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007: Blood Stone

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Blood Stone 007
Blood Stone cover art
Developer(s)Bizarre Creations
Publisher(s)Activision
Square Enix (Japan only)
Writer(s)Bruce Feirstein
Composer(s)Richard Jacques
SeriesJames Bond
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Action-adventure, third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

James Bond 007: Blood Stone[1] is an action-adventure video game, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Activision for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows platforms. It is the 24th game in the James Bond series although it is not a direct sequel to any game; it is the first game since Everything or Nothing to have an original story. The game was confirmed by Activision on July 16, 2010.[2] The game was released on November 2, 2010 in North America and released on November 5, 2010 in Europe.[3] Activision's GoldenEye 007 (2010) was released on the same day respectively in each region.[4] Blood Stone features the voices and likenesses of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Joss Stone. James Bond 007: Blood Stone was the final game developed by Bizarre Creations before it closed their doors on February 18, 2011.

Gameplay

The game is a third-person shooter with elements of hand-to-hand combat. Some design features are retained from Quantum of Solace. There are some driving sequences. Blood Stone features a focus aim system which allows players to lock onto targets after melee takedowns, not too dissimilar to the "Mark and Execute" feature from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction.[5] There is also a multiplayer mode consisting of up to 16 players that will pit spies versus mercenaries.[6] Alongside team deathmatch and other standard game modes there are massive objective-based battles where players have to work as a team to attack or defend various spy-themed goals. The player also pilots several vehicle types throughout the course of the game.[7]

Plot

See also: List of characters in Blood Stone 007

The story begins with Greco (Luis Soto), an international terrorist planning a suicide attack on the G-20 Summit at the Acropolis structure in Athens. M (Judi Dench) sends Bond (Daniel Craig) to investigate and prevent an attack from occurring. After a brief encounter with Greco on his yacht, Bond pursues him through Athens. After a second confrontation with Greco, Bond stops a bomb-laden car destined for the Acropolis structure, saving the G-20 summit from potential disaster.

The next morning, Bond is assigned to rescue a missing professor, Malcolm Tedworth. Tedworth was originally feared dead until an anonymous tip and tracing of his cell phone led MI6 to an Istanbul construction site. Bond investigates the area that Tedworth’s phone signal was lost in. In the catacombs, Tedworth is interrogated by a man called Bernin who demands the password to a USB drive. Tedworth submits to the torture and is promptly executed. Bond interrupts, pursues Bernin by car and on foot, ending at an old coliseum. Bernin however manages to get the data extracted, only to reveal Stefan Pomerov's name to Bond before being kicked off a ledge.

After learning that Pomerov is going to be in Monaco, Bond travels there, meeting with his contact, a wealthy jewellery designer named Nicole Hunter (Joss Stone). She takes Bond to one of Pomerov's casinos. Nicole distracts Pomerov while Bond sneaks in and breaks into his safe. Bond recovers documents and a camera that contains a video of Tedworth’s interrogation. On it, Tedworth reveals that he was the lead scientist who was trying to create an antidote to both Smallpox and Anthrax to cure soldiers in the event of a biological attack. Having been discovered, Bond shoots his way out of the casino and escapes with Nicole. M informs Bond that the files he found were invoices for sophisticated chemical manufacturing equipment designated to a defunct Siberian chemical refinery owned by Pomerov.

In Siberia, Bond and Nicole enter the refinery with Bond posing as her bodyguard. Nicole enters the building to get into Pomerov's office while Bond is contacted by Tanner at Q Branch and says they found Tedworth's research but were locked out before they could read them, Bond locates and manages to gain access to the main computer As he does so, Bond discovers that Pomerov built a bio-factory and is manufacturing toxins. Bond makes his way to a central control room where he triggers a meltdown. Nicole and Bond pursue Pomerov's train by car, which is meant to smuggle the toxins out of the country. Bond follows the train to a port where the toxins are loaded onto a plane that takes off along the river with Pomerov inside. Using a boarded hovercraft, Bond damages the plane and boards it, killing Pomerov in the process by shooting the emergency exit, sucking him out of the plane. The bio-weapons are recovered, and Bond and Nicole part ways. He tells M that the tip about the bio-weapons was fabricated and it was set up by someone who wanted Pomerov dead. Using Bernin's cell phone, Bond finds a lead from Bangkok. Bond contacts Chinese intelligence officer Colonel Ping (David K.S. Tse) in Bangkok. Meeting at an aquarium, Ping tells Bond he had a team in Geneva following a lead on a man called Rak (James Goode) who operates out of Bangkok. Before Ping can reveal more, an assassin kills him. Bond pursues the assassin on the rooftops of Bangkok and then chases him by a tow truck while the assassin pilots a dump truck, Bond drives off a unfinished bridge and ends up getting the dump truck to crash and the assassin is killed. Bond tries to get background information on Rak from M while evading the police. Then Bond meets up with a old friend known as Silk (Richard Dillane) who tells him where Rak's secret hideout is; when Bond leaves, Silk informs someone where Bond is going and also says to make sure Bond does not make it. Bond is caught by Rak's henchmen and is captured.

