007 First Light, IO Interactive’s Bond prequel, receives generally positive reviews on multiple platforms

007 First Light nails the look and feeling of being James Bond, but beneath every quip and high-stakes action scene, it also sounds the part. From under-the-radar tracks accompanying Bond on a mission of espionage to the iconic boom of brass and guitar solos when all hell breaks loose, the soundtrack from The Flight feels like it would be right at home in any Bond movie. And that's no accident, as the duo worked to honor the rich legacy of Bond while also tackling the unique challenges that come with designing a score for a narrative-heavy game from Hitman studio IO Interactive. But throughout the entire journey, The Flight and IO Interactive wanted to emphasize how players had to earn not only the 007 codename, but also the James Bond theme to go along with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-Ltl6KIgU "When we first signed on, we obviously listened to all the Bond scores--which obviously there are a lot of them now--and the amazing thing about the Bond franchise is that it keeps reinventing itself," The Flight's Alexis Smith said. "It keeps being current, keeps up with the times. The composers of James Bond films have taken it to many different places. There's obviously a very strong, recognizable theme that almost everyone in the world knows." One added layer of authenticity with the soundtrack was the location chosen for recording it: Abbey Road. The world-famous recording studio--where The Beatles recorded several of their albums--saw several Bond movie themes recorded inside it, from Dr. No to Skyfall. "[IO] kind of didn't even ask us where we wanted to do it," Smith said. "It was just like we've got to do it at Abbey Road. And then more importantly, you've got to get the right musicians. Quite a lot of the musicians that we used had played on Bond scores of the last 20-30 years and on songs as well, so that's always good." One of the challenges that The Flight faced was finding a blend of music that would sound both timeless and contemporary. "We wanted to explore some new places with this, and obviously, each section of this game has a very strong geographical element, and we wanted to play off that with each part of the game," Smith explained. "But we also wanted to give it a fresh sound, a modern sound without being 'cutting-edge' in a way that's going to sound dated in 10 years." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gNjeadYcbg&t=186s&pp=0gcJCT8LAYcqIYzv "There's been plenty of modern touches in the scores, very specific to the composers that did them. But I think Bond, it never feels old. It always feels current, and I think that's what we were trying to do as well. We knew what sounded 'Bond' and what didn't sound Bond, so we were our own strictest judges." Finding the right sound was challenging enough, but The Flight also had to work out how to create the soundscape for 007 First Light in a manner that felt organic to the open-ended approach players were given in each mission. While the game has its fair share of scripted moments that propel players forward--like a thrilling rubbish lorry-chase getaway scene in the heart of London--there are also moments where the game allows you to explore the environment at your leisure and soak up all the small details. "An interesting thing about this game is that this is probably the game that we scored in most traditionally, kind of like we would do on a TV show or a film," Smith explained. "There are a lot of linear parts to it so that you can do it like that, but then there are obviously massive non-linear parts as well. The key to it is trying to make those still sound cinematic--still sound like you're in a Bond film, not a clunky system. "Now luckily, we've got this genius music designer (lead sound designer Ciarán Devlin-Rushe), who's thought up a system before we came on board, and then we refined it with him. The music reflects the state that Bond is in, whether he's walking around and he's not under suspicion by anyone, or he's in spy mode and there are people on the lookout for him, or he's in a massive gun battle. Those pieces of music need to be related to the geography, they need to be related to each other as well, so they can seamlessly transition between each other, so that the player feels like they're leading it." By the time that players wrap up 007 First Light, one thing is clear: James Bond is here. Ending the game with his theme tune and a teaser for a sequel feels quintessentially Bond, and The Flight didn't want to mess with perfection. "We didn't want to change that radically," Smith said. "It's a great thing, we just wanted to do our version, in the 'feeling' of First Light. But we didn't want to change it, radically change that too much, because it's just a great piece of music. 007 First Light launched on May 26, and the game quickly earned positive reviews. Critics have praised it for modernizing Bond while staying true to his character, while the smaller beats have also proven to be surprisingly memorable. While IO Interactive is aiming to build a trilogy of Bond games, recent comments by Amazon suggest that the current rights-holders to the 007 franchise could be more involved in the sequels. Meanwhile, fans of the game can look forward to a new story mission soon, featuring Lenny Kravitz's polarizing pirate king character Bawma.

IO Interactive's James Bond game 007 First Light is full of spectacular gunfights it didn't truly need.

It’s not a stretch to say that 007 First Light is perhaps the best Bond game ever made, even as you consider the far-reaching influence and legacy of GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. It’s also one of the better narrative-driven linear action-adventure games in the mould of Uncharted — there aren’t that many of those now.

