World-famous fictional spyJames Bondhas had a persistent presence in popular culture for decades now, from the original Ian Fleming novels to the blockbuster film series and even to the world of video games. There have been numerousJames Bondvideo games released over the years, though the secret agent hasn’t appeared in a video game since 2012’s poorly-received007 Legends.
NowHitmanseries developer IO Interactivehas been given the reigns for the next James Bond video game. Currently known bit its working titleProject 007, nothing is known about IO Interactive’s Bond game beyond that it will come about as a collaboration with EON Productions and MGM, which should go a long way in ensuring its quality.
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IO Interactive is certainly a capable developer, and it will be interesting to see what shape its James Bond video game adaptation takes. But while fans wait for more news on IO Interactive’s new Bond game, they may want to check out some of the many Bond video games that have released over the last 40 years or so.
James Bond Video Games in the 1980s
The very first James Bond video game was 1982’sShaken but Not Stirred, a reference to one of the spy’s most-famous catchphrases. Many of the early James Bond video games were text adventures, withShaken but Not Stirred,A View to a Kill,James Bond 007: A View to a Kill,James Bond 007: Goldfingerfitting that description. The James Bond text adventure games were generally well-received, but it’s safe to say that most gamers are more familiar with the more traditional action and platformer James Bond games that were released in the 80s.
James Bond 007was the first of these, a side-scrolling Atari video game developed by Parker Brothers. It featured content based on four different Bond films, with bothConnery and Moore’s Bondsrepresented.James Bond 007,The Living Daylights, and007: Licence to Killwere all action or platformer games, withLive and Let Diestanding out as a racing game. None of the titles really stood out with critics or fans of the time, however.
James Bond Video Games in the 1990s
The 1990s is when James Bond video games really started taking off, though the decade started off slow.The Spy Who Loved Mewas a top-down action game, whereasOperation Stealthwas only a James Bond game in the United States.James Bond Jr.,James Bond 007: The Duel, and the Tiger ElectronicsGoldenEyehandheld game were nothing to write home about it either. It seemed as though James Bond would be doomed to mediocre licensing games forever.
But then Rare was given the license forGoldenEye 007, and while its game adaptation came out two years after the movie was in theaters, it was still a massive hit at the time of its release.GoldenEye 007on the Nintendo 64has been hailed as one of the absolute best video games ever made, earning numerous awards at the time of its release and enjoying near-universal critical acclaim.
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Not content with just being yet another film adaptation,GoldenEye 007on the Nintendo 64 really goes the extra mile. It features a fun campaign new objectives available on higher difficulty levels, plus a groundbreaking multiplayer mode with support for up to four players in split-screen.GoldenEye 007’s multiplayer modeis really what established the game as an absolute must-have for Nintendo 64 owners, and is a big reason why it remains popular to this day.
The success ofGoldenEye 007meant that expectations were suddenly higher for James Bond video games.James Bond 007on the Game Boy in 1998 didn’t exactly live up to that high bar, andTomorrow Never Diesearned mixed reviews as well.
James Bond Video Games in the 2000s
Unfortunately, James Bond video games have never reached the heights asGoldenEye 007, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Many fans have praisedThe World is Not Enoughon the Nintendo 64, as it emulates some of the best things aboutGoldenEye 007, even though it’s not quite as good. Electronic Arts released a number of James Bond video games after it got its hand on the license to varying degrees of success. Some of the games had well-received co-op modes and earned some strong scores, but none of them ever reachedGoldenEye 007levels.
One of the most notable Bond games of the EA era wasJames Bond 007: From Russia with Love. An expanded take onFrom Russia with Love, the game features thelate Sean Conneryreprising his role as Bond over 20 years since he retired his version of the character.
AfterFrom Russia with Love, Activision was the next company to acquire the James Bond license. It releasedQuantum of Solacein 2008, based on theDaniel Craig Bond filmof the same name, but it failed to generate much excitement.
James Bond Video Games in the 2010s
WithGoldenEye 007and the unrelatedGoldenEye: Rogue Agentbeing such huge financial successes, it was clear that there was significant value in the “GoldenEye” brand name. This saw Activision attempt to remakeGoldenEye 007in 2010, swappingPierce Brosnanfor Daniel Craig and making some other big changes, but still somewhat adapting scenes from the original video game.
Unfortunately, theGoldenEye 007remakemade some rather significant changes to the core gameplay. Really it was aCall of Dutyclone in a James Bond skin. It managed to earn somewhat stronger reviews than other James Bond video games released in the years sinceGoldenEye 007, but still didn’t live up to fan expectations.
TheGoldenEye 007remake was followed byBlood Stone, which had poor sales and reviews, and then the final nail in the coffin for Activision’s Bond contributions was2012’s007 Legends. While the idea of taking Daniel Craig’s Bond and letting him live out storylines from older Bond stories was interesting, the game was panned by critics, and a new Bond game hasn’t been released since.
Here’s hoping IO Interactive can do something great with the Bond license and give fans the quality Bond gaming experience they’ve been waiting for sinceGoldenEye.
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