The Bourne Conspiracy - Hands On Preview

Running onto Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next month (probably away from the security service with his little red bag) is Jason Bourne, as he makes his videogame debut in Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy. Based on Ludlum's book and 2002 movie, The Bourne Identity, and developed by High Moon Studios (the maker's of 2005's Darkwatch), the game tracks the £30 million CIA-trained amnesiac super-assassin as he tries to uncover who he is - and for the first time, thanks to flashback missions, who he was.

But with the mid-June release now looming, will the target of creating an immersive and cinematic experience get executed with the skill of a disciplined agent, or miss the mark like a novice with a squint?

The $30 Million Man.

Regarding the game as the 'third pass' of Jason's story following the book and the movie, High Moon has extended the campaign beyond Bourne's first adventure, as players will also get an insight into his past exploits as part of Operation Treadstone (the CIA black ops program). Besides expanding the campaign experience, it also means that players get to see the two very different sides of Jason's personality, as he shifts from cold-blooded killer to amnesiac rogue element. But the strength of The Bourne Conspiracy is set to be more than just the storyline, based on both previous 'passes' of Ludlum's story. High Moon is explicitly pushing to deliver a fast-paced and immersive cinematic experience, thanks to two key features: a uniquely stylised shaky-cam presentation, and bout after bout of hand-to-hand encounters with various enemies.

The importance of the dynamic camera, inspired by the direction of Paul Greengrass' movies, shouldn't be underplayed (and it quite frankly hasn't been), and neither should the level of inspiration the movies provided for High Moon. By recruiting two veterans of the trilogy to oversee the storyline and the fight sequences, the studio is desperate to tap into the same breathless pace created by the silver screen adaptations. In fact, there's a strong level of intensity for as long as something is going on, whether that's a race to escape the lockdown at the US Embassy in Zurich, or taking down several enemies in hand-to-hand combat. One of the few criticisms of Greengrass' movies was that the shaky camera and ADHD-suffering cinematography made some people feel unwell. If you're one of them, it's probably for the best to steer clear of The Bourne Conspiracy. For the others, just have the valium ready for afterwards.

It's clear to see already that High Moon's cinematic aim is being met, with a real dynamism to the way the missions are presented and experienced. In fact, the cinematography used in the gameplay can sometimes seem more like cut-scenes playing out - which is admittedly rather off-putting when snipers are targeting in their sights. That said, it undeniably adds to a strongly rooted sense of immersion that is sometimes lost in other movie-to-game adaptations.

Getting The Adrenaline Pumping.

Hand-to-hand combat is the game's other tool for immersion, a definite tangent from the usual run 'n' gun orientated action that normally filters through an action game. Switching the action from the standard third-person perspective to one more in line with beat 'em ups is shaping up to be a fluid experience, helped by short transition cuts that either have Bourne or the enemy making the first hit. From there, combat breaks down into series of offensive attacks or counter-measures, with button presses and holds the difference between quick jabs or more powerful kicks. The camera direction also switches quite dramatically, getting closer to the action and moving around both Bourne and his opponents.

Bourne's CIA training also means that combat is interspersed with a variety of contextual 'take-downs', moves that literally take down an opponent in one fell swoop. It's an area where High Moon has obviously spent a lot of time refining, with these take down quick-time events taking into account Bourne's environment; for instance, turning a police baton on an interfering cop, or spinning an enemy into the path of an incoming bullet. Several take downs are available to the CIA operative, including bullet take downs that display Bourne's adept skills with firearms, and stealth take downs that do exactly what they say on the tin.

These near one-hit-kill take downs (the rather epic bosses take a few more hits) are all driven by Bourne's adrenaline levels, which are shown on screen. Split into three segments to allow players to fire off multiple take downs, adrenaline is built up during combat, and can trigger take downs with a single button press, creating the sort of visceral immediacy seen in the movies. Adrenaline is also used to power 'Bourne Instinct', Jason's ability to spot enemies and escape routes with almost spider-sense accuracy. Far-fetched for a game without superheroes at first glance, the ability is a necessity during the chase sequences, where a wrong move without using Instinct would otherwise boil down into trial and error gameplay, breaking the fluidity and any cinematic experience.

Bourne To Be Wild.

For all the fast pace that oozes out of The Bourne Conspiracy, there are a couple of areas to address between the current state of the game and it's final version. The most obvious rests with the boss encounters that occur. Not only are they hard as nails coated in diamonds, but their mid-battle knife wielding just crosses the line into gamepad-destroying frustration. Extensions of the hand-to-hand fights that heavily pepper the game, the battles last for far too long, slowing Bourne's otherwise breathless pace to a absolute halt. We're not asking for much, High Moon - just dial it down a little...

The other serious weakness, which is likely unfixable this close to release, comes in the driving sequences. Despite being a minor part of the overall campaign, vehicular handling is looking to put something of a dampener on what will otherwise be a solid debut for a future 'The Bourne...' franchise. Naturally, the camera movements through the streets of Paris mimic the rest of the game, barely staying still for even an instant, in a drive to give some intensity to the section. The handling of the car is however over-exaggerated, and follows similar on-the-rails approach to other action-adventure games (Tomb Raider immediately springs to mind), breaking that intensity and the immersion in one fell swoop. With the driving sequence not quite polished enough at this very late stage, there is one saving grace - it's short-lived, and is broken up further by the game's liberal use of quick-time moments. These weaker elements are, thankfully, few and far between, so any stifling of immersion looks to be kept to a minimum. Even so, it would be great to see some improvement in the final release come June 27th.