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When a new game is announced I automatically make a judgement. Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s usually pretty clear if a game is going to be potential classic material or just another title sent out to feed on a particular set of fans. The Bourne Conspiracy from Sierra Entertainment absolutely fell into the latter category, but on a blurry-eyed Wednesday morning at Games Convention 2007 the game impressed me in a way I simply wasn’t expecting.
The first point to note, and perhaps the most important, is that this isn’t a simple movie licensed video game. Based on the events of both the book and movie The Bourne Identity, the game has a lot of material to draw on and will give Bourne fans more of an insight into the main character. Players will see moments from the movie depicted in the video game, but don’t expect to see Matt Damon.
My demo of the game started in the US Embassy in Zurich, with Bourne trying to escape within a certain time limit. This level showed the game’s Escape and Evade gameplay, which features a mixture of stealth and fast-paced movement. The second level was a flashback to events prior to those in The Bourne Identity and was much more action focussed, this time taking place on the Marseille waterfront.
From the two levels shown to me it’s clear that the developers High Moon have really nailed the look and feel of Bourne. From a combat perspective Bourne is the exact same killing machine that you recognise from the movies, and this is reflected by insta-kills triggered when you successfully match on-screen button commands. It’s not that simple though, as these kills require you to build up your adrenaline meter by using good old fashioned hand-to-hand combat.
Bourne doesn’t need a weapon to be deadly and this was abundantly clear during the demo. The environment itself will be a major tool in your arsenal, with almost every object being a hazard to enemies. If you’re fighting next to a wall, expect Bourne to slam a guy into it; stand next to a concrete statue and expect a guy’s head to be smashed into it – I think you get the picture.
Of course, guns come into play too, and here many of the same gameplay mechanics come into play. Taking out enemies will once again fill your combo meter and you can also trigger one shot kills, which appear to be especially useful during moments when Bourne is severely outnumbered. A cover system also comes in handy, with Bourne taking position behind a wall when the A-button is pressed.
Being an elite trained killer, Bourne has the upper hand on the goons attempting to take him out, so this has to be reflected in the game. The guys at High Moon have developed a system called Bourne Awareness, which effectively highlights things in the environment and assists with shooting. It’s perhaps a little unrealistic, but it seems to do a good job of highlighting Bourne’s skills without giving him super-human-like powers.
Being an action game, boss battles will feature heavily and be more than one-off encounters. To conclude the demo Bourne faced off against Solomon, a giant guy who boards the dock after arriving with his crew on a tugboat. This encounter is just one of the times you’ll face off with Solomon, and the same will be true of other enemies in the game. This was done to build more of a story around each boss rather than have them as single climactic battles as in other games.
Despite being some way from completion it’s clear that a lot of effort has been put into giving the game the same look as the movies. The camera has a slight handheld, shaky-cam feel to it and the game’s colouring is movie quality. What really pulls you in is the relentless pace and dramatic camera angles, which thankfully don’t seem to detract from gameplay.
Many games try to mimic movies and fail. Even the plethora of official movie licensed titles often fail to offer anything but a slight resemblance to their namesakes, but The Bourne Conspiracy seems different. Freed from the constraints of a typical movie license, this project has all the style of the hit films but without the fast approaching release date to hold it back.
