MarketTantrik Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 The Bourne Conspiracy Platform : Xbox 360 Developer : Publisher : Sierra Genre : Action Hands On Impressions from CVG Matt Damon's just given you the finger when you asked if you could digitise his mug; you've been charged with weaving together the Ludlum, Van Lustbader and Hollywood Bournes - which between them add up to a billion-dollar industry; and you're faced with adding a new dimension to this most reluctant of heroes. Just who'd want to be standing in the shoes of Conspiracy developers High Moon Studios right now? Well, endlessly enthusiastic Lead Designer Rory McGuire, actually. Despite the high-profile absence of Damon's chiselled chops, he waxes lyrical about how key figures in the Bourne franchise have all chipped in to give Conspiracy some much-needed licensed clout. The resulting high-octane action, he argues, far surpasses your average movie tie-in fare. From our hands-on session this issue, we're inclined to nod our heads furiously in agreement. Conspiracy is a companion piece that regales the story of the original Bourne Identity movie then embellishes it with Jason's murky past as an amoral Treadstone assassin - all the while explaining just why he ended up in the brine with a mental meltdown. Trouble is, for some reason (McGuire isn't telling) Treadstone's intelligence is well dodgy - meaning our heroic amnesiac constantly finds himself up to his ribbed turtleneck in guns, henchmen and muuuuurder. Embassy No. 1 We got to go hands-on with three levels: 'Escape from the Embassy', 'Eliminate Orandelin' and 'Zurich Car Chase'. We'll breeze over the (admittedly thrilling) embassy escape; we've been there, done that a couple of times now. More interesting was the second mission; an action-packed flashback gig set underneath and around a bustling Zurich airport - which tipped its hat towards Gears of War with some rock solid over-the-shoulder blasting and impressively slick cover mechanics. The shooting felt crisp and accurate (certainly a step above, say, Kane & Lynch) while we soon acquired a shotgun and a machine gun to complement our pea-shooter pistol. Mow down a few foes and Bourne's takedown meter fills up, so press b and if you can pass a simple minigame you'll take up to three foes out with a one-shot kill. Spend too much time blocking or ignore multiple enemies though and your slipshod play will come back and bite you on the arse, as enemies can also counter moves and force you to conquer a QTE to save losing a big chunk of health. Generally though, fights - while essentially fairly repetitive - hark back to the likes of Assassin's Creed, in that they make you feel like a martial arts superman when in actual fact you're just mashing a few buttons. Plane Amazing The mission finale took place in a cargo plane soaring amongst the clouds - sort of like the Tyrant boss fight in Resident Evil: Code Veronica - with Jason hurling his opponents to a 10,000 ft grave. Takedowns are satisfyingly brutal - and almost all are context-sensitive, from thwacking somebody in the mug with a fire extinguisher, snapping arms like twigs and using grunts as human shields. It's all good, violent fun. Then, DRUM ROLL... it was time for the big reveal - driving levels! Although developed by a splinter cell from the main team, they're very much a vehicular recreation of the on-foot missions, full of QTE daredevil stunty bits and more cop dodging than an episode of The Wire. Taking control of a snazzy little Mini Cooper S, you'll smash through windows, take short cuts down back alleys, plough through lampposts and phoneboxes and leap over ramps, with your side-kick Marie alternatively ranting at you and dishing out advice. Jase Ace In handling terms, it's very much like a traditional arcade racer. As a standalone game, these sections would be middling at best - as a diversion from the shooty-shooty business it's as welcome as a steaming mug of Bovril on a bitter winter's day. As well as the handy emergency break for swish 180 turns, flicking on monochromatic 'Bourne Awareness' also acts as a rather handy Need For Speed-style Speedbreaker, letting you s-l-o-w d-o-w-n time to nip through those tight spaces, Italian Job-stylee. Though not quite in the highest echelons of next gen loveliness, Bourne's Unreal Engine 3 powered visuals sure look gorgeous - especially the highly detailed environments, though Jason's genero-handsome character model could do with some work. It's the whistle-stop QTE sequences which stay in the mind long after you've finished playing though; Shenmue on steroids does not begin to describe it. Yet blink for a second, or rather mess up, and the illusion is shattered. c*ck up a QTE in the Embassy chase for instance and it's an instant 'death' for The Bournemeister and a shove back to the nearest restart point. We say: Bad. Game. Design. It's also impossible to shake the constant impression you're being funnelled though levels, but - on the flipside - to castigate Conspiracy for this would be to totally miss the point, since a sandbox game like, say, GTA could never hope to match the cinematic intensity and lightning pacing on display here. You're literally swept along on a tide of adrenaline. Lob in some tight time limits and you've got one of the most thrilling action sequences in years. In a sense, then, The Bourne Conspiracy is a unique gaming experience - a 100mph, hair-raising rollercoaster of reaction tests, shooting, punching and kicking that provides arguably the most cinematic experience to date on Xbox 360. Whether that in itself is enough to disguise the crazily linear gameplay is debatable, but having stoved our way through a good hour or so of Bourne Conspiracy, we're gagging to see how the mystery pans out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Screenies ________________________________________________________________ I for one would really like to see the brutal close quarters combat sequences of the movies incorporated into the game. --MT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 ^^ Yeah, but I hope the camera stays still in the game... