You would probably not be wrong to think that I’m almost James Bonded out with the last two iterations of GoldenEye 007 that I’ve had to review. But, just before I started to take a rest, I remembered that James Bond 007: Blood Stone, the ...
You would probably not be wrong to think that I’m almost James Bonded out with the last two iterations of GoldenEye 007 that I’ve had to review. But, just before I started to take a rest, I remembered that James Bond 007: Blood Stone, the understandably lesser known James Bond title that launched on the same day as GoldenEye, had just arrived for the Nintendo DS. Despite not being available on the Wii, n-Space have put a huge amount of effort into this shooter, outdoing all my expectations absolutely. But, it’s important to learn just why Blood Stone on the Nintendo DS is just so much more interesting and, well, enjoyable. Blood Stone is your fairly run of the mill James Bond story, which is disappointing considering that it’s penned by a writer for the franchise – you would think with the second original storyline developed for a video game that bigger leaps and bounds be taken. The plot takes place across multiple locales, and sees James Bond teaming up with wealthy socialite Nicole Hunter (played by RnB actress Joss Stone) to foil a terrorist plot to release and sell weaponised biological agents. As you’d expect, there are a few twists and turns along the way and none of them are unreasonable, although you’ll probably guess them sometime during the mid-point anyway.
As I’ve said before, the Nintendo DS is not particularly suited to complete three-dimensional games attempting to nail the “realistic” artistic style – however Blood Stone looks pretty damn good for a Nintendo DS game, particularly the environments and such. Most of the character models are a bit jagged on the edges; however they all bear some resemblance to the actors who would normally play them in the real world. Enemy designs are somewhat varied although there are some repetitions along the way. What most impressed me about Blood Stone on the DS is how great some of the environments worked. During a boat chase across Greek oceans, not only can you see the trails that boats leave behind, but also a sunset in the distance with birds flying across the sky. A high speed rush through the streets and subways of Istanbul are further made realistic by crowds of onlookers as Bond speeds through a subway. There’s just so much attention to detail and effort put into the presentation of the game, and it’s a bit surprising to see this from the developers of GoldenEye on DS, which was relatively sparse in terms of looks. The game also utilises cutscenes a lot more than the other James Bond games available for the system, with each cutscene being fully voiced and featuring quite decent animation too.
The gameplay style of Blood Stone is a mixture of third-person shooting and driving segments with occasional quick time events for close quarters combat. The game has only one control scheme – you play with the stylus only, which is disappointing for those who aren’t as well versed in such controls. The most impressive gameplay component of Blood Stone however is a fully fledged cover system. Tapping an icon on the touchscreen while near an object that can be hidden behind automatically puts Bond into cover, and allows him to peek out and then fire if necessary. The cover system works so well, especially for a Nintendo DS game and will literally be your crutch during some more intense fire fights. Bond even creates his own cover in situations, flipping tables and other objects over to create his different kinds of cover. This kind of dynamic system is not something you’d usually see on a handheld, and it’s great to see some features from the HD version of Blood Stone consequently have carried over.
In addition to shooting segments, there are also several high speed chase segments that can be controlled with the stylus or the +Control Pad, although sometimes the +Control Pad can feel a bit hard on the thumbs and is thus a bit unfavourable despite its much tighter control scheme. Similarly, these driving segments are ones that will no doubt get your heart pumping, involving some interesting journeys through many different locales. The game appealed to us especially in the second level where Bond is driving through a subway and dodging oncoming trains every now and then. These segments are a good way to break up the shooting segments, and even then, sometimes the developers combine both of them and require Bond to shoot down enemies while on a moving vehicle.
In addition to the core gameplay, every now and then players will notice the 007 icon appearing on the screen, and this usually indicates a “Bond Moment” that can be performed. Bond Moments utilise the environment in clever ways to take out multiple enemies, or just to take out a single enemy stylishly. These are particularly useful in group encounters, and we found no problems trying to hit the “trigger points” to initiate these moments. When close to enemies, using the shoot button will initiate a short quick time event in which players must press a certain button to dodge an enemy’s punch, or kick and counter with their own. It’s a very simple system that works surprisingly well – stringing these attacks together during certain climactic encounters or during intense chase scenes really makes you feel like Bond.
The game features an entirely unique composition of music that fits perfectly with some of the scenes. The pieces of music played throughout fit the action perfectly and while they are original pieces, they still feel “Bond-like” enough to fit in just right. There is obviously some voice work provided by Judi Dench, Daniel Craig and Joss Stone too, with conversations flowing properly unlike in the very recently released GoldenEye 007.
Unfortunately, Blood Stone doesn’t last for much longer than you would expect it to, clocking in at just less than five hours to complete on the standard difficulty. There are “achievements” to be unlocked, but unfortunately all these do is unlock concept art. Blood Stone also features multiplayer with around six modes available, and is also online enabled. However after trying for about two days to get a match we were unsuccessful and as such unable to properly test it.
James Bond 007: Blood Stone is a great DS game that not only puts you in the shoes of Bond but also behind the wheel as Bond. Both of these experiences are great, and the combination of several very well executed gameplay elements makes this one of the best shooters on the Nintendo DS. It’s just a bit of a shame it’s over so soon.
Decent character models and absolutely stunning environmental design. Use of cutscenes is nice too.
A very intuitive cover system really sets this game apart from others, and the insertion of both driving and chase sequences is a plus too. Theres a lot of variety here, and its all great.
A unique soundtrack that, while straying from the typical Bond fare, still sounds just right. Voice work from Dench, Craig and Stone flows well although sometimes it sounds quite compressed.
Despite offering online multiplayer and a well put together campaign, the length of Bonds latest adventure is leaving much to be desired, being under five hours.
I went into Blood Stone with a quite bitter aftertaste following GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo DS. Luckily, I had a blast with Blood Stone and it surpassed almost all of my expectations.
FREEDOM WARS Remastered, Once Again and Super Onion Boy+
To pass the time.
Or in the office, we won't judge