My review for 007 First Light
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#007firstlight #review #opinion #impression #fullgame
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For more content check me out at https://www.youtube.com/@realcsomm
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00:00It has come to my attention there is this new Bond game, came out relatively recently.
00:05I went to Steam to check it out and, I don't know about you guys, but when I saw this,
00:10I had a hunch this is not going to be a very good experience.
00:14However, that also sparked my curiosity to see if my hunch was accurate and, lo and behold,
00:19I was right.
00:21Let's unpack it.
00:22As soon as I booted up the game, I saw the first problem.
00:26I mean, it's right there in your face, you cannot really avoid it.
00:30As you can see, this is how Bond looks like.
00:33Now, I understand we're talking about young Bond, but that is a whole nother problem in
00:38itself, which I'm going to unpack later.
00:40Here, I'm pretty much talking about my first impression of the character, the way it looks,
00:46which is basically what carries the whole franchise.
00:49And, I mean, just look at that face and that hideous car.
00:53And I shit you not, first thing that came to my mind is that this is fucking Henry of
00:59Scalets.
00:59And would you look at that?
01:01I was actually right.
01:02To put it plain and simple, this isn't Bond.
01:05Not in a million years can this guy be Bond.
01:09And what I did was a very simple exercise.
01:12I put faces of all the Bond actors from the movies in the AI and told it to make him
01:17in
01:17his 20s.
01:18And this is what came out.
01:19I mean, seriously, are the devs taking their piss?
01:23Me, a common pleb with the help of AI, can design a better, more handsomer young Bond.
01:30Well, fuck me.
01:32The only question that comes to mind is, how can you mess this up?
01:36And what's even worse, this game took seven years to develop.
01:40Seven years.
01:42And this is the best you can do?
01:45Amazing.
01:46Anyway, it's pretty obvious to me this is not a James Bond game.
01:50I mean, you fucked up the most important element of the whole franchise.
01:54And just because it has 007 plastered all over it doesn't make it a Bond game.
01:59You had one fucking job to nail James Bond a proper way.
02:04And the best thing that you can do is give us fucking Jamie Bent.
02:08And this alone shatters the whole Bond experience for me, because when I look at this guy, it's
02:15just some kind of a random twerp who is pretending to be Bond.
02:18It's as simple as that.
02:20Now, I know what you might say.
02:22It's very hard to find an actor that looks like my AI picture.
02:26Yeah, I definitely agree with this.
02:28But we are talking about a game, not a movie.
02:31You can do motion capture and voice acting with whoever you want.
02:36But you just put that face mask over them, and that's it.
02:39You won the game.
02:40You don't need to copy-paste the voice actor's likeness.
02:44And there are plenty games to prove it.
02:47That's the beauty of video games.
02:49You can do whatever the fuck you want.
02:51But for some reason, they decided to use the face of the voice actor.
02:55So yeah, pretty much they put themselves in a corner.
02:58And that's basically that.
03:00But enough how James Bond looks like, or in my case, Jamie Bent.
03:04And let's talk about story and gameplay.
03:07And if you think things are better in this department?
03:10No, they're definitely not.
03:12Let's start with the story first.
03:14In my opinion, it has several problems.
03:16First problem is the initial pacing.
03:18You pretty much have two tutorials.
03:21Why?
03:21No freaking clue why.
03:23I mean, I know why.
03:24It's because the whole thing is set up really fucking bad.
03:26This part of the game drags too much.
03:29And while I was initially invested a bit, I just wanted to get rid of that section as
03:34soon as possible.
03:36Also, during that initial stages of the game, you figure out how Jamie Bent becomes MI6 operative
03:41alongside with his buddies.
03:43And this, by far, is the most laughable thing ever.
03:46He is just some random dude who is an ordinary Navy serviceman, has no prior training in anything
03:54more complex, at least from what I can tell, and suddenly, in just six months, he becomes
03:59a field operative?
04:01Really?
04:02This is what you conjured?
04:04Wouldn't it be better if he was some kind of a special forces guy who has a really good
04:09mindset for these things and that kinda attracts the attention of MI6?
