James Bond 007: Blood Stone

Being a life-long fan of the James Bond Movies, I've long wanted to play a really good James Bond game. However, all the Bond games in the past have been made for consoles, not for the PC player like me. Finally, Blood Stone is here, and yes, there is a PC version. But, is it all worth it? I would have to say a tentative “Yes.”

Blood Stone is a third-person shooter that tries hard to give you a classic Bond experience and, for the most part, it does succeed. There is a boat chase, some car chases and chases on foot, with Bond jumping from ledge to ledge. And, yes, there are gadgets. Well, one gadget. Sort of.

The graphics are very good and, as the story takes you around the world, there is some amazing scenery to look at. The character models are excellent, and the main characters of Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Joss Stone are captured very well. I did feel, however, that Bond's movements sometimes were a bit stiff, and he tended to look a bit like a string puppet – especially when jumping.

The story is written by Bruce Feirstein, screenwriter of the movies GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, so it's a good, solid Bond story. They have also scripted in quite a few cut scenes, in order to ensure the story flows much more like an actual movie.

The audio is well done and, as you would expect, Daniel Craig and Judi Dench give their lines superbly. And Joss Stone isn't a bad voice actress either, but not in the league of the others.

One gripe I have is that you only have one gadget – and only a token on at that. And, yes, I'm aware that the last two Bond movies haven't had any gadgets at all, but even Daniel Craig wants them brought back into the films, so let me have my gripe, ok?

The only gadget is this amazing smartphone, which can hack computers, disable security cameras, act as a sonar and – yes – you can even make phone calls with it!

One very handy addition is a Mark and Execute system, much like the one used in Splinter Cell: Conviction. It's a lot of fun, and comes in very handy in the later part of the game, when the fire fights get really tough.

The length of the game was disappointing; I finished this one in around 8 hours. However, trying to stretch a spy movie story must be pretty tough, without making it too repetitious. However, with the price of games these days, 8 hours is just too short.

However, all-in-all, Blood Stone is a fun game. The opening title sequence is very well done, and typical of a Bond movie. And with Joss Stone's amazing vocals singing the title track, you'll want to make sure you sit through it! But if you're a fan of either James Bond, or third-person shooters, I can recommend this game. And, no doubt, the sequel that is so obviously on the horizon.

Superb graphics, gameplay, and plot! Perfect game for the bond fans

Reasonable fun – controls are simple and it's a good mix of driving, stealth and shooting. Graphics are an obvious console port and don't look so good on PC. It's quite short but ok value for the price.

Very poor graphics including sluggish motion control; dysfunctional programme for changing weapons & collecting ammunition; bad audio; car & boat scenes have just been poached from Need for Speed or something. I wish I could return this.

this game truely provide interaction and a great deal of action as i no sooner intalled it and started the single player mode iand i found myself in the hot seat with plenty of fun and easy to use on screen guides