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hahaman Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 umm why doesnt he look like the actor matt damon at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 umm why doesnt he look like the actor matt damon at all Read the first line of the preview. Matt Damon refused to lend his likeness to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaztin Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 umm why doesnt he look like the actor matt damon at all Read the first line of the preview. Matt Damon refused to lend his likeness to the game. He was wise to do that....!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gautam Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 The screen shots somehow remind me of Max Payne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightySkate Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 I'd also want to see the close combat fights as they were really fast paced and brutal in the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 I hope that have the Ballpoint Pen Fight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted March 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 X360 vs. PS3: The Bourne Conspiracy We played both versions of the game, side by side by: Chris Stead 29/02/2008 From Gameplayer.com.au ________________________________________________________________________________ ___ Yes we’re getting out our giant replica Devil May Cry 4 sword and slapping it about the fanboys heads until they’re whipped up into a frenzy with this one, but we know deep down you guys love a good comparison piece. Especially when the subject material is a highly anticipated game, and even more so when said game is running on (whisper it) Unreal Engine 3. Earlier today we got a chance to look at, and play, The Bourne Conspiracy at an excellent little event in Sydney. We’ll go into greater depth about how the game is shaping up in a broader feature article later on – it’s shaping up very nicely, by the way – but figured we’d give you a little titbit of information to chew on over the weekend. So we all know about the difficulties developers are having in getting Unreal Engine 3 to work seamlessly across PS3 and Xbox 360 on multi-format games. We encourage you to read the article What’s Powering the Next-Gen to learn more. So how is The Bourne Conspiracy shaping up? Well the bravery of local distributor Vivendi, and representatives from developer High Moon Studios, says a lot: they literally stood the two versions of the game side-by-side and let us play them both. Our verdict? Maybe the Xbox 360 version looked a little crisper, and was slightly less jaggy. Maybe. They were that comparable it was hard to tell. Frame-rates: fine. Controls: fine (except for that little rumble, or lack thereof, problem). So yeah, the big news… there is no news. Which is a good thing. PS3 and X360 version of The Bourne Conspiracy are on track to be identical. About bloody time, no? Stay tuned on Monday for the big preview: we’ve got a lot of good things to say about this game… as well as few little concerns. ________________________________________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobotsAlive Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Beating up a dude with a book is hardcore who else here has The Bourne Conspiracy on their radar for 2008. its slowly building hype and it definitely has the potential to be a very good game for 08. i say potential because im pretty leary about 3rd person perspective games based on film franchises, i remember being underwhelmed by Everything Or Nothing and that game has the similiar feel to this game sorta. Still I'm really excited about the evade and escape gameplay and definitely the hand to hand combot looks really badass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarketTantrik Posted March 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Thread exists. Read the rules and browse the games sections before creating new game threads. http://www.IndianVideoGamer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2656 Keep up with the flow dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 The screen shots somehow remind me of Max Payne me too ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reaper Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 ^^ i wonder y??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobotsAlive Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Gameplay Bonanza im totally digging that pen attack. this game is defntiely looking like a must buy now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButtonHead Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 Are there also gonna be modern Audi's that simply start by a hotwire and do not inflate their airbags even after falling from a roof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow and Leia Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 Can't wait for this game! Any multiplayer on this one? With so many people fighting each other it will seem more like a good old street fight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmolsc Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 looks good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Can't wait for this game! Any multiplayer on this one? With so many people fighting each other it will seem more like a good old street fight! The perfect MP for a game like this would be one where a team plays as rogue agents while the other plays as CIA operatives. The rogues have to escape or complete objectives while the CIA team has to take them down. All this taking place in a public place like a crowded train station or a residential area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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