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Just watched it. I have to say, he couldn't be any further from the mark. I can't even remember a single enemy going down with only 2 shots, even with a headshot and flashlight on them. If they did, it was far and few between.

You must have a really bad aim then. They do go down in 2 shots if you were playing correctly.

Well stated. It's taking me about 2.5-3 hours per episode. With the pages, the treasure boxes, coffee thermos', listening to the entire length of each radio broadcast, watching each TV show to the end, exploring all the nooks and crannies...and absorbing the atmosphere, this will be an 18 hour game first time through at least.

Just watched it. I have to say, he couldn't be any further from the mark. I can't even remember a single enemy going down with only 2 shots, even with a headshot and flashlight on them. If they did, it was far and few between. The ones that die the fastest for me are the ones that get nailed by my flare.

Narration is probably the best this gen as well.

Yeah it usually took 3 shots or more (with the pistol which ZP said he always used).

nope, not at all

News to me I was informed it counted accumulative hours spent in the game.

edit: "Their data is also based on the presence data coming from being connected to Xbox Live, regardless of whether or not the game features online play or not, which explains games like Mass Effect 2 in the list."

Linkie

edit II: Oblivion has been in the top 10 before so it does track SP games by the looks of it.

I am not sure what game some people were playing, but on the Normal default settings (nothing changed), every single normal bad guy went down in no more than 2 shots for me. The bigger guys, went down in either 4-6, depending on who they were. And as I said earlier most of the bigger guys went down in two shots from the shotgun.

So if the normal run of the mill enemies took more than 2 shots, either people changed the difficulty or they were not good at aiming. Those are the only two conclusions I can come to.

But whatever, I am not going to sit here and argue what my experience was with people. I know what I experienced, if you want to question it go right ahead, whatever floats your boat.

Then you're lying (20:15 onwards - 2 shots). :)

In other news, would have though it would have more people playing than borderlands (didn't chart last week either, high five Trials HD though).

Nope, not lying at all. No reason to. I am too old and sounds pointless. Others have also confirmed here that it's not the norm. Don't you have anything better to do then bait threads? Move along.

But whatever, I am not going to sit here and argue what my experience was with people. I know what I experienced, if you want to question it go right ahead, whatever floats your boat.

Exactly, looks like many have had different experiences. What floats ones boat I guess. I think we all know what we each personally experienced.

Nope, not lying at all. No reason to. I am too old and sounds pointless. Others have also confirmed here that it's not the norm. Don't you have anything better to do then bait threads? Move along.

Just calling you out is all, don't like it don't reply? :)

I am not sure what game some people were playing, but on the Normal default settings (nothing changed), every single normal bad guy went down in no more than 2 shots for me. The bigger guys, went down in either 4-6, depending on who they were. And as I said earlier most of the bigger guys went down in two shots from the shotgun.

So if the normal run of the mill enemies took more than 2 shots, either people changed the difficulty or they were not good at aiming. Those are the only two conclusions I can come to.

But whatever, I am not going to sit here and argue what my experience was with people. I know what I experienced, if you want to question it go right ahead, whatever floats your boat.

There's the shotgun and then there's the hunting rifle. So you should be specific. Actually, even more than that, there's the pumpaction shotgun as well, so 3 different ones, the hunting rifle being the strongest then yes, 2 shots from that takes most things down, and you're limited to 2 shots before you have to reload. Others have 4 or more though.

The whole bit about the gun taking "everything" down in 2 shots though? That's BS. Also lets completelly forget about enemies that keep rushing you even when your blasting them with the light beam (the big ass lumberjacks), as well as those super fast ones that run all over the place (though those are few). In the end he's overexaggerating everything like he always does, good for a few laughs but if you seriously take this as a objective review then there's something wrong with you.

And who cares about the narration? It's Remedys style, it was in both Max Payne games, I expected it going in and I like it.

Am I the only one that experienced a "2 to the body 1 to the head" pistol kill for "normal" enemy types? The bigger guys for me were 4-6 to the body 2-4 to the head

No, you're not. The game takes a few things into account that people don't bring up at all. Some want to write it off as bad aim but that's BS, i can tell that when it comes to the revolver the game takes distance into account as well as where you shoot. As with rl, the closer you are the more damage from the same weapon. Also the "shotguns" differ and even those might need more or less shots. The hunting rifles are the strongest, the double barrel one that gives you two shots max before you have to reload and then the next one up that holds I think 4? Then you have other pumpaction ones that hold 8 or 12 shots iirc but are **** poor from long range cuz they fire buckshot so you gotta get close.

No, you're not. The game takes a few things into account that people don't bring up at all. Some want to write it off as bad aim but that's BS, i can tell that when it comes to the revolver the game takes distance into account as well as where you shoot. As with rl, the closer you are the more damage from the same weapon. Also the "shotguns" differ and even those might need more or less shots. The hunting rifles are the strongest, the double barrel one that gives you two shots max before you have to reload and then the next one up that holds I think 4? Then you have other pumpaction ones that hold 8 or 12 shots iirc but are **** poor from long range cuz they fire buckshot so you gotta get close.

