it all.
Gameplay: The Twilight Zone
Iconic moments are there, buried under all the rubble, like the famous Auric Goldfinger‘s “I expect you to die” scene. But they’re like glitter sprinkled over a pile of garbage. No matter how much you try to polish it, the smell still seeps through. Levels feel like you’re stuck in the Twilight Zone, caught in an endless loop of mediocre gunplay and humdrum set pieces.
And then we have the formula – Bond in enemy territory with guns blazing, hacking and capturing data with his oh-so-convenient smartphone, and ending the level with a fistfight against iconic villains, although this is fun at times.
But don’t worry, Eurocom tries to spice things up with variety in gameplay. If by variety you mean half-hearted attempts that seem to be concocted by someone sleepwalking through the development process. You’ve got your basic stealth mechanics – crouching, tip-toeing, all that good stuff.
But remember, we’re in the Twilight Zone. You can’t do anything with the bodies of the guys you off. So, it’s like playing hide-and-seek with a ticking bomb. You’re sneaking around, trying to silence as many baddies as you can before some patrolling guard stumbles over a body and all hell breaks loose.
And this laughable version of stealth is occasionally swapped out for all-out gunfights. Not much better, let me tell you. They’ve even included some mandatory stealth sequences where being seen means instant failure. If only Bond had a way to peek around corners. Or maybe if the prompts to work the controls were more reliable.
The fistfights, fun at first but not the most difficult and they get to be a little monotonous even against the iconic character Jaws. You’ll even breeze through him like a knife through butter. There’s a feature where you can use your controller’s trigger to dodge blows, but it’s about as challenging as remembering to breathe.
Tbf, it should only take 5 hours max to complete this game. It’s like a meandering slog through a swamp, made worse by the absence of a coherent narrative. And just when you think you’ve had enough, the action grinds to a halt after the Moonraker level. There’s a promise of a Skyfall episode as a DLC, but at this point, it’s like waiting for a bad movie sequel.
And then there’s the poor visual quality – it’s like looking at a faded old Polaroid. The enemy AI is about as sharp as a bowling ball, running into walls or shooting straight into obstacles. Frame rate? Let’s just say you might be able to brew a cup of coffee during the slower parts.
Bright Spots: The Multiplayer Mode
However, 007 Legends does have one saving grace – multiplayer mode. Here, the campaign’s stealth is traded for action-packed arenas, Bond-themed objectives, and the chance to play as iconic Bond characters. Yet, despite these perks, the servers are eerily quiet.
At least they brought back the beloved four-player split-screen mode from GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. The challenge mode with its specific objectives adds a bit of spice to the otherwise dull campaign levels.
007 Legends Review – Coulda and Shoulda Been Better
007 Legends is like a poorly baked cake, which had the potential to celebrate over 50 years of Ian Fleming’s Bond legacy. Instead, it serves up a piece that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
The missed opportunities are as numerous as stars in the sky – from the disjointed narrative to the impersonal characters, and gameplay that feels more like a rough Bond-themed mod of Call of Duty.
Despite some multiplayer and challenge mode perks that might attract a few hardcore Bond fans, for most players, this Bond world is somewhat of a let down.
