Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy

If you love spy thrillers, chances are you’ve probably heard of Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels, made popular with the Hollywood adaptations starring Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. The well choreographed and brutal hand-to-hand combat portrayed was the hallmark of the films, and game publisher Sierra and developer High Moon Studios have done a excellent job capturing that adrenaline-filled action, almost to the point where you feel like you’re recreating scenes from the movie. Conspiracy loosely follows the action from The Bourne Identity. Bourne is fished out of the Mediterranean, his memory gone, and you begin to follow in his footsteps to find out why so many people are trying to kill him. In between, you’re taken to some of his earlier exploits as Bourne flashes back during the story.

As with the movies, the main focus of the combat is hand-to-hand. And just like the movies, it’s fast-paced and brutal. The combat system is quite simple; you only have a light and heavy attack, a block, and the vaunted take down. You also have the “Bourne Instinct,” which you’ll use to find way points, special items, and enemies. Timing and strategy are critical, as each opponent will have a different fighting style. As you successfully strike your opponent, you charge up your adrenaline, which will allow you to do a take down move. These moves are entertaining to watch, as Bourne uses whatever is at his disposal to put a hurtin’ on his opponent, whether it’s slamming a head on a desk or smashing his face in with a fire extinguisher. Charge up enough adrenaline and you can take down multiple foes at once. The funnest boss fight is a flashback mission where you need to eliminate a target, which requires you to chase your target through an airport, dodging trains in a subway, and then finally fighting him in the cargo hold of a transport plane. You also have a variety of quick-reaction, timed button maneuvers, especially when fighting the tougher boss characters. Don’t think you’ll get off easy being conservative either. Some levels have a time limit, forcing you to be ultra-aggressive to make it through. One of the toughest sequences you’ll is fighting a very tough boss in a burning barn, which you’ll need to do it in two minutes before the it collapses on you.

There’s also a fair bit of gun play. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it will satisfy your craving for shooting up a room full of bad guys. You’re allowed two weapons (pistol and assault rifle/shotgun) and have the standard duck and cover elements, ala Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Certain types of cover are destructible, such as wooden boxes, so you can whittle away at them in order to get at your target. The adrenaline concept also carries over during gunfights; accumulate enough and you can do a take down shot. It’s nothing spectacular, just a guaranteed kill.

Graphically, Bourne Conspiracy has done a excellent job recreating the Bourne look and feel represented in the films. As you deliver (and take) your beatings, you can see your face steadily become battered and bloody. The sound, music, and voice acting are well done, capturing the heart pounding feeling you experience in the movies. You’ll even be treated with a track from techno legend Paul Oakenfold and Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley at the end of the game. One low point of the game is the car chase sequence. It seems like it was slapped together from source code from Crazy Taxi and is quite ridiculous. There was also the occasional awkward camera angle, and overall it was too short. I managed to beat the game in about five hours on normal difficulty. Which is a shame, because I desperately wanted to play through The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. I’ll guess I’ll just have to wait for the sequel.