Liar! laugh.gif

Liar! laugh.gif

NevER!!!!!!

I finished the game last night btw. I dunno why some moaned about the ending, I think it closed this arc well and left it open for more to come. Now to wait for the DLC and see where it goes.

I do, but we don't need to go there :)

What was your final time playing the game do you figure?

That's a hard one cuz at first I'd play until I finished an episode which was 2hr's , maybe 2.5hrs and then call it a night. I was playing late so I had to get some sleep as well, played till around 1am or so each time. I'd say between 12 and 14hrs. I did miss a few things, like 10 or so manuscript pages, maybe more if you count the ones you can only find in nightmare mode. Missed 1 tv and 1 radio show as well, damnit! And I forget how many hidden boxes I missed to, *sigh*. And I was looking left and right to! :laugh:

That's a hard one cuz at first I'd play until I finished an episode which was 2hr's , maybe 2.5hrs and then call it a night. I was playing late so I had to get some sleep as well, played till around 1am or so each time. I'd say between 12 and 14hrs. I did miss a few things, like 10 or so manuscript pages, maybe more if you count the ones you can only find in nightmare mode. Missed 1 tv and 1 radio show as well, damnit! And I forget how many hidden boxes I missed to, *sigh*. And I was looking left and right to! :laugh:

Nice work man shifty.gif

Now, you need to jet off to youtube or the Alan Wake walkthrough on IGN to find the missing pages/tv/radios :)

some people here are so bent on making this game look bad, it's comical. i wonder what the motivation is. this is a good game no matter how you slice it. not perfect, but good. it took me just like GP, 13-15 hours to clock this with enjoying the experience, not rushing through it just so i could get paid by Sony to post negative reviews of it. Oops. didn't play it on normal, went for hardcore, but don't remember the taken being all that easy. apparently that means i'm either an extremly bad shot or a liar.

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    • I'm not happy with myself for it, but I've gone and got hold of it. Just another 45 minutes and I'll be Bond, James Bond. In my defence, IO's Hitman series is awesome, and I'm a sucker for 007. So while it might seem a bit simplified compared to Hitman, I'm sure I'll be right at home.
    • Or just check the script yourself ^^. I hate having a Microsoft account tied to my windows install.
    • 007 First Light review: Satisfying spy adventure that James Bond needed by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe I have fond memories of classic James Bond games from the Electronic Arts era. Using high-tech gadgets, sneaking into parties, and dispatching bad guys were wildly exciting activities for my younger self. In recent years, Bond games have entirely disappeared, alongside the super spy genre. Fast forward to 2020, imagine my surprise when IO Interactive announced it had secured the Bond IP to make a game. Considering the studio’s Hitman history, this project is one I keenly kept an eye on. Six years later, 007 First Light is finally here, and after spending time inside this globe-trotting adventure, I can safely say that my excitement for this developer’s take on this universe was not unfounded. IO has taken lessons it has learned from Hitman and combined them with what I would expect from a directed cinematic experience like James Bond. I have refrained from mentioning major plot points to save you from story spoilers in this review. This is an original story that doesn’t tie into any movies, so there isn’t an expectation of knowing the backstory or the decades of movies either. Bond, James Bond When 007 First Light begins, Bond is just Bond. There isn’t a spy angle, fancy gadgets, or even a secret mission. The introductory mission is framed to show how James Bond handled himself and how he does not care about the odds when it comes to saving lives. It’s a gorgeous level as well, showing off an island scattered with cliffs in the middle of a storm. Looking back, this is probably the best-looking level in the game, with IO showing off all its abilities with its custom engine, Glacier. But my favorite ended up being the follow-up to this level. Once the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, recruits our daring youngster into its super-spy “00” program, training begins. However, instead of treading through the same tutorial missions where the game teaches you to run and jump and drive, IO opted for a montage, and it’s amazing. The scenes cut between Bond practicing and improving his marksmanship, parkour, hand-to-hand combat, and driving as weeks go by in his training. What impressed me here was the lack of any loading screens or stutters as scenes instantly switched to different locations entirely, as if I was watching a movie. This creativity is a trend I noticed in most levels, where there is some sort of gameplay or choreography mechanic being introduced to keep things interesting. Soon, the rest of the cast is introduced, bringing other agents that our favorite secret agent will be working with, the scientists and engineers that build MI6’s spy gadgets, as well as higher-ranking officers that either appreciate or (at best) tolerate Bond’s rebellious attitude. It’s a tight cast, all with incredibly good voice acting and personalities that quickly grew on me. The casting for Bond himself is also an excellent one. From showing his iconic soft spot for women to the condescending smiles that get a rise out of enemies, I had no issues getting immersed into this universe as