Who hasn’t grown up dreaming of one day being a spy? Come on, don’t hide it; we’ve all grown up playing secret agent as a kid. If it wasn’t for James Bond, who would dream about it? Now I’m a huge fan of the 007 franchise, including the movies and a few of the games. Recently, a new entry was released from Eurocom and Activision: 007 Legends. I’ve spent quite some time on the game and at times have had mixed feelings towards it. Why? Well just keep reading and you’ll hear what I liked and disliked about 007 Legends.

Many of us grew up watching movies such as Goldfinger, Moonraker, Die Another Day, and many others. If I had to pick a favorite I’d be sitting here for quite some time since there are so many classic moments in each of them. I’m just a huge fan and enjoyed each movie growing up. Now as for the game 007 Legends I’m not sure what to really say about it other than I enjoyed when playing online. 007 Legends starts you off with a scene of you fighting on a train. During the ride a gun shot is fired and you’re hit. Of course if you’re shot and hit while on top of a train, what might happen? You fall off! Luckily a lake lies below and you land in it, but then the game really starts as you have flashbacks to your past. You’ll be playing as if you were back in the days of Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Moonraker, Licence to Kill, Die Another Day, and Skyfall…but this last one will be future DLC. The first confusing thing to me is that you’ll be playing as “Daniel Craig” James Bond the entire time. Yeah, I know Sean Connery was the one who did Goldfinger, which is the first mission you’ll be playing, but this also seems that you’ll be playing as if it was between Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.

Playing an entire game as Daniel Craig would be very interesting but  the game plays like many of the James Bond games from the past…just with more flaws. Why do I say that? Well to start off I felt as if the graphics weren’t as good as past games. I’d like something groundbreaking rather than using the same engine as a past game. When it came to the gameplay I liked visiting past Bond movies but didn’t feel as if it was complete. I felt as if the game was rushed to simply be put together and shipped out. There were times I’d be shooting at the enemy and it would take more shots than it should to kill.  This happened throughout the entire game and grew very annoying. On top of that there were moments in which the enemies would spot you when you’re well hidden. I mean come on, I’m hiding in an empty room and you’re two rooms down the hall and happen to see me? What the hell! Getting farther into the game did provide enjoyable parts, which made me glad I pushed through the issues I was having as I played. Also, while playing there are some cool features such as earning XP as you play. What does the XP do? While completing certain tasks, finding items, and more you’ll earn XP that in turn let’s you upgrade Bond’s gadgets and weapons. I honestly don’t remember any 007 game from my past allowing that and it’s a cool feature. Now if you’ve read this far and already know there is multiplayer, I bet you’re wondering, “How’s the multiplayer?” You’ll find out later in the review.

As for the scenes throughout the game it was nice to see them as if they were during today. Now there is a new system in the game that took me by surprise and it’s during the times you fight an enemy. You’ll be using the left thumb stick and right thumb stick to land some punches. What happened to the days of just pushing a key button rather than flicking the sticks to land a high or low blow? It did take time to get used to that! I know I’ve said a lot of negative things towards 007 Legends so far but it’s hard to miss that the single player to the game isn’t interesting, felt incomplete, and had subpar graphics. You might be asking yourself is this game worth buying. I’ll answer that later… What makes 007 Legends good?

When it comes to the multiplayer side of 007 Legends that’s where I enjoyed playing the game. Honestly, the best part of the game is playing online versus other people. As I said the single player feels very clunky and not complete. Boot up 007 Legends multiplayer and you’ll be spending a lot of time playing many different modes. Modes range from Bomb Defuse, Escalation, Data Miner and more. If I had to pick one of the modes that I’ve played it would be the free for all. Who doesn’t enjoy just playing for fun, having a great time, and coming out on top? I feel like Eurocom spent more time making sure gamers would have fun online rather than being blown away with the single player. Included in the multiplayer is a ranking system and I’m around level 20 right now. The highest you can go is 50 but you can “prestige” once the requirements have been met.

The music in 007 Legends I enjoyed hearing. With me being someone who’s been in a concert band and a marching band in the past it’s hard not to listen to the scores throughout a game. David Arnold did a good job with hitting each mark, whether it was intro music, something about to happen, or to keep the mood just right. Music in a game is a big part of it. Why do I say that? Have you ever noticed when a track comes on it might get your adrenaline pumping? Tell me you haven’t played a game and when some song comes on and you’re like… Come at me, bro! to the enemies.

Overall, I wish more time was put into the game. Yes, I just said I wish a delay in the game happened so Eurocom could have spent more time making the single player enjoyable and take out many of the issues gamers, including myself, have been having lately. I felt as if a lot could have been done to make the single player more enjoyable. This ranges from the other movies, playing as the original characters or at least given the choice, and even fixing the issues I’ve had with shooting the enemies. Just thinking about this single player has me a little sad since I was highly looking forward to the game. Even though I did enjoy visiting past movies and the times at controlling things I wish all the actors from the past James Bond movies took the role in each era. Is this game worth buying? At this time I’d say purchase it when it goes on sale at your local store. This is one title that I’ll be playing online most of the time rather than going back to single player.

007 Legends was provided for review purposes. For more information on 007 Legends, please visit http://www.007legends.com/