Like a bolt from the blue, IO Interactive announced they are working on a new James Bond game, currently tagged Project 007. While there have been several James Bond games in the past decades, only Golden Eye on the Nintendo 64 really lived up to the amazing potential that the franchise offers.
As a leading developer of stealth-based games, IO Interactive and the James Bond franchise looks like a match made in heaven, but simply cloning the ‘Hitman template’ and keeping Bond in the foreground won’t cut it, as there are some things they absolutely have to get right. Here are some things we’d like to see in the new game.
10 Dynamic Combat Systems
The original hitman games, which formed the basis for one of the most popular video game movies worldwide, offered a little more freedom with the level of subterfuge needed to complete a mission. Players could shoot firearms and destroy the targets by sprinkling them with submachine gun rounds or, for those who wanted to achieve a mission value of ‘Ghost’, stealth could be implemented so that no guard was alerted to the kill.
In the more recent hitman games, the focus on strategy was so strong that players could choose between a wide variety of low-profile options, severely discouraging total combat. As a result, gunfights with guards felt slow and clumsy, almost like you were playing the game wrong. This was fine for the hitman series, but it doesn’t work with Project 007where combat has to feel tight and accurate, encompassing everything from melee action to super-range weaponry.
9 A balanced environment
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A hallmark of IO Interactive is their ability to create open sandbox environments where multiple factors and game mechanics work together in real time to create opportunities and constraints. In such an environment, the player is encouraged to observe, analyze and evaluate these factors before taking any action.
This type of environment is perfect for a slower puzzle game, but probably won’t accommodate the fast-paced action elements players are asking for Project 007. That said, creating a linear-style game, directing players to a set route, would be a huge waste of the developer’s talents. The challenge for IO Interactive will therefore be to create an environment where both elements are in balance.
8 Gadgets, lots of gadgets
This one is painfully obvious, but shouldn’t be overlooked. One of the most iconic aspects of the James Bond franchise is the use of gadgets and hidden weapons. This is an area where the developer can have a lot of fun with the game.
By offering a range of great gadgets for the player to use as they see fit (albeit with a specific purpose in mind), IO Interactive will create uniquely fun interactions and leave users wanting more.
7 Espionage meets action
As we know, James Bond is a spy and, as expected, this requires a certain amount of stealth, whether blending into a social setting or staying completely out of sight. In this regard, we are in safe hands with IO Interactive, who have mastered this element of gameplay.
But James Bond is also about fast-paced action scenes, gigantic explosions, dramatic scenery and over-the-top drama. It is here that the developer may be entering uncharted territory. Finding the balance between these two elements will be crucial to Project 007 become one of the best spy games of all time.
6 Witty dialogue and spicy one-liners
The game mechanics of the hitman series didn’t lend very well to meaningful conversation between characters. By suppressing the number of dialogue options with NPCs, the developers were able to avoid awkward moments that could ruin the illusion.
Of Project 007, the player expects witty, off-the-cuff dialogue with cheap comments and ironic one-liners. Perhaps this can be achieved through short cutscenes or interactive dialogue sequences where the player can decide which one-liner to drop.
5 Vehicles and high-speed chases
This is where IO Interactive will have to work outside of its comfort zone, because everyone who spends their hard-earned money on this game wants fast cars, helicopters, speedboats and tanks.
To get the most out of vehicle chase missions, the scale of Project 007 will have to be bigger than anything they’ve made before. Much bigger.
4 Memorable characters
Scarred bald thugs, metal-biting henchmen and bodyguards in razor-lined tops. These are the kind of characters that make us sit up and pay attention and are a trademark of the James Bond world.
To stay true to the franchise, Project 007 can’t cut corners in this area. While the game’s original nature offers a blank slate, we’d love to see the developers get creative with the game’s villains, henchmen, and side characters.
3 Different types of stealth
With its cocktail parties, rich business dealings and glamorous private islands, James Bond and the “social stealth” element that IO Interactive excels at blends together like a martini (shaken, of course) and olives.
However, sometimes we want a return to the more traditional, Metal Gear Solidlike stealth mechanics. Crawling faster, which is more centered around the guards’ patrol patterns, than hiding in plain sight dressed as a florist.
2 Massive Action Set Pieces
While the linear nature of Duty games would not fit this endeavor, the big action scenes the game is famous for, such as the ‘Shock and Awe’ scene in Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (where Private Jackson is on the run from a nuclear blast in a helicopter), would work really well in Project 007.
There is so much room for interactive set pieces in the new bond game, and we hope this, as well as a grand opening scene, is one aspect that IO Interactive gets just right.
1 Respect the franchise
IO Interactive is giving away very little on their website, other than that the game will be an “entirely original Bond story” and it will be “the very first James Bond origin story.” This gives an exciting foundation for them to build the game on, but the coveted source material comes with a lot of pressure and responsibility.
Assuming IO Interactive gets the game mechanics, combat style, and gameplay just right (and there’s little reason to suspect they won’t), it will all have been for naught if they didn’t get the essence of the James Bond franchisee. This means that the characters (especially 007) have to be in the right place, the atmosphere has to be right, the action scenes have to be bold and, above all, make the game very fun to play.
Project 007 is currently under development.
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