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007 First Light Review – The Best James Bond Game Since GoldenEye

007 First Light is the best James Bond game in decades, blending Hitman-style sandbox gameplay with a story better than some Bond films.

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007 First Light marks the first mainline James Bond game since the commercial and critical failure of 007 Legends in 2012. With the iconic British spy’s first return in over a decade, IO Interactive had a lot of expectations on their shoulders. Thankfully, I can confirm that 007 First Light is not only the best James Bond game since GoldenEye, but arguably better than some of the more recent Bond films as well.

007 First Light’s Story Surprises 

One of the things that surprised me the most about 007 First Light was its narrative elements. Initially, I went into the game expecting a loose story framed around a series of sandbox missions with Hitman mechanics. However, within the it’s opening chapter, IO Interactive makes it clear that this is a completely different beast.

007 First Light’s narrative has incredible levels of polish that is similar to top-tier studios such as Naughty Dog. In fact, I couldn’t help but get flashes of Uncharted while playing through the James Bond origin story. And that’s a massive compliment, as IO Interactive did an amazing job fleshing out the game’s worldbuilding and characters.

Yes, it has the epic sandbox spy missions where players are given an infinite amount of interactive mechanics to explore. But it also has a great mix of heartfelt character moments and Hollywood blockbuster set pieces that are effortlessly woven into the campaign. This is truly IO Interactive’s best work to date. It’s also a perfect 007 story that faithfully adapts Ian Fleming’s iconic franchise to a modern series.

007 First Light Has Incredible Gameplay Variety

One thing 007 First Light gets really right is its hand-to-hand combat. It feels visceral, as every encounter is a knock-down, drag-out brawl between Bond and his enemies. However, what makes this really work is your ability to chain together melee attacks with spy gadgets and interactive objects in the overworld.

The combat actually feels very similar to the Batman Arkham games. Bond can block, counter, and quick-spam special gadget abilities. For example, while in the middle of a melee combo, you can tap a button to shoot a laser from your watch into your opponent’s eye, temporarily blinding........

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