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: this is a match made in heaven.
I agree – it really is. Except it isn’t. Except it is. 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 feels 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.