04:13Or maybe because he is handling various situations in his unorthodox way?
04:18Apparently not, because of all the possible backstories, I think the devs picked the most
04:23ridiculous one.
04:24And speaking about him being some random dude, as soon as he stepped into MI6, they pretty
04:31much showed him everything.
04:33And I'm not talking about Q's workshop or stuff like that.
04:36I'm talking about mega, giga, ultra secret things that should not be shown to a fresh
04:43recruit in any way, shape, or form.
04:46When I saw what was happening, I immediately screamed, saying, why the fuck are you showing
04:51him these things?
04:52He's fucking nobody.
04:53I guess MI6 lowered their standards so much, just like gamers these days who are tolerating
04:59this fucking nonsense.
05:00Then we have the problem with story being too predictable.
05:03I might be too perceptive for my own good, so that might be my fault, but as soon as
05:08I've seen certain characters and I was introduced to certain plot elements, I immediately knew
05:13how things are gonna unfold.
05:14There is no significant mystery, no significant plot twists, nothing of the sorts.
05:20Nothing memorable, really.
05:21You just go through the story, you do stuff, that's about it.
05:25However, now that I think about it, there was one moment in the story that was kinda,
05:29ah, I didn't expect that, but the whole thing felt like it was mega convenient to drop into
05:35the story, like Deus Ex Machina moment.
05:37Which then makes it pretty damn cheap, because that particular plot thread could have been
05:42sold in so many ways that are much better instead of, you know, pushing you on this
05:47wild goose chase.
05:49Also, you know what's really funny?
05:51The last three hours of the game felt like they were dragging so much.
05:54I just wanted to finish it and be done with it.
05:58And it wasn't a very long story, mind you.
06:00It took me around 15 hours to complete.
06:02One would think, because of the length, that it would be important to make an effort in
06:07order for the story to be more interesting and memorable, but apparently, that wasn't
06:11the case.
06:12Next problem are the boss fights.
06:14It has been some time before I experienced boss fights this fucking bad.
06:19And I'll give you a concrete example.
06:21So our boy, Jamie Bend, ends up fighting this highly trained assassin in this warehouse or
06:27whatever.
06:28And in order to defeat him, you pretty much have to use environment to stun him three times.
06:33And then you sort of finish him like he is some sort of a muppet.
06:37Also, if you get caught by him, he shoots you, but you can run away from him like a pleb.
06:43And that's about it.
06:44And the same gimmick happens again at the end of the game.
06:47And I gotta say, I was pretty much shocked when I saw this.
06:50I actually thought this was some kind of a joke, but oh no.
06:53It was 100% serious business.
06:56These bloody boss fights felt dated and awkward, like I've gone back in time, somewhere around
07:01PS2, PS3 era.
07:03And speaking about bosses, there's a situation where you kill this boss dude by yeeting him
07:08off a significant height and then dropping two dozen or so heavy steel pipes on him.
07:13And I was like, okay, he is done and done.
07:16And then this motherfucker comes back, being cybernetically enhanced or all that nonsense,
07:21and you gotta fight him again.
07:23I mean, I swear to god, you cannot make this shit up.
07:26There are other issues with the story, and I could talk about this for hours, but to conclude,
07:31I would say overall, the story is below average, almost poor.
07:36There are times where it makes no sense whatsoever, and there are times when it tries to do something,
07:42but ultimately, it falls flat.
07:44And the funny thing about this whole situation, I didn't have any expectations whatsoever,
07:49and I still got fucking disappointed.
07:52Okay, enough about the story.
07:54Let's talk about gameplay elements.
07:56First one is combat.
07:57You have fistfighting, aka melee, and gunplay.
08:00When it comes to melee combat, you've seen it once, you've seen all of it.
08:05If you see yellow flash, you parry, and if you see red flash, you dodge.
08:09Very fucking basic.
08:11Animations are always the same, and basically, there isn't a lot of variation to begin with.
08:16The biggest problem is the camera.
