Daniel Craig is Pierce Brosnan

[Blowfeld]

Daniel Craig is Pierce Brosnan by Greg Haugen at Alternative 007

So, Daniel Craig has been inserted into the new GoldenEye computer game instead of Pierce Brosnan. Is this perfectly understandable or a sodding cheek? You can see how it made sense to Eon as it was obviously going to be a lot easier for them to use Daniel Craig's mug than Brosnan again and Craig is the current Bond. Brosnan is clearly not on great terms with Eon these days and Craig presumably has a contract of some sort that says he is James Bond in relation to all media. Plus, it keeps him in the public eye as 007 while the Bond series is mired in a tangle of studio trouble and gathering dust. However, GoldenEye was Brosnan's film and computer game and you can't help feeling they wouldn't have done this to one of the Connery film titles. The symmetry of Daniel Craig in any incarnation of GoldenEye just seems off. You wouldn't use Timothy Dalton in a Goldfinger computer game would you?

The success of the original GoldenEye computer game has inevitably led to it being dusted off and rebranded again. It seems like the whole world revolves around making you buy a slightly newer version of something you already own and computer games are no different. People remember GoldenEye as a pretty good game so the money men will hope lightning strikes twice and that they get a good game and make as much money as possible. The update of the GoldenEye game beyond its cold war trappings is another argument for having the current Bond in the game but then it still brings us back to the problem of inserting one Bond actor into a title that is associated with another Bond actor because he was in the ACTUAL film! It just never quite sits right with me. Even if the current Bond was someone I liked an awful lot more than Daniel Craig I still wouldn't be happy to see, whether it was Sam Worthington, Henry Cavill or anyone, a present Bond used in a computer game based on a film that one of the previous Bonds had starred in.

For those of us who aren't huge fans of Daniel Craig being the face of Bond for the time being it is galling to see a previous Bond almost erased from history (or his computer game anyway) to make way for the current incumbent. In business terms, there can only be one Bond at any one time and that Bond, whether we like him or not, is going to get the magazine covers, the ludicrous world's best dressed man awards and his image in any Bond computer games that are released during his tenure. Although having said that, wasn't Bloodstone supposed to feature the image of a young actor from EastEnders rather than Craig originally? The question of why Craig is in GoldenEye is easy to answer as is the question of why GoldenEye has been updated and released again. The only question is: could they not possibly have contented themselves with making up new games and new titles and have avoided treading on the toes of a previous actor in this way? The answer is that they clearly didn't give a monkeys.

Is the new GoldenEye game be any good? I have no idea but if you aren't happy about this jumbling of Bonds and titles and eras then you can always buy Football Manager 2011 or Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage instead.

[Omega]

Making GoldenEye without Pierce is a mistake. Adding Craig to it is just confusing. Not to be mean to Craig it looks bad and makes clear the reason they are doing this is Money. They can't update the original for legal reasons so they bastardize it by doing this. I don't think it will sell well. People I have talked to are not impressed with it. It is missing a few of aspects popular in the original game and the VS mode wears out quick. Looking at Amazons tracking numbers it's not doing all that well maybe a wii shooter game doing badly may be good enough for Nintendo.
#84 in Video Games with the special controller
#60 in Video Games
That's it all down hill from there. This Black Ops month anyway. So many good games coming out no need to wast time on these.

Americas Pre-Order Chart
1 Call of Duty: Black Ops X360 2 228,599 1,572,795
2 Call of Duty: Black Ops PS3 2 124,848 783,579
3 World of Warcraft: Cataclysm PC 6 35,326 436,299
4 Gran Turismo 5 PS3 N/A 15,229 242,570
5 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood X360 3 32,623 226,953
6 Kinect Adventures! X360 1 31,232 211,687
7 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood PS3 3 17,789 201,465
8 LittleBigPlanet 2 PS3 12 5,242 106,556
9 Donkey Kong Country Returns Wii 4 10,907 103,113
10 Disney Epic Mickey Wii 5 13,449 100,757

Bloodstone is sinking like stone, that one sucks any way, the racing part is ok from what I hear but the added mission stuff is crap.
Bloodstone PC rank #2,394 in Video Games
Bloodstone Nintendo DS #4,391 in Video Games
And the ones that really matter Bloodstone Xbox #495 & PS3 #284

IGN review of Bloddstone http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/113/1131346p1.html

James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review
Less like GoldenEye and more like a black eye for Bond fans.
November 2, 2010
There's one James Bond game coming out this year that's got 007 fans cocking their golden guns in anticipation. Then there's Blood Stone 007. While Wii and DS owners are being treated to a re-imagining of one of the most beloved console shooters of all time in GoldenEye 007, Xbox 360 and PS3-owning Bond fans have to make do with a consolation prize in the form of a third-person shooter from Project Gotham Racing makers, Bizarre Creations. And as far as consolation prizes go, this is about as comforting as an open-mouthed kiss from Dame Judi Dench.

