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007 First Light’s first mission wows with explosive charm and edge-of-your-seat action
C
Charlie Wacholz
We trailed Bond on the game’s first level. Tasked with tracking down a seemingly rogue 009 alongside a crew of other MI6 agents, Bond and friends are headed to a high-stakes chess match at a villa in the Slovakian mountains. Per usual, he’s in disguise—this time as a chauffeur driving his cohort to the checkerboard soiree. He’s none too happy about it, though. Quipping with his teammates in that classically dry sense of humor dealt some fun bits of exposition as they wove through the Carpathian Mountains before arriving at the castle gate. Then, he got stuck with parking lot duty.
As its title suggests, First Light starts when Bond’s career as a spy does. At a ripe 26, he hasn’t earned his 00; the infamous license to kill. And it shows. He’s brash and eager to prove himself; as we heard in the reveal trailer, this iteration of Bond is a weapon without a target.
Eager to see some action, it doesn’t take long for Bond to find his mark in a member of the event’s staff after they do something suspicious. This is where the mission started in earnest during the demo; with the person running the demo showing one of many solutions to a slightly more linear and cinematic take on IO’s stealth-puzzle, distracting bouncers with garden hoses and tranquilizer darts while using his environment to his advantage to eventually sneak into the event. It worked, but he’s spotted right away once inside—here’s where IO mainstay Agent 47 would probably knock out the event staff (or worse). Instead, Bond dryly replied that he was part of the event’s security staff tasked with testing out the perimeter before scolding the housekeeper who saw him. IO asked not to record audio or video, but this was one of many laugh-out-loud moments for the crowd of media in the demo that perfectly nailed 007’s dry-as-a-Vesper sense of humor.
It’s also a great example of how and where IO’s taken steps to tailor their puzzle-sandbox approach around the Bond vibe, with a tighter pace and more cinematic feel. It’s also slightly less slapstick-y, though still properly goofy as proven in the car chase that ensued not long after. IO skipped ahead during the demo a little bit to avoid story spoilers. But not long after entering the soiree (and dodging his commanding officer), the demo cut to Bond breaking into a much nicer car than the one he drove in with. A mysterious woman, also a French spy, offers him keys just as he hotwires the goldenrod muscle car, taking off after 009.
Watching the demo, I felt the chase was a little long. But I’m sure controlling the car—as it winds around mountainside highways, crashing through small town squares, and making a few cartoonish, slow-motion jumps that only Bond could—while he and his potential ally quip back and forth, would feel like a chase ripped straight from one of the movies. One of the better ones.
After one last jump (this time off the bed of a flatbed truck), Bond’s new friend agreed to let him take chase, which culminated in a profoundly impressive, explosive finale that left me flabbergasted.
IO clarified that you could take a quieter approach to this segment, but instead opted for something with a little more action, as appropriate for the 3rd act of a Bond film. A guard stops him, and Bond plugs them before their hands even touch their pistol, kicking things off with a bang. What followed was one of the most impressively dynamic combat sequences I’ve ever seen in this kind of game that showed off a kind of swaggering bravado appropriate for the young spy as he fought his way to an airfield. Switching between a gunfight, with Bond kicking up dropped weapons and taking advantage of explosive stuff like cars and fuel tanks and weak points in the environment to change the battlefield around him, and impressive sequences of hand-to-hand combat that showed some shockingly varied animations, with 007 even tackling a guy off of a raised platform to the ground, dealing another blow, and taking his weapon at one point.
As he ran down the airfield, which isn’t exactly an ideal place for a gunfight in a shooter that uses a cover system, the environment kept evolving with Escalades full of more enemies flanking the runway, and Bond cleverly solving the issue with a few well-placed bullets. This might’ve been my favorite part in an already excellent demo, if only because of how amazed I am with IO’s ability to use a flat section of concrete as an effective, challenging level for a shootout without just plopping random supply crates for cover.
Eventually, he almost catches up with the cargo plane he’s chasing before it shakily takes off, blowing a loading forklift into him. Bond doesn't take no for an answer, hijacking the runway vehicle, using it to catch up to the plane, just barely sneaking on in what felt like an homage to both the airport scene from Casino Royale and the A400 sequence in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, two of the best action sequences for the spy action genre in recent memory.
Once inside, he used his Q Watch to hack the cargo plane and control the Roll as he ran through the cabin, shooting open doors and using the angle of the plane to fling cargo at the guards before being flung out of the plane. In the sky, he chased down a skydiving enemy to steal his parachute pack in a tense, exciting, and explosive finale that left me on the edge of my seat.
The demo ended, and the lights came back up. My jaw did not. Aside from a slightly drawn-out car chase, I left thoroughly impressed by and excited for everything that IO has done with the character and IP. This young pup might not be the cheeky Connery, suave Brosnan, or cool Craig that’s defined the Bond series’ on-screen presence for over half a century, and I think that’s going to turn off some fans—especially given the unexpected amount of influence from the Mission: Impossible series here. But that doesn’t mean IO’s take misses its mark. From the writing to the gadgets to the pacing of the levels and action, I have absolute faith that First Light will be a Bond story through and through, even if he doesn’t have his 00 or the quieter confidence of a more experienced secret agent.
Wishlist 007 First Light now on Epic Games Store.