Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox360)
- Publisher:
- Sierra Entertainment
- Developer:
- High Moon Studios
- Release Date:
- 27.06.2008
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Action
- Reality Factor:
- Realistic
- Perspective:
- Third-Person
- Extra:
- Tactical
- Age:
- Modern Times
We play Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy...
As a big fan of the films I couldn't wait for this one. I actually allowed myself to get caught up in the hype for once; the temptation to "become Bourne" was too great. It's something I've (rather sadly) envisaged when watching the films. Who wouldn't want to be a lean, mean fighting machine and super cool to boot? Being able to use any random object as a weapon is what attracts most of us to Jason Bourne: his resourcefulness, his guile, his endeavour.
The Bourne Conspiracy actually succeeds in letting you do that, to a degree of course, but you can literally smash someone's face in with a book, stab them in the hand with a pen, slam their head into a radiator and watch smiling as steam flies out to the sound of a resonating thud whilst their head flies back and they crash to the floor. Or the satisfying sound of the squelch as you dig a pen into your assailants hand as the Paul Greengrass-esque camera flicks from left to right as the game takes the control from you and plays out the scene in front of you as though you were watching the real thing.
However, you're not. And unfortunately that fact is hammered home in the sometimes overlong shooting sections. "Bourne shooting people", I hear you ask. Yes, is the short answer. There is a reason though and to be fair to High Moon it's a pretty good one. What they've done is to give you the plot of The Bourne Identity interlaced with the flash-back scenes that Bourne experiences in The Bourne Conspiracy, these flashbacks have been fleshed out to create a whole level with its own unique story reliving his memories when he worked for Treadstone.
The idea is a good one but is hampered by one pretty fundamental element: the gameplay. You see, the hand-to-hand fighting mechanic is so well implemented - just two buttons to use that offer around 15 different punch combinations - and the Bourne Takedowns so satisfying that anything else doesn't quite wash. When you play as Treadstone Bourne you could be playing any other game; there's nothing really unique about the experience and the over-the-shoulder camera makes getting a feel for your surroundings easy and working out just who is shooting at you. It's as though High Moon needed to mix up the meleé combat so it didn't get too repetitive, but at the same time what they chose to implement just isn't as fun. So every time you are playing the game as a shooter, it simply doesn't live up to the other sections and therefore becomes something you just want to get over with.
The Bourne Takedowns are performed when Bourne has punched someone in the face enough times and given them a swift roundhouse kick in the head to build your takedown meter. When you have enough, you simply press triangle and as explained above, the game takes over and you watch the action unfold. The genius behind the idea is that everything becomes context sensitive, meaning that whatever you are close to, be it a picture on the wall that will be smashed as you shove your enemies' nose through the glass, the aforementioned pen, book, radiators - literally anything Bourne can get his hands on. These Takedowns are also available in the shooting levels and when one of the many QTEs (quick time events) appears, you can take down your enemies with one shot. Again, a nice idea just no as intrinsically fun as beating someone to a pulp with your bare hands.
There is a driving section in the game which although brief and occurring only once deserves a mention simply because of how literally awful it is. There's no skill involved, the graphics become very poor, there's no way the police can ever catch you if you get the get the quick-time's right and all in it just begs the question as to its appearance. I mean, why High Moon why?! I guess we'll never know. However, it is worth nothing that it really doesn't stain your overall Bourne experience and shouldn't be made a yardstick for the game's general quality.
The Bourne Conspiracy is a game split between tense, fully satisfying combat and rather generic third-person gunplay. For fans of the films it really does live up to the hype as far as "being Bourne" is concerned but unfortunately only half of the game lives up to this adage. Hopefully High Moon will be able to make a sequel - and I'm praying Matt Damon says yes this time - and we'll see these problems ironed out. All in all, a game that's definitely worth playing and one I recommend as a bit of light-hearted fun after the pub on a Friday night.
Top Gaming Moment: The Bourne Takedowns. They never get boring
The Bourne Conspiracy actually succeeds in letting you do that, to a degree of course, but you can literally smash someone's face in with a book, stab them in the hand with a pen, slam their head into a radiator and watch smiling as steam flies out to the sound of a resonating thud whilst their head flies back and they crash to the floor. Or the satisfying sound of the squelch as you dig a pen into your assailants hand as the Paul Greengrass-esque camera flicks from left to right as the game takes the control from you and plays out the scene in front of you as though you were watching the real thing.
 |
 |
|
| He'll never be able to look at a sink in the same way again. | Treadstone Bourne laying down the law. |
However, you're not. And unfortunately that fact is hammered home in the sometimes overlong shooting sections. "Bourne shooting people", I hear you ask. Yes, is the short answer. There is a reason though and to be fair to High Moon it's a pretty good one. What they've done is to give you the plot of The Bourne Identity interlaced with the flash-back scenes that Bourne experiences in The Bourne Conspiracy, these flashbacks have been fleshed out to create a whole level with its own unique story reliving his memories when he worked for Treadstone.
The idea is a good one but is hampered by one pretty fundamental element: the gameplay. You see, the hand-to-hand fighting mechanic is so well implemented - just two buttons to use that offer around 15 different punch combinations - and the Bourne Takedowns so satisfying that anything else doesn't quite wash. When you play as Treadstone Bourne you could be playing any other game; there's nothing really unique about the experience and the over-the-shoulder camera makes getting a feel for your surroundings easy and working out just who is shooting at you. It's as though High Moon needed to mix up the meleé combat so it didn't get too repetitive, but at the same time what they chose to implement just isn't as fun. So every time you are playing the game as a shooter, it simply doesn't live up to the other sections and therefore becomes something you just want to get over with.
 |
 |
|
| Positioning your enemy in between the helicopter gun-fire and performing a Bourne Takedown will give satisfying results. | You can 'Takedown' up to three enemies at once. |
The Bourne Takedowns are performed when Bourne has punched someone in the face enough times and given them a swift roundhouse kick in the head to build your takedown meter. When you have enough, you simply press triangle and as explained above, the game takes over and you watch the action unfold. The genius behind the idea is that everything becomes context sensitive, meaning that whatever you are close to, be it a picture on the wall that will be smashed as you shove your enemies' nose through the glass, the aforementioned pen, book, radiators - literally anything Bourne can get his hands on. These Takedowns are also available in the shooting levels and when one of the many QTEs (quick time events) appears, you can take down your enemies with one shot. Again, a nice idea just no as intrinsically fun as beating someone to a pulp with your bare hands.
There is a driving section in the game which although brief and occurring only once deserves a mention simply because of how literally awful it is. There's no skill involved, the graphics become very poor, there's no way the police can ever catch you if you get the get the quick-time's right and all in it just begs the question as to its appearance. I mean, why High Moon why?! I guess we'll never know. However, it is worth nothing that it really doesn't stain your overall Bourne experience and shouldn't be made a yardstick for the game's general quality.
 |
 |
|
| Face - meet picture of boat. Picture of boat - meet face. | The classic Zurich Embassy scene from the Bourne Identity. |
The Bourne Conspiracy is a game split between tense, fully satisfying combat and rather generic third-person gunplay. For fans of the films it really does live up to the hype as far as "being Bourne" is concerned but unfortunately only half of the game lives up to this adage. Hopefully High Moon will be able to make a sequel - and I'm praying Matt Damon says yes this time - and we'll see these problems ironed out. All in all, a game that's definitely worth playing and one I recommend as a bit of light-hearted fun after the pub on a Friday night.
Top Gaming Moment: The Bourne Takedowns. They never get boring