Dench and Daniel Craig reprise their roles of M and Bond in Blood Stone 007, while pop singer Joss Stone steps in as the token Bond girl Nicole Hunter. And those are basically the only obligations to the Bond license that this game fulfills. Otherwise there are no memorable villains, no signature gadgets – even the Bond theme music doesn't properly play until the final credits roll – and the only moment even vaguely resembling any form of fan service is the time you get to briefly step behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, albeit for no apparent reason. Otherwise this could be any other bog standard third-person shooter with Daniel Craig's expressionless face smeared across it.

Blood Stone Video Review

The plot has you chasing biochemical terrorists across a handful of exotic locations in Europe and Asia, and at times the game can be quite visually striking – like when you're escaping an exploding oil refinery in Siberia, or chasing a monolithic earth mover across crumbling highway overpasses in Bangkok. Unfortunately such moments are both fleeting and few and far between, and Blood Stone's five hour campaign is mostly padded out with repetitive firefights against brainless henchmen in bland and texturally inconsistent concrete environments.

Aside from the use of explosive barrels to take out your opposition – which comes direct from chapter one, page one of the FPS textbook – the main hook to Blood Stone's otherwise generic cover-based combat is the Focus Aim feature, which is basically a carbon copy of Splinter Cell: Conviction's Mark and Execute system, only in this case it doesn't really present any genuinely strategic benefits to the gameplay. For every context-sensitive melee takedown you perform on an enemy (Bond smashes their face into a table top and/or cuddles them into a deep sleep) you're awarded a Focus kill – and you're able to store up to three of them at any one time. When activated the Focus Aim mechanic allows you to swiftly dispatch enemies with a few quick button taps.

On the game's lower difficulty levels, Focus Aim is entirely unnecessary thanks to the Call of Duty-style targeting that automatically snaps to an enemy each time you zoom in, making it easy to pull off headshots without the need for any further assistance. But even on the higher difficulty levels there's no tangible gameplay rewards for being stealthy, so whilst Focus Aim might be a slightly quicker and more stylish way to dispatch enemy goons it's far from essential, and at times we forgot it was even there.
Bond's smartphone can be used to display your current mission objective in the HUD, along with the location of enemies in your vicinity even if they're concealed behind walls, as well as scan for evidence and hack keypads and the like. Too bad it doesn't also let you play a copy of Angry Birds, because the smartphone is the closest you'll come to getting your hands on any kind of gadget from Q branch, otherwise your only tools are an assortment of samey assault rifles and shotguns, and the odd grenade launcher. Fair enough the Daniel Craig Bond films haven't featured many gadgets either, and Bizarre has tried to ape the style of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, but when the lack of gameplay variety as a result is detrimental to the overall experience, we think the developer should have been afforded some artistic license. Strictly as a shooting experience, Blood Stone can only be described as uninspired.

But when you're not shooting cookie cutter enemies or idly staring at your smartphone like a bored teenager, you're speeding along in sports cars and powerboats in one of the handful of vehicular sections in the game. These high-octane interludes are easily the standout portions of the single-player campaign, and although they're slightly unforgiving in terms of the instant deaths caused by head-on collisions and wrong turns into bodies of water, they at least kick start your flat lining enthusiasm levels as though each vehicle is packing a set of the glove box defibrillators from Casino Royale.

Sam Fisher's Daniel Craig mask was the hit of the Halloween houseboat party.

It's too bad then that cars and boats are entirely absent from the game's online multiplayer component, which consists of just three uninspired shooter game types – Team Deathmatch, Objective and Last Man Standing. You can level up and unlock new character skins, but otherwise there's very little gameplay meat here. Some Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit-style car chases with friends would have been appreciated, but as far as multiplayer experiences go, Blood Stone's seems very much like a last minute afterthought and is unlikely to extend the lifespan of the game by more than an hour or two at best.

