Action-packed thriller
What's this? A game linked to a movie that is actually worthy of gracing our consoles? Well I never!Based on the best-selling novel and film, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Conspiracy is an action-packed third-person adventure that mixes explosive fist-fights with intense fire-fights and throws in plenty of cinematic moments along the way that expertly capture the energy of the dynamic Bourne franchise.
Fans of the movie may be slightly disappointed to learn that the likeness or voice of the movie-star Matt Damon haven’t been used, but the stand-in actor does a fine job and the developer has done an equally fine job at creating a character model that slips into the character of the tougher-than-leather assassin perfectly.
As the professional government triggerman, Jason Bourne, you get to act out various parts from The Bourne Identity movie, including the epic mini-cooper car chase scene and the escape from the US embassy in Zurich. The action is pretty much relentless from start to finish and your character is constantly on the move dodging bullets and fists as you take part in a range of escape and evade missions, as well as assassination objectives, following set paths through each environment whilst disposing of anyone who gets in the way of your intended target.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageIn addition to excerpts from the book and movie, there’s also some new material in the form of flashbacks that effectively add to and expand on Ludlom’s fictional character so that you can experience him from a time before he became an assassin.
A large chunk of the game is taken up with hand-to-hand combat and though the fighting mechanic could have been much deeper, each battle still feels exciting and satisfying thanks to some great animation and the high quality graphics.
With one button for a light attack, another for a heavy attack and a button that allows you to block attacks, the simplicity of the controls means that you can string together combos so that you can slap your opponent about with little effort. The lack of depth is easily forgiven because the fights are still highly enjoyable thanks to the superb animation of the fighters. The efforts that have gone into the stunt-man work in the studio can be seen in every punch, roundhouse kick, tumble and fall.
Despite its simplicity, combat is also made more entertaining due to a three-tiered adrenaline metre, which once filled allows you to execute a brief and impressive cinematic sequence known as a ‘Takedown’.
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