World-famous fictional spy James Bond has had a persistent presence in popular culture for decades now, from the original Ian Fleming novels to the blockbuster film series and even to the world of video games. There have been numerous James Bond video games released over the years, though the secret agent hasn’t appeared in a video game since 2012’s poorly-received 007 Legends.
Now Hitman series developer IO Interactive has been given the reigns for the next James Bond video game. Currently known bit its working title Project 007, nothing is known about IO Interactive’s Bond game beyond that it will come about as a collaboration with EON Productions and MGM, which should go a long way in ensuring its quality.
IO Interactive is certainly a capable developer, and it will be interesting to see what shape its James Bond video game adaptation takes. But while fans wait for more news on IO Interactive’s new Bond game, they may want to check out some of the many Bond video games that have released over the last 40 years or so.
- Shaken but Not Stirred (1982)
- James Bond 007 (1983)
- A View to a Kill (1985)
- James Bond 007: A View to a Kill (1985)
- James Bond 007: Goldfinger (1986)
- The Living Daylights (1987)
- Live and Let Die (1988)
- 007: Licence to Kill (1989)
The very first James Bond video game was 1982’s Shaken but Not Stirred, a reference to one of the spy’s most-famous catchphrases. Many of the early James Bond video games were text adventures, with Shaken but Not Stirred, A View to a Kill, James Bond 007: A View to a Kill, James Bond 007: Goldfinger fitting that description. The James Bond text adventure games were generally well-received, but it’s safe to say that most gamers are more familiar with the more traditional action and platformer James Bond games that were released in the 80s.
James Bond 007 was the first of these, a side-scrolling Atari video game developed by Parker Brothers. It featured content based on four different Bond films, with both Connery and Moore’s Bonds represented. James Bond 007, The Living Daylights, and 007: Licence to Kill were all action or platformer games, with Live and Let Die standing out as a racing game. None of the titles really stood out with critics or fans of the time, however.
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1990)
- Operation Stealth/James Bond 007: The Stealth Affair (1990)
- James Bond Jr. (1991)
- James Bond 007: The Duel (1993)
- GoldenEye (1995)
- GoldenEye 007 (1997)
- James Bond 007 (1998)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1999)
The 1990s is when James Bond video games really started taking off, though the decade started off slow. The Spy Who Loved Me was a top-down action game, whereas Operation Stealth was only a James Bond game in the United States. James Bond Jr., James Bond 007: The Duel, and the Tiger Electronics GoldenEye handheld game were nothing to write home about it either. It seemed as though James Bond would be doomed to mediocre licensing games forever.
But then Rare was given the license for GoldenEye 007, and while its game adaptation came out two years after the movie was in theaters, it was still a massive hit at the time of its release. GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 has been hailed as one of the absolute best video games ever made, earning numerous awards at the time of its release and enjoying near-universal critical acclaim.
Not content with just being yet another film adaptation, GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 really goes the extra mile. It features a fun campaign new objectives available on higher difficulty levels, plus a groundbreaking multiplayer mode with support for up to four players in split-screen. GoldenEye 007‘s multiplayer mode is really what established the game as an absolute must-have for Nintendo 64 owners, and is a big reason why it remains popular to this day.
The success of GoldenEye 007 meant that expectations were suddenly higher for James Bond video games. James Bond 007 on the Game Boy in 1998 didn’t exactly live up to that high bar, and Tomorrow Never Dies earned mixed reviews as well.
- The World is Not Enough PS1/Nintendo 64 (2000)
- 007 Racing (2000)
- The World is Not Enough GBC (2001)
- James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001)
- James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002)
- James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2003)
- GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004)
- James Bond 007: From Russia with Love (2005)
- 007: Quantum of Solace (2008)
Unfortunately, James Bond video games have never reached the heights as GoldenEye 007, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Many fans have praised The World is Not Enough on the Nintendo 64, as it emulates some of the best things about GoldenEye 007, even though it’s not quite as good. Electronic Arts released a number of James Bond video games after it got its hand on the license to varying degrees of success. Some of the games had well-received co-op modes and earned some strong scores, but none of them ever reached GoldenEye 007 levels.
One of the most notable Bond games of the EA era was James Bond 007: From Russia with Love. An expanded take on From Russia with Love, the game features the late Sean Connery reprising his role as Bond over 20 years since he retired his version of the character.
After From Russia with Love, Activision was the next company to acquire the James Bond license. It released Quantum of Solace in 2008, based on the Daniel Craig Bond film of the same name, but it failed to generate much excitement.
- GoldenEye 007 Remake (2010)
- James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010)
- 007 Legends (2012)
With GoldenEye 007 and the unrelated GoldenEye: Rogue Agent being such huge financial successes, it was clear that there was significant value in the “GoldenEye” brand name. This saw Activision attempt to remake GoldenEye 007 in 2010, swapping Pierce Brosnan for Daniel Craig and making some other big changes, but still somewhat adapting scenes from the original video game.
Unfortunately, the GoldenEye 007 remake made some rather significant changes to the core gameplay. Really it was a Call of Duty clone in a James Bond skin. It managed to earn somewhat stronger reviews than other James Bond video games released in the years since GoldenEye 007, but still didn’t live up to fan expectations.
The GoldenEye 007 remake was followed by Blood Stone, which had poor sales and reviews, and then the final nail in the coffin for Activision’s Bond contributions was 2012’s 007 Legends. While the idea of taking Daniel Craig’s Bond and letting him live out storylines from older Bond stories was interesting, the game was panned by critics, and a new Bond game hasn’t been released since.
Here’s hoping IO Interactive can do something great with the Bond license and give fans the quality Bond gaming experience they’ve been waiting for since GoldenEye.
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