08:18If you happen to hug a corner during fisticuffs, you cannot see shit.
08:23It's a pretty bland and basic system, as far as I can tell.
08:27Gunplay, on the other hand, is okayish.
08:30You have several rifle and handgun variants, so not great, not terrible.
08:35You can use cover, but not very effectively, because the enemies are more often than not
08:40destroying it, so you are always on the move.
08:42That isn't a problem by itself, because it kinda makes the combat more fluid.
08:46The problem, however, is the plot armor.
08:48Jamie Band has plenty of it.
08:50Now, I know what you might say.
08:52Every bond has plot armor.
08:54Which is true, but this much, absolutely fucking not.
08:58This motherfucker can tank some serious fucking damage, regenerates his health like he is a
09:03wolverine, and on top of that, shows no signs of going through hell and back.
09:09Which is also another problem when it comes to any realism or believability of the character.
09:14I can understand there should be some wiggle room, but this much is completely detrimental
09:19to the character, as well as to the plot.
09:22You wouldn't notice this if the game wasn't throwing waves of enemies at you on a regular
09:28basis, but that's a thing in this game.
09:30Wave after wave after wave.
09:32Initially, I was okay with it, because the waves kinda felt smaller, but then the game
09:37started overdoing it to a point where you are fighting, I don't know, 20 dudes times 3,
09:42which is what, 60 people, one wave after another.
09:45And that's also another point when I was talking about how he got trained in 6 months, because
09:49if this guy can beat all those elite mercenaries after only 6 months of combat training, then
09:57there is something seriously fucking wrong with this game.
10:01And since we are talking about this particular subject, I know how he can do it, because
10:05the enemy AI is dogshit.
10:07There are so many examples of this, but my favorite is me fighting 3 dudes in the basement,
10:12you know, we are kicking each other, we are wrecking each other, everything that you can
10:16possibly imagine to no end, and I can clearly see 2 guards down the corridor just chilling
10:20next to the door, doing absolutely fucking nothing.
10:23And nobody can tell me there is no way in hell they cannot see what the fuck is happening
10:28in front of them.
10:28And that's the level of bad we are talking about here.
10:31As you might expect, there are driving sections, or like I would say, car chases, but it's pretty
10:38bad.
10:38I didn't expect tons of freedom in that sense, but the car handling, that was something that
10:43I certainly was expecting to be good.
10:46The reality, however, is pretty different.
10:48Cars handle like a log.
10:50No finesse, no nothing.
10:52And at that point, it would be better if it was on rails, because this is just ridiculous.
10:58One would expect to have interesting car chases like in the movies, but nope.
11:02Ain't gonna happen here.
11:03Pretty much, you just press forward, or W on your keyboard.
11:07Maybe here and there, you press left, right, there is this handbrake option, but more often
11:12than not, because of the handling, you just slam into the walls, left, right, and center,
11:16but miraculously, you can always finish the car chases.
11:20And it looks absolutely fucking pathetic.
11:22Also, I've noticed another thing in this game.
11:25Why the fuck are there so many cliffhanging, traversing, and platforming sections?
11:30James Bond isn't fucking Nathan Drake.
11:33Have you ever seen, in any Bond movie, extensive climbing the way it was done in this game?
11:39No, because he isn't that type of a character.
11:41So why are you shoving that stuff down our throats?
11:44I could endure some of it, but this is a continuous theme.
11:48It's virtually impossible to have a level where this isn't the case.
11:52And you know what's even funny?
11:54Even in the game, they're like joking, ha ha ha, they should've gave us a grappling
11:57cook, ha ha ha.
11:59Fuck off game.
12:00Now, since this is a game from a studio that gave us Hitman franchise, one would expect there
12:06would be some elements of that franchise in the game.
12:10And sure enough, the elements are there, but it feels like they simplified them.
12:14One example is the blue slash yellow paint, indicating where you should go.
12:18There's no other way of saying it, it's classical hand-holding if you ask me.
12:23Interestingly enough, using Q-Watch, which is pretty much your X-ray vision tool, isn't
12:27that problematic to me.