Bond is taken to Burma where he is tortured. Shortly after he escapes, Bond engages in multiple fights with Rak. The conflict enters its climax when Bond fights Rak on a catwalk in a dam, eventually knocking him off. Rak tries to call for mercy, but Bond has already deduced who Rak's employer is. Bond leaves Rak to fall to his death, only for Rak to land on top of his Osprey. Bond shoots Rak, who accidentally shoots it up with a grenade launcher, causing it to blow up with Rak still on it.

Back in Monaco, Nicole is revealed to be the one who kidnapped Tedworth and is planning another kidnapping. She drives off in her car and Bond follows her, ultimately cornering her on a bridge. After being confronted, Nicole reveals that she did it to prove herself to a rich and powerful man. Bond tries to get his name but she refuses to give it claiming he’s bigger than everything, and that he was watching them. Suddenly, an unmanned drone flies toward them and shoots Nicole dead. M then contacts Bond and asks him if everything is all right. He claims that she will need a new contact in Monaco and prompts her to stay in contact. As Bond signs off, he is left alone on the bridge with Nicole dead. As the game is about to show the credits, a message is displayed that says, "James Bond will return" which suggests a sequel.

Development

The game was first hinted at on April 21, 2010 when British store HMV listed Blood Stone as "coming soon".[8] Then on April 23, Activision reserved a web domain name called bloodstonegame.com.[9] The game was officially announced in an Activision press release on July 16.[10] Famed James Bond film writer Bruce Feirstein was chosen to pen the story for the game. The game itself is built on developer Bizarre Creations' Bespoke engine, which was first created for the game The Club.[11] Ben Cooke, who is Daniel Craig's stunt double in the films, has provided the motion capture choreography for Bond's digital animation. He is credited as the game's stunt coordinator.[11]

The game's soundtrack is composed by British composer Richard Jacques. Joss Stone provides an original musical track to the game titled "I'll Take It All" written and performed by her and Dave Stewart. The song is featured exclusively in the game.[12]

Reception

Blood Stone has received mixed reviews from critics. Video game talk show Good Game's two presenters gave the game a 7 and 5.5 out of 10 saying "it's not a AAA game, and it's not very long... But he only just got here but it's got some class." They stated the story itself was confusing however there were some cool moments and exciting cutscenes. They said the cover system was standard but slick, yet fights in the game felt too repetitive in nature. However, silent takedowns are very satisfying.[22]

Sequel

Several leaked photos were found online depicting a possible new game in the Bond series currently being developed by Activision's studio, Raven Software. Like Blood Stone, this iteration appears to be played from the third-person perspective and could include tactical combat similar to recent releases in the Splinter Cell series. Not much else is currently known about the status of the game including if it's a straight sequel to Blood Stone or an early version of a game based on Bond 23. It is also not known when this game is going to be released.[23] [24][25]

References

  1. ^ http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=525996
  2. ^ Kris Pigna (2010-07-16). "Activision confirms Bizarre's "James Bond Blood Stone"". 1up. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  3. ^ Wesley Yin-Poole (2010-10-22). "Activision confirms James Bond 007: Blood Stone release dates". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  4. ^ Guy Cocker (2010-07-16). "James Bond 007: Blood Stone confirmed". Gamespot. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  5. ^ Martin Robinson (2010-07-16). "James Bond 007: Blood Stone First Look". IGN. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  6. ^ Andrew Laughlin (2010-07-16). ""James Bond 007: Blood Stone" revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  7. ^ Jerry Paxton (2010-10-19). ""James Bond 007: Blood Stone Driving and Vehicles Trailer" revealed". GamingShogun. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  8. ^ Tor Thorsen (2010-04-21). "James Bond driving game's cover blown". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  9. ^ Tor Thorsen (2010-04-23). "GoldenEye, Assassin's Creed, Driver, Blood Stone URLs reg'd". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  10. ^ Activision Blizzard (2010-07-16). ""James Bond 007: Blood Stone" Press Release". Activision. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  11. ^ a b MI6 (2010-07-16). "First story, character and gaming tidbits for 'Blood Stone'". MI6.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Johnny Cullen (2010-07-16). "Activision confirms Bizarre's James Bond: Blood Stone". VG247. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  13. ^ "Blood Stone Reviews at Metacritic". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  14. ^ "Blood Stone Reviews at Metacritic". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  15. ^ Quillen, Dustin (2010-11-04). "Blood Stone Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
  16. ^ Turi, Tim (2010-11-02). "GoldenEye 007 Review". Game Informer. Retrieved 2010-11-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Keast, Matthew (2010-11-02). "GoldenEye 007 Review". Future US, Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  18. ^ McShea, Tom (2010-11-04). "GoldenEye 007 Review for Wii". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  19. ^ "GoldenEye 007 Video Game, Review". GameTrailers.com. 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  20. ^ Harris, Craig (2010-11-02). "GoldenEye 007 Review". IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  21. ^ Minsker, Evan (2010-11-02). "Goldeneye 007 review: For England, James". AOL, Inc. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  22. ^ Bendixsen 5.5/10, O'Donnell 7/10 (29 November 2010). "James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review". Season 5. Episode 42. ABC Television. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ http://au.gamespot.com/wii/action/jamesbondquantumofsolace/news.html?sid=6284891
  24. ^ http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/gaming_activision_raven_first_look.php3
  25. ^ http://www.wouldyoukindly.com/rumor-raven-software-reworking-on-new-007-title-x-men-follow-up/

External links

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