When IO Interactive first announced it was uptaking work on what was then known as ‘Project 007’, the internet collectively cheered. There was one practically unanimous reaction: .
I agree – it really is. Except it isn’t. Except it . Such is the strange, fluid nature of the Bond franchise. In some ways it lines up perfectly with Hitman’s sublime espionage and seductively beautiful-yet-nihilistic ‘World of Assassination’. And yet Agent 007 is a totally different sort of character to Agent 47. The way Hitman in your hands is so specific, and in my opinion no matter how perfect a fit IOI was in other ways, I was nervous about that being replicated for Bond.
So I always felt that IO’s take on Bond would live or die by the studio’s ability to turn that difference into a strength rather than a weakness. After seeing a chunk of hands-off 007: First Light gameplay at IO Interactive’s Copenhagen headquarters, I’m convinced that the mad lads have done it. Mission accomplished. The best of Hitman is carried through – but without compromising the key pillars required for Bond to be Bond.
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Central to this is Bond himself. Casting plays a role in this, with the announcement of Patrick Gibson as gaming’s official 007 a crucial piece of the picture – but much of it is mechanical. Agent 47 moves deliberately and with a stiff, almost mechanical nature. He’s literally a programmed contract killer, and so it makes sense that he is a little robotic. This also lines up well with Hitman’s mechanics, where that highly telegraphed movement plays into making sure everything is clear – if an action is safe to perform, if you’re in sight or stealth, and so on. But that isn’t Bond.