It’s 20 years today since GoldenEye came out in the UK, and Bond games are nowhere to be seen!
But what if EA got the licence back? First, they’d tap into some nostalgia…
That’s unbelievable. I have fond memories playing the game. It has aged rather badly in my view, but that’s okay. The core mechanics (especially the multiplayer) remain intact.
I think it’s a disgrace what happened to the Bond gaming franchise. I really enjoyed the Agent Under Fire, NightFire, Everything or Nothing and From Russia With Love run by EA Games. Even Rogue Agent had its moments. But it went all downhill after that. It’s such a shame considering the potential of the licence.
I hold out hope the games can be resurrected. I’d be looking at the Arkham series for inspiration. Develop a solid set of gameplay mechanics and build a rich world. Sony is doing a similar thing with their new Spider-Man game on PS4. It takes time to get these things right, but the wait is worth it.
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My, my do I miss the EA era of Bond games. Some better than others, of course, but compared elsewhere, those games were the top shelf.
I bet I invested just as much time into Nightfire that I did into GoldenEye, and that’s saying something…
Will we ever be done such justice again?
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Somebody’s got to try something eventually! But Bond as a franchise isn’t the same juggernaut it used to be, I don’t think. Now we have a film every 3 or 4 years, they’re very successful, but there’s nothing in between. Maybe EON just aren’t bothered anymore.
I wouldn’t mind something in the vein of Agent Under Fire - it feels like the movies, but there’s a different Bond, a different Q etc. Third person like Everything or Nothing with open world elements. If Marvel and DC can juggle having all these different Spider-Mans and Batmans, then surely EON can manage two Bonds at once? 
They just need to find the right partner. EA were great, Activision treated it poorly and they don’t do many licensed games anymore. Ubisoft would be quite a good fit. I think the problem is most publishers want their own IPs, there’s less money in licensed stuff.
Anybody in for Square Enix?!
No? Okay, sorry for the outburst.
Maybe, but they’ve got a big partnership with Marvel to do Avengers games. Crystal Dynamics doing Bond would be cool!
It’s hard to say. The licence was treated as a cash cow by Activision. A new developer would have to change their thinking in order to deliver quality.
It’d be cool if a talented company made a proper Bond game including Skyfall, SPECTRE and Bond 25 storylines, like the Quantum of Solace game included Casino Royale’s storyline.
I thought Bloodstone was good, similar to Everything or Nothing in being a sort Bond 22.5 like EON was 20.5
Otherwise though, yeah, Activisions treatment of Bond left something to be desired didn’t it
I didn’t mind Blood Stone. I didn’t think it was as good as Everything or Nothing, but it was still one of the better Bond games.
Blood Stone was good, it just needed more money behind it. What was up with Bond’s dark hair?!
Yes, the strengths of Bloodstone seemed to be in spite of Activision rather than Activision properly investing in it.
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Yeah. My issue lies with 007 Legends and their other games feeling bland. Apart from the 007 logo on the cover arts, they could’ve been any generic shooter.
Activision shot themselves in the foot by releasing Blood Stone and GoldenEye on the same day. Obviously one of those titles was going to greatly overshadow the other…
It’s a shame because Blood Stone was actually quite good and more of the direction I would have liked to have seen from Activision. Quantum of Solace was okay, GoldenEye was better, and then it was all downhill with the glorified coaster that was 007 Legends. I truly miss the EA games.
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What are the odds we could hear some news about the James Bond license this year? I kind of hope that Rocksteady’s mystery project might actually be a new Bond game. But I won’t hold my breath. I also remember a rumor floating around, last year I think, about telltale Games potentially working on Bond game.
That’s true. More effort was given to Goldeneye. I still lament that we got the garbage that was 007 Legends in lieu of Raven Software’s Bloodstone sequel. The footage that has been released from that project is intriguing.
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I would love to see a LEGO James Bond video game but that’s NOT going to happen.
I always saw Bond as an RPG. A good thriller type game, a slow burn that takes Bond all over the world. At least that’s my dream Bond-style type game.
seeing whats happening with Star Wars et al now… i think the last thing Bond needs is EA (or Activision for that matter) - the best outcome is honestly Sony gets the movie rights again and EON and Sony allow one of their first party developers to treat it as a Playstation exclusive original game like Insomniac are currently doing with Spiderman. Maybe Sucker Punch after they were done with Ghost of Tsushima - which would keep it free of loot boxes and pay to win multiplayer - but really the days of the film tie in games are gone and I doubt a real Bond game beyond a mobile game will be on the cards for a long time
I’d like something that gives a balanced representation of Bond’s world that isn’t just running and gunning. I think Everything or Nothing had the perfect template. Their main hook was rappelling down buildings, mixed in with a decent hand-to-hand combat system, gunplay, vehicles and gadgets. If I were in charge of things though, I’d get Timothy Dalton on board (scan his likeness and use his voice) and create a new story. Imagine that.