Robert Ludlums: The Bourne Conspiracy – 360 – Review

Jason Bourne is
a weapon trained to seek out and destroy enemies the United States government
deems a danger to National Security but what happens when that human weapon
“malfunctions” during a mission and loses all recollection of who he is and why
he is skilled in combat? Well, the government sends professions to eliminate
him as we find out in Robert Ludlum’s novel, The Bourne Identity, and
later a blockbuster film and – after several years later – an Xbox 360 game
called Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy.

While fans of
the novels and movies will wonder what took so long to bring a Bourne game to
gaming consoles, The Bourne Conspiracy joins those rare movie-to-game
translations that actually are as good as the source material. If you’re a fan
of the Bourne series, Conspiracy focuses on the events that lead up to as well
as parts of The Bourne Identity.

For those who
those not familiar with the action-spy series, the series revolves around a
highly-trained operative named Jason Bourne who is sent to assassinate an
African dictator named Wombosi when Bourne has a change of heart in mid-mission.
After he is shot on the boat that occupied said dictator, Bourne falls into the
ocean and is rescued by a fishing boat but has no recollection of who he is or
why he’s able to take down armed men without breaking a sweat. Conspiracy not
only finds itself replaying key moments from the hit film but it also features
missions that give us a deeper look into who Jason Bourne is before he lost his
memory.

The game’s first
level has Bourne tracking down men connect to Wombosi just a few hours before
Bourne fails the Wombosi assassination. It’s an interesting twist to be playing
events leading up to the film but it gives gamers a chance to learn what it’s
like to be Bourne before his “malfunction” (as his handler, Conklin, calls it).
Bourne can certainly knows how to handle firearms but his best weapon has always
been his hand-to-hand combat abilities and this is something the game handles
brilliantly.

There are other
missions that serve to give us a peek into Bourne’s life as an agent and, of
course, missions that follow the book and film. Aside from the joys of play key
moments from Identity such as the time Bourne fights his way out of the U.S.
Embassy or his battles with Treadstone assassins. There’s even a wild car chase
level where Bourne and Marie (who comes to aid Bourne discover who he is)
attempt to escape pursuers in a Mini Cooper. The best missions happen to be the
ones not in the movie as well, such as an action-packed mission that has you
going up against armed terrorist in an airport and subway station.

Conspiracy also
features some rather interesting boss battles as you go up against professional
assassins with nothing but your fists and feet. On the Xbox 360, the
hand-to-hand combat controls are superb and thus making these fights
delightfully vicious and as cinematic as the fight scenes in the movie. Bourne
utilizes a fighting form known as Krav Maga where anything and everything can be
utilized as a weapon and your enemies punches can be used against him. Bourne
even uses the environment in his Takedown moves (that become available after
successfully pulling off moves) to smash enemies into walls or objects. While
the fights can get a bit repetitive after awhile, there’s just something
satisfying about breaking limbs and smashing enemies into copy machines or
anything that happens to be around him.

There are
shootouts in the game Jason knows how to handle weapons such as pistols, machine
guns and shotguns but the gunplay in the game lacks finesse and better aiming.
This is not to say you won’t have fun running and gunning or performing a
firearm Takedown (which requires timed button pressing), it just isn’t as
stylish as Bourne’s fisticuff abilities. Still, the gun battles add variety to
the game’s levels as does the driving sequence and the few times that Bourne
takes a page from Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher (picking locks and performing
stealth takedowns).

While the levels
get exciting with every mission and the fights (and boss battles) are actually
enjoyable, there are still a few flaws that pop up. The camera – which attempts
to mimic the camera style of the movies – might be effective on the big screen
but not so much in the game. The major problem is that when the camera pans
around it tends to pull away from your surroundings so you will not see where
your enemies are until you defeat the closest enemy. Secondly, as the camera
resets itself, Bourne and his opponent disappear completely. There’s a bit of
collecting in the game as well but other than that the game’s replay value isn’t
considerably high.

Visually,
Conspiracy is not a bad-looking game that might not take advantage of what the
Xbox 360 can do graphically but it’s not to say that this game isn’t pleasing to
the eyes. The character models are original so you won’t be controlling Matt
Damon (who plays Jason Bourne in the movie), which might or might not sit well
with fans of Matt Damon. The environments look decent enough as does the visual
effects – especially watching Bourne and his foes show facial damage during
combat.

The game’s score
is outstanding not only because it feels like it was taken directly from the
movie but because it punctuates all the dramatic moments in the game and makes
them cinematic. The voice acting is good and that’s good news since the dialogue
is good. The sound effects are quite detailed so play this game with a good
sound system.

Robert Ludlum’s
The Bourne Conspiracy is an action-packed thrill ride with all the excitement of
the movie and book so if you’re a Bourne fan you are in for a very pleasant
surprise. Making good use of the license, many of the game’s levels are fun and
the hand-to-hand combat brings Jason Bourne’s dangerous moves to life. While
it’s far from perfect, though, anyone looking for a worthwhile action-spy game
will find themselves overlooking it’s flaws an enjoying a title that is as ultra
cool as its main character.

Gameplay: 8.0
When it comes
to the hand-to-hand combat sequences, Conspiracy makes them brutal, visceral and
turns boss battles into cinema-worthy events. As far as the shooting is
concerned, the aiming feature could have been handled a bit better but makes for
adequate gun battles. The game covers a good portion of The Bourne Identity
movie while inserting interesting background story elements.

Graphics: 7.5
The graphics are actually quite
good on the Xbox 360 and there are times when the game takes advantage of the
console’s graphical capabilities. Then again, there are times when objects and
backgrounds would feel right at home on the original Xbox. There’s no movie cast
members here but at least characters show physical damage during fights.

Sound: 8.0
As far as the
music is concerned, it feels like it comes directly from the movie and that’s
not a bad thing at all. Actually, the sound effects are also something of a
highlight and hand-to-hand fights sound like the real thing. Once again, there’s
no Matt Damon, Franka Potente or Chris Cooper but the voice acting is quite
decent.

Difficulty:
Medium
Some boss
battles can be quite tough, especially later in the game when you face off
against truly professional assassins. You will die more during shootouts thanks
to some glitches that make gunplay not as smooth as you need it to be during a
major gun battle.

Concept: 7.5
Collecting
passports in the game unlocks concept art, cinematic cut scenes you can review
again as well as unlock music from the game. The best feature allows you to
replay your favorite boss battles in the game but other than this I don’t see
many gamers coming back for more.

Overall: 8.0
The Bourne
Conspiracy does a marvelous job of giving us a taste of what it’s like being
Jason Bourne and it captures the essence of the movie and Robert Ludlum’s books
just right. That being said, whether you’re a Bourne fan or like a good
action-spy game, you will definitely enjoy what this game has to offer.