Born Ready

Going with an origin story was a refreshing call, and it's the hook that sold me. A Bond who hasn't earned his 00 status yet gives the franchise somewhere new to go. And it worked. By the end I wanted to watch the same story as a film, because at times First Light really felt like playing a movie. That might be the highest compliment I can give a Bond game.

My favorite part was planning each mission. There are several real approaches in every level, quiet, loud, different routes and gadgets. Deciding which one to bring and where to start made me feel like Bond, and I enjoyed that planning as much as the shooting.

Which brings me to a confession. I kept taking the path of least resistance. Even when I wanted to attempt a more elaborate solution, the straightforward one worked, so I went with it. Some of that is on me, but not all of it. The game often lets you finish a mission the easy way and doesn't do much to make the harder route feel worth it. The depth is there if you want it, but you have to want it on your own.

The enemies were uneven, and that hurt my desire to branch out. Some stretches I practically walked past guards who should have spotted me. Other times the same kind of situation turned truly hard. The difficulty swings and never settles, and I found it frustrating more than challenging.

There are a lot of gadgets. I used the same few every mission. I'm not sure if that's my habit or the game's fault, but it never forced me to try anything else.

The Hitman comparison is fair, and it makes sense since it's the same studio. But I didn't get the same urge to replay missions that I do with Hitman. With Hitman I finish a level and immediately want to go back to find the route I missed. Here, once I cleared a mission well enough, I was done with it. The potential for that loop is there, but the pull isn't.

I hope this becomes a series. An origin story is the rare fresh direction for 007, and I'd like to see the next one. If they smooth out the AI swings and give you a reason to try different approaches, it gets even better. I'd be there for it.