007 First Light Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features for New James Bond Video Game

007 First Light from developer IO Interactive brings James Bond back to the forefront of the video game medium with a bang. 

A third-person action game with stealth elements and plenty of that Bond flair, it's an eyebrow-raiser to hear that the studio behind the Hitman series has its fingerprints all over the hyped release. 

It's very much what one would expect upon reading that: Players control Bond in a narrative-heavy game with open areas rife with exploration, experimentation, disguises and combat. 

With the overall Bond franchise sort of in what feels like a purgatory, First Light has a chance to not just bring the iconic series back to gaming well, but blaze a path for the character across all mediums, too. 

Graphics and Gameplay

First Light has all of the glitz and flair one might expect from a media property associated with James Bond, let alone a Triple-A-feeling video game release. 

All the bells and whistles are here in terms of eye-popping visuals. Fun lighting effects, reflections, colorful palettes and care for environmental details make the variety of locales scream Bond film, too, whether players soak in the MI6 offices or get lost in the dense scenes in places like Slovakia and beyond. 

Sound design is top-notch, too, whether it's crunchy-sounding combat (pelting an enemy with a thrown object found in the environment is always a treat) or fantastic voice acting fit for the big screen. 

The attention to detail extends to vehicles, a critical staple of the Hollywood iterations of the series. Forza-like trailers, this game could make, which is oh-so-fitting for the Bond-verse. 

Painting broadly, gameplay is what most should expect from a third-person game in terms of exploration and combat. Not a bad thing, either. 

There are linear gameplay moments the game dubs "narrative-driven areas," though the range is impressive. We're talking vehicle chases, moments filled with violence or even simple conversations that give the player agency over how things unfold. 

Important, no doubt, but the bigger element from the developer of Hitman is their tried-and-true open-ended areas. 

Similar to Hitman, players can tackle these open areas in any way they see fit. Stealth is one track, enabling plenty of 007 gadgetry (like quick hacks) in the process. Eavesdropping can provide intel, while pickpocketing can simply steal things like access to new areas. 

There are multiple Hitman-Bond blends of concealment, too. Players can wear disguises, but they won't fool certain enemies. But a "bluff" system gives players the chance to talk their way out of trouble too, which is fun. It plays into the character's personality and rewards discovering intel so that the bluff actually works. 

Where this game leaves the Hitman saga behind is the pacing of stealth. It's faster and there's less rote memorization of enemy routes and more on-the-fly reactionary stuff. If there's a big disappointment for stealth, it's the removal of being able to carry bodies and hide them.

Guns-blazing is another, with combat feeling punchy and diverse. There's a wide range of choice that is refreshing, too, as Bond can shoot for the legs to disarm without killing, or even throw an exhausted weapon at enemies. 

When Bond needs to throw hands, there's a solid melee/fighting loop in place, with combos, blocks and parries. Disarming an opponent is there with proper timing too, as well as certain environmental hazards able to be used, too. 

Improvisation and experimentation is again a delight. It's a little scaled down and the locations aren't as big compared to Hitman. But the counterbalance is speed, and multiple runs through the same area can produce dramatically different experiences. One could reason that this is amplified by difficulty level, as the enemy AI on the easier toggles is a cakewalk. 

Story and More

It's a started-from-the-bottom story here for players, as they take control of a 26-year-old MI6 agent just looking to earn his "license to kill" via the iconic 00 status. 

Fun tale, too, as all the actors involved do a great job of capturing the feel of a Bond film. Ditto for the twists, surprises and even boss battles that creatively keep players invested over the course of its respectable runtime. 

Collectibles include postcards, intel and more, giving Bond fans plenty of lore and things to seek out. It's a treat for completionists, too, as unlike many modern games, it really feels worthwhile to explore every little nook and cranny of maps. 

Fun sidebar: That "license to kill" is a fun narrative-gameplay marriage. Bond is a good guy. He doesn't have as much freedom as Hitman's Agent 47. It's more restrictive, but if things escalate to enemies looking to kill them, players get the "license to kill" greenlight and can do just what it says. Fun twist, and calming down a situation to the point that license gets revoked mid-area is just as satisfying as guns-blazing through everyone. 

Beyond the story, Tacsim is the heavyweight feature. This mode allows players to replay previous levels with extra modifiers and challenges for rewards. And, more importantly, fun. 

Sure, there are rewards like new gadgets and costumes, never mind leaderboards. But what will keep players coming back for more is how the quick-hitting experiences change up with just a few tweaks or modified goals. 

As mentioned, there are a few difficulty levels for players to choose from, in addition to a drove of options in the menus worth tweaking. Despite its impressive locales and sometimes dense crowds, First Light runs well, too. 

Conclusion

The new era of Bond video games has arrived. 

Past versions, beloved or panned, focused on combat. But the Hollywood screen showed from the beginning that so much more goes into being Bond. Thanks to its Hitman background, there wasn't a better developer to handle the social, open-ended aspects of the superspy fantasy here. 

Granted, it's a little less cartoonish than Hitman and more realistic, which suits Bond just fine. The narrative is gripping, the characters are great and the engrossing gameplay is versatile in a very next-gen way that is simply perfect for the source material. 

Like with any Bond film, enjoying this current effort that should stand the test of time is fun, but it's hard not to wonder how great the next one will be, too.