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Developer: High Moon Studios
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Systems: PS3 (reviewed), Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site
0:00 I actually saw this movie in theaters but have very little recollection of what actually happened, outside the unforgettable fact that Jason Bourne is a bad-ass.
0:01 Lots of company logos flying by, including the annoying THX sound test. "
The audience is now deaf."
0:02 "Installing files to hard disk drive. Please do not turn off console." Looks like I have time to go make a sandwich.
0:05 Boy, that sandwich was tasty, but the installation is only about one-third done. Maybe I'll start on that opera I've been meaning to write.
0:10 The opera is complete! I even managed to find a theater that wants to run it! We open in six weeks, which should leave me plenty of time to get back BEFORE THIS GAME IS FREAKING DONE INSTALLING!
0:15 The opera got rave reviews and the installation is finally done! I start a new campaign on "Trainee" difficulty, because "Agent" and "Assassin" just sound too hardcore for me.
0:17 "Mediterranean Sea, two miles south of Marseilles, present day." It's raining. Someone is floating face-up on the surface of the water with a blinking rescue beacon. It's Bourne. Suddenly he's on his bed in a dingy hotel. He gets a call telling him his cover is blown and an assassin is coming after him. He has a headache. "So take an aspirin and get moving," says the phone. Doesn't seem like Bourne to mention a headache.
0:18 I'm in control on a London (?) street. A voice in my ear tells me my would-be assassin is in a South Side bar. "He's Wombosi's man. Kill him before he kills you."
0:19 Product placement #1, an out-of-place billboard for MasterCard PayPass.
0:20 Everyone's speaking French, so this is probably Paris, not London. Like it really matters.
0:21 The game instructs me to use my "Bourne Instinct" to pick out hidden things in the area. Such as a passport that was lying around on the ground. Really? It's just lying there? Also, I spot another PayPass ad.
0:22 I walk around a corner and get assaulted by a black guy in overalls, who screams "I'm gonna bury you." The game throws up the melee controls -- light, heavy and block. The punches seem to have real impact, and the animations are fast and believable. That said, the controls are kind of unresponsive. It's no Tekken.
0:23 "I've made contact. There will be more resistance in the bar," I say to my wrist. "Do what you have to," my wrist says back. I walk in and the ne'er-do-wells at the tables get up and surround me. One takes a swing at me and fills my "adrenaline meter" up a notch. I press O to take the guy down by SMASHING HIS FACE INTO A JUKEBOX! HELL, YEAH! *flex*
0:25 My first crotch punch! This is a proud moment.
0:26 I'm really enjoying the camera angles on these repetitive melee fights. They're very cinematic, if not that interesting gameplay-wise. "No sign of O'Connor, but his men have been neutralized."