In 2015, Batman: Arkham Knight launched with a succinct, straightforward tagline: "Be the Batman." With a snappy, free-flowing combat system, riddles and mysteries to solve, a large selection of gadgets, memorable boss fights, and full access to the Batmobile, this game was the ultimate Batman Simulator. Over a decade later, it feels like game studios are finally nailing down how to create gaming experiences that capture iconic characters from other properties and adapt them into compelling video game protagonists--the latest of which is IO Interactive's 007 First Light. On the surface, First Light checks off the items you'd have on a James Bond checklist: You'll travel to exotic locales, drive fancy cars, and flirt with beautiful women. There's even a title sequence with an original song, and somewhere in there is a gun-barrel sequence. But rather than being just a facsimile of a typical James Bond movie, First Light fully takes advantage of its interactive medium, letting you inhabit the character rather than experience a cheap imitation of one of his movies. They might as well have made the tagline "Be Bond." Bond sneaks up on someone in 007 First Light. The easy way to develop a video game with the 007 branding on it is to make a by-the-numbers shooter and add some stealth moments, but First Light is a far deeper experience, full of systems that are befitting of Bond's character. The hand-to-hand combat makes Bond feel like the brutal and efficient operator we know him to be, gadgets are interactive, with loads of environmental elements, and Bond can even BS his way past grunts with fairly convincing lies--all of which help to build sandboxes where players can essentially role-play as Bond and approach situations in several different ways the character might. I'd include First Light in a category that includes the Arkham series, Insomniac's Spider-Man games, and especially Indiana Jones and the Great Circle--all blockbuster games that serve as "character simulators" and really put you in the shoes of legacy heroes. And I think a big part of what makes these games successful as simulators is how much they enjoy the busywork of being those characters. Think of every time you dissected a crime scene in an Arkham game, conducted science experiments in Spider-Man 2, or discovered artifacts and opened secret doors in The Great Circle. These quiet and slower moments remind you that being these characters is more than just running around and punching bad guys (though there is plenty of that, too). These games are inclusive of every part of being that character. Similarly, First Light had so many moments that made me feel like I was living in James Bond's world. Possibly the most gleeful moments I had playing the game were whenever I got to walk around Q Lab. I got to take in the space on my own time, interacting with technicians and watching physical comedy bits where they'd get tossed around by their own technical creations. And as fun as combat and stealth was in the game, I felt more stimulated by schmoozing NPCs through dialogue choices, trying to squeeze out information for myself and truly get into Bond's headspace. Bond enters Q Labs in 007 First Light. These are the types of moments that we see on film and TV screens but haven't necessarily seen translated to games, where player input and choice are above all. Through 007 First Light and its aforementioned contemporaries, players can finally take in the details of these fictional worlds and experience them as iconic places with some complexity and nuance. We're now far removed from the licensed tie-in games that pervaded the 2000s, with many of them being rushed, relatively low-quality fare meant to coincide with the release date of a movie. I sometimes think of Activision's adaptation of Quantum of Solace as a prime example of these types of tie-ins. While it shares many of the cast members and story beats of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, it's hard for the game to beat the allegations that it's more than a Call of Duty clone (especially with Treyarch as the lead developer): a soulless shoot-'em-up unbefitting of the James Bond name. Too often, the tie-in games of the era were sloppy retellings of the events seen in a movie, repurposed into formulaic gameplay sequences that fail to stand out in any way, which often does a disservice to the original source material--and James Bond alone has a few of those. On the other end of the licensed-game spectrum, you'll see games that give iconic characters like James Bond and Indiana Jones their own original adventures, and there are plenty throughout history that have been successful. For instance, I'm fascinated by 2004's Everything or Nothing--it not only brought back franchise actors Pierce Brosnan, Judi Dench, and John Cleese, but it also included Hollywood talent like Willem Dafoe and Heidi Klum to give the game some legitimacy as a proper James Bond installment.  Bonds scales the side of a building in 007: Everything or Nothing. I never experienced Everything or Nothing firsthand, but as impressive as that cast list is, I find the premise of "it's a Bond movie, but just a video game" unappealing. I think we often don't consider how movies are a shared experience: a spectacle to witness on a giant screen with a large crowd. Whereas, video games, for the most part, are enjoyed at home, in solitude or with a few others on a couch. 007 First Light knows what it is: a video game, first and foremost, about James Bond--not a game that kind of, sort of feels like a movie. Though I sing the praises of 007 First Light and how it married James Bond tropes with modern game design and storytelling, the premise of the game being an origin story for Bond did leave a little to be desired. It was endearing to see a young James Bond learn how to knot a bowtie for the first time, but after playing games centered on characters like Indy, Spider-Man, and Batman in their professional prime, I yearn for a sequel that does the same for Bond.  IO Interactive has the foundation down with stealth and gunplay--let's get a sequel with a story about a Bond who's more adept at spying, better at keeping emotions in check, and with a more refined taste in alcoholic drinks, suits, and cars. As long as we can fully experience the world of Bond through his eyes, we'll be golden.

007 First Light has already positioned itself as one of the year's best games. A new mission is on the way, as announced at Summer Game Fest.

IO Interactive’s 007 First Light is here, and it’s just as stunning a James Bond mov — err, video game — as we hoped it would be. Pardon the confusion, the title’s engaging tutorial really feels like you’re watching a great Bond movie at times. Whether you’re a longtime Hitman fan who’s been eagerly waiting […]