Sierra Spring Event - The Bourne Conspiracy

by: Chuck - posted: 4/21/2008 8:00:00 PM

I mixed feelings about The Bourne Conspiracy game since I first saw it a few months back.  The game sounded cool as Sierra was blending elements from the books and the movies into one giant stew of awesomeness but there was a problem.  That problem was the graphics.  In every screenshot and video the game looked barely current gen and that was a bit of a turnoff.  I'm not normally a guy to judge a book by it's cover but for some reason this stuck in my craw.  After seeing the game in person I can tell you now that my fears were unfounded and the game looks a lot better in person that it does in every bit of media that's been released so far.  Is it the best looking game ever?  No, but it doesn't have to be because you're going to be too busy kicking ass to notice.

As I previously mentioned the game follows the plot of the movie but with the twist that you'll be able to play some missions before the events of the movie.  The post memory loss Bourne is a bit more fun, as it is always fun to play an ultimate bad ass with few moral qualms.  At the spring event we got to see two missions from the final game.  The first is the escape from the embassy level that you might remember from the first Bourne movie (this level will be included in the demo that's due out in early May).  The mission is timed as you only have a set amount of time to reach the roof and escape.  On your way to the room you'll get to beat the crap out of a large number of Marines who are trying to capture you.  You'll notice I didn't say kill the Marines, as part of the Bourne code you're not allowed to kill any innocent people in this level...just hurt them very badly.  You'll progress up stairs and work your way through the marines that are looking for you until you reach the roof and have to deal with snipers who are trying to take you out.  Of course you can use these snipers to take out some of their comrades which is a nice twist.

The second level we saw was a flashback level where you had to take out a bad guy before he escapes on a plane.  Along the way you have to take out a number of bad guys using your fists and some guns.  The game seamlessly transitions between melee combat and combat with guns so you've got a lot of ways to hurt people in the game.  The game does feature destructible environments so even when you do find cover it's not necessarily going to be safe for an extended period of time.

One of the core concepts of the game is the adrenaline meter.  As you beat guys up your adrenaline meter increases.  This is important because when your adrenaline meter reaches certain levels you can execute takedowns.  The number of people you takedown is determined by how full your bar is and you can take up to three people down at a time.  This is important as it adds a small tactical level to the game as you have to figure out if you want to save your adrenaline or not.  The takedowns are unique and kick off quicktime events to determine if the takedown works or not.  You also have elements around you to use as weapons.  Things like whiteboards and books can be used to devastating effect and the folks at High Moon have incorporated a number of new ways to do some damage.

Another unique element of the game is the heavy use of the camera angles from the movie.  If you thought Gears of War used the movie style angles a lot then you haven't seen anything yet.  The developer brought in the director for the movie and picked his brain about how he composed the film.  Also brought in from the movie was the fight director and Matt Damon's stunt double. 

After seeing the demo my hopes from this game have really gone up.  There's a really kinetic feel to the game and the combat is top notch.  I'm interested to see how the demo is received next month as I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how good the game looks and plays.


What Works
 - Non-stop asskicking action, seemless transition between hand to hand and armed combat
 - Solid mix of the books and the movies
 - Great motion picture feel

What Doesn't
 - Will people get sick of the constant stream of quicktime events?
 - Not all the camera angles are winners