threevue

I’m partial to the Bourne series of movies, not a huge fan, but partial. Still, it was a little strange hearing that there was a game coming out for the franchise after the last movie had been out for a year already… and that Matt Damon would have no part in it… and that it looked like a Splinter Cell rehash. Well, thank goodness for XBLA Demos so that I can get my hands on the game myself and think with my own brain for once.

Things the Bourne Conspiracy has going for it:

• Looks good
• Has crunchy, painful sounding hand to hand combat sequences
• Diversifies gameplay

Things the Bourne Conspiracy has going against it:

• Relies heavily on the use of Quick Time Events
• atrocious driving segments
• provides pretty much just what you saw in the movie

The biggest mark against the game would have to be the far too frequent use of QTEs (AKA timed button presses {AKA Knöpfchendrückersequenzen}) for initiating devastating cinematic yet unplayable attacks. Along with this the game will sometimes take control of the camera, or characters with no warning or way of signaling “It’s cool, this is an animation.”

Example:

You are in control of Bourne and you come to a door, open it and run through. As soon as you enter the room, on the other side a man attacks you and your character immediately responds by fending off his blows without you pressing a button or the camera changing perspective significantly. Immediately following this, you are given control back and are made to fight this guy. The problem is that it’s hard to know when you are in control and when you aren’t. You have to do these check moves to see if you character reacts when you move the analog stick. It’s a good way to get your ass kicked. Basically it’s like the worst of the combat system from Assassin’s Creed.

The driving is a caliber of bad on par with Burger King’s Pocket Bike Racer… Wait, I take that back. BKPBR wasn’t so bad actually. But The Bourne Conspiracy’s driving is bad, though. Especially after coming off a GTAIV streak and really getting a feel for the handling of the autos in that game. I’m betting this game could have done without these portions of the game.

Like I said though, it does look good and play nominal during the shooting segments, even if it doesn’t innovate. Plus J.B. looks kind of like Nathan Drake’s blond brother from another mother. Kind of plays like him too.