12:29But perhaps it would be better without it, or rather, it shouldn't be that aggressive.
12:34But the painted signage over saturating the environment really spoils the experience.
12:39And since I'm touching on this X-ray vision thing, I mean, I get it.
12:44You need to know where enemies are, and that's the reason why we have X-ray vision in the first
12:49place in these types of games.
12:50But one must wonder, is it really necessary to implement it to that extent?
12:56Maybe a smaller circle around the player would be more acceptable, instead of me seeing the
13:01whole fucking level and everything there is on the particular area where I am in.
13:06And whatever may be the case, this thing about X-ray vision, we can debate a lot about it.
13:11So if you are interested to see my opinion in depth, post your comments down below about
13:16the whole situation.
13:17Since we are talking about hitman elements in this game, I would say that throughout my
13:22playthrough, it seemed like there are several ways to complete a mission that was laid in
13:26front of me, but I never felt there are more than two options available to me.
13:31I would have to dive deeper into the levels to confirm or deny my claims, but after
13:35finishing the game, I really don't see myself replaying this thing ever again.
13:40Another party pooper to this whole formula is the gadget limitation.
13:44You are limited by two, and later three gadgets out of six or seven of them or something like
13:50that.
13:51And frankly, I absolutely do not understand why.
13:54Why would you impose this limit?
13:56Why aren't you letting me enjoy myself and experiment with the available arsenal?
14:01And if some of you want to suggest me to replay the missions with a different gadget loadout,
14:06to that I say not a bloody chance.
14:09But then it hit me.
14:10The only ones that you need are the laser for opening stuff and dart for stunning, and that's
14:16basically it?
14:17So that means that the rest of them are completely fucking pointless and virtually unnecessary.
14:23And that's a shame, because you could do so many things with the gadgets, but at the
14:28end of the day, at least in my opinion, you always go for the things that open door instead
14:33of the ones that are somewhat offensive.
14:35And to me, this truly is a missed opportunity.
14:38Imposing these limitations for absolutely no reason whatsoever is always a bad thing.
14:43Now, some of you might say that this game is mega bad on every single front, but there
14:49are some things that this game does well.
14:51For example, the locations that you visit are pretty damn amazing.
14:55That really gives you Bond vibes, and I think that this is the best aspect of the game.
15:01Same goes for the soundtrack, but you cannot really fuck that up.
15:05Also, the game looks good, the visuals are pretty damn amazing, but that's not hard to
15:10achieve these days.
15:11And it would be a shock if the game looked like dogshit.
15:14And to finish, I didn't encounter any bugs, and the game run really well for the most part.
15:20Oh, and before I forget, the game has this tag sim mode.
15:25Yeah, I don't see myself ever playing that stuff.
15:28It's pretty much campaign stuff being done all over again with some modifiers and challenges
15:32and stuff like that.
15:34I see absolutely no point in doing this, and if this was one of the selling points of the
15:39game, well, tough luck.
15:41So when all is said and done, I find this game to be below average, and this is me being
15:47fucking generous.
15:48It's very generous.
15:50Like I said in the beginning, this is not a James Bond game for me.
15:54This is a Jamie Benn game.
15:56Think of it like James Bond from Wish.com.
15:58I thought IO Interactive would do a much better job when it comes to stealth aspects of the
16:03game, especially since the game was, what, seven years in development?
16:07And more importantly, the story as well, as the main character itself, feel like a cheap
16:12ripoff.
16:13And the bot name is used only to make a quick buck because of the popularity of the franchise.
16:18And I would say 100% this game is not worth 70 bucks.
16:24No way in hell.
16:26For that price, you can get much more for a variety of other games.
16:30And if you're lucky, for that price, you can get two games that are superior to this one.
16:36Fuck me.
16:36I didn't expect anything, and I still got disappointed.
16:40But at the end of the day, that's just my take.
16:43If you managed to get this far, let me know in the comments what you think about this whole
16:47situation.
16:48And if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to like, subscribe, and all that good stuff.
16:52And that's it from me.
16:54Until the next one.
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