Page 26 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #7

Games. Bond Games.

J
ust as creator Ian Fleming’s books helped popularize espionage
novels and romanticize the daring life of a spy, MGM’s Bond films
have created a visual impression that has managed to transcend the
printed page and become part of pop culture. Though many actors
have slipped into his tuxedo, sipped his shaken, not stirred, martinis,
and squeezed the trigger of his Walther PPK, the singular identity of a
suave, elegant, and impossibly fortunate secret agent has remained in-
tact nearly 40 years after the first book hit the printing press.

Could there be a more perfect literary and film character to bring
into the digital domain? James Bond should rank near the top of
any credible list of action characters that would make successful
video game heroes, as Bond carries with him an aura of unflappable
coolness that makes him so uniquely appealing. So the question was
never “should a James Bond game be made?” but rather “what can
we have him do?” Capturing Bond’s essence has been the challenge
facing developers since the first 007 cartridge appeared on the Atari VCS.

Unlike the problems developers must wrestle with in creating a superhero
game, possibly the most difficult genre to translate considering the poten-
tially vast assortment of special powers under a player’s control, James
Bond’s world seems easier to convey. It is, after all, grounded in reality,
and Bond is an action hero proficient in hand-to-hand combat, weapons,
and is blessed with an arsenal of “Q” gadgets for added excitement. Of
course, vehicles are another key part of the franchise, not to mention vo-
luptuous women, but it’s the feeling of overcoming overwhelming odds with
style and panache that’s central to the Bond mystique.

What follows is a lineup of key Bond games that, in their own special way,
attempt to transform the larger-than-life hero into an interactive medium. Ob-
viously some do it better than others, and Classic Gamer Magazine will help
you decide which games are worth your Moneypennies and which should be
given the Goldfinger. So arch an eyebrow, dust off the tux, and hone your
British accent as we get set to explore the world of Bond as envisioned by a
rogue’s gallery of developers and publishers over the years.

By Scott Alan Marriott

Classic Gamer Magazine July 2004 26