Blood Stone won't just disappoint fans of 007, it will also frustrate those familiar with just how capable a studio Bizarre Creations is. The British developer consistently excelled with its acclaimed Project Gotham Racing series, and subsequently displayed versatility with The Club, an underrated yet fast paced and addictive shooting experience. And yet here we are with a game that combines dangerous driving with third-person shooting – clearly two of Bizarre's strengths – and the studio has come up well short of greatness. We're not sure if it's due to the restrictive nature of working with the Bond license, or if the game has been focus-tested within an inch of its life – completely stripping it of any real depth or innovation in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator – but Blood Stone is a shallow and short-lived husk of a game. It won't keep you entertained for an afternoon so much as it will merely pass the time.
Closing Comments
Blood Stone is not a bad game: it's just a painfully average one. There aren't any majorly broken elements to it, but just because this Stone is relatively polished, doesn't make it a gem. There really isn't anything at all remarkable about it, and even though it's extremely short it still manages to wear out its welcome thanks to its extremely repetitive design. If GoldenEye is indeed the Sean Connery of 007 video games, then Blood Stone is the George Lazenby; not bad, but not good either, and forgettable in almost every way. At just five hours long and lacking in any real innovation or challenge, it won't leave you feeling shaken nor stirred, just shortchanged.

[Omega]

Bloodstone bombed. The numbers aren't on CG Chartz yet but the UK papers said GoldenEye sold twice the number of copies as Blood Stone. GoldenEye was #13 and Bloodstone was #18. http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2010/1 ... nd_outings

The only original bond game to show Craig's face on the cove BOMBS the classic Bond game and image sell the Wii game, too bad it was redone. If it were a direct port updates I think it would be a hit but they changed too much in it. A lot of fans of the original aren't happy with the new one they miss the old levels.

Activision CEO was proud of GoldenEye, but who the in the right mind would buy Reflex when the proper game was out on the Xbox & PS3.

“Goldeneye has only been out for a few days, but it's already out selling Modern Warfare: Reflex.”

I looked it up reflex only sold 1.2 million around the world when Modern Warfare 2 sold 20 million for the ps3 & xbox. They may sell 1 million of GoldenEye Wii game but I think the disappointment will kill it after the first few weeks. It will never outsell the original. Quantum Of Solace sucked but didn't sell 2 million for every system out there. They were wise to leave Craig's face in the shadows or off the cover completely for Wii because it would have waved off potnetial buyers.


http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3140 ... _In_UK.php

Sega's Football Manager 2011 debuted on top of the UK charts for the week ended November 6, following StarCraft II as the second PC title to hit number one this year, reports tracking firm Chart-Track.

Football Manager 2011 is a sports management sim that tasks players with running a soccer team, negotiating contracts, and training players.

Electronic Arts' own soccer title, FIFA 11, took number two, followed by last week's top title, Fable III.

Nintendo's Professor Layton and the Unwound Future rose three spots to number five, and thanks to the release of the red 25th annivarsary Wii bundle, New Super Mario Bros. Wii returned to the top 10 at number six.

Activision's latest James Bond titles failed to make the top 10, as Goldeneye 007 for Wii hit number 13 and 007: Blood Stone for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 landed at number 18.

Titles falling from the top 10 this week include WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011.

Below are Chart-Track's all-platforms sales charts, which include unit sales of all versions of a given title.

UK All-Platforms Top 10

1. Football Manager 2011 (Sega)
2. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts)
3. Fable III (Microsoft)
4. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
5. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Nintendo)
6. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
7. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks)
8. Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts)
10. The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)

UK Individual Platforms Top 10

The PC-exclusive Football Manager 2011 topped the individual platforms chart, with Fable III and Just Dance 2 rounding out the top three. New Super Mario Bros. Wii hit number five, and Activision's Goldeneye 007 for Wii hit number nine.

1. Football Manager 2011 (Sega, PC)
2. Fable III (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
3. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft, Wii)
4. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Nintendo, DS)
5. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo, Wii)
6. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360)
7. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts, PS3)
8. Wii Party (Nintendo, Wii)
9. Goldeneye 007 (Activision, Wii)
10. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360)

[Omega]

the numbers are out at VG Chartz http://www.vgchartz.com/

Neither of the Bond games made the top ten list.

[Blowfeld]

007 remake creates chaotic gameplay
Video Game Reviews - Goldeneye 007, James bond 007: Blood Stone
By Allistair Pinsof, Daily Texan Staff
Published: Wednesday, November 24, 2010

DT Image

Courtesy of Activision “Goldeneye 007” is a reimagining, rather than remake, of the classic Nintendo 64 shooter.

Goldeneye 007 (Wii)

“Goldeneye 007” is not an improvement on the Nintendo 64 classic. That game, unfortunately, is destined to remain locked away until Rare and Nintendo make good in court. In the meantime, we have this reimagining that borrows from current leaders of its genre while retaining enough memorable touch points to conjure up a faint sense of nostalgia. These bouts of nostalgia — what the game’s marketing campaign is banking on — are often interrupted for naught.

The first mission places you in a faithful recreation of the dam sequence from the original game (and film), except the graphics look much better. The same cannot be said for Daniel Craig, who replaces the original leading man in this update, looking more troll-like than usual on the Wii’s limited hardware. Watches with laser beams have been forgone, along with the original leading man. Soon enough, the level changes into something unfamiliar: You are sneaking by guards and making a getaway in a scene that would fit in a “Call of Duty” title. Unfortunately, the game cannot keep up the pace. After plodding through generic factories and jungles, you’d be happy to replay through the game’s pointless club scene that has you pointing a camera at a crowd of people, trying to find a contact.

The multiplayer mode plays like “Call of Duty,” except more chaotic and with the skill and variety sucked out. The old maps barely resemble their originals, and the new ones are no good — players often leave a room when they are picked. The dull, white text celebrating your victory has a depressing effect. It reminds the player that this isn’t “Goldeneye 007” on the N64, nor is it “Call of Duty.” This is some cash grab in between the two.

Grade: C
For fans of “The Conduit,” “Call of Duty” and terrible Russian accents.

this story can be found at 007 remake creates chaotic gameplay

[Blowfeld]

* By: Mel Stefaniuk
‘How do you screw up James Bond?’
For a game that’s all action and zero plot, James Bond 007: Blood Stone is surprisingly dull

James Bond 007: Blood Stone

How hard could it be to make a good James Bond game? The series is already full of gadgets, guns, car chases, over-the-top villains and a nearly limitless supply of locales to visit and blow up. Blood Stone even has Daniel Craig’s voice and likeness as 007. What could go wrong?

Apparently, plenty. To say Blood Stone’s attempt at telling a cinematic James Bond story fails would be an understatement. The plot is an incoherent mess that (I think) involves an evil organization’s plan to do something devious with some poisonous gas. There’s hardly any dialogue to explain what’s happening and there’s no memorable villain to tie it all together. In fact, there’s really nothing here but a series of lame action setpieces. There isn’t even an ending — the game just cuts off at the end of the second act with the signature "James Bond will return" line. (Note to developers: there’s a difference between a cliffhanger and an incomplete game.)

The complete lack of any sort of story is a shame because Blood Stone actually plays pretty decently. It’s completely unoriginal — basically a melding of Splinter Cell: Conviction and Batman: Arkham Aslyum — but there is fun to be had playing as James Bond and getting into shootouts with nameless goons. At least, for a little while. The game takes place all over the world but most of the levels are in bland environments such as warehouses and factories, and there’s only so many fights you can have in places like that before things start to get tiresome.

Car chases are sprinkled throughout to keep things fresh. While graphically impressive and fun in concept, they end up being frustrating due to terrible controls and a high level of difficulty that forces you to do them over and over again until you memorize the exact route the game forces you to take.

Online multiplayer also makes an appearance but, unlike the classic Goldeneye — which still holds up with its four-player, split-screen fun — the multiplayer here is absolutely atrocious. It has all of the standard team-based modes you’d expect but, inexplicably, you don’t get to play as James Bond or any characters from the Bond universe. Instead, you get to choose from a bunch of random spies and mercenaries.

Why is this game called Blood Stone when the story involves absolutely no blood or stones? Why is it so incredibly dull despite being all action and no plot? Why isn’t it finished?

There are so many questions to ask about this game, but only one really sticks out: why would anyone want to play something this mediocre?

http://www.uptownmag.com/diversions/gam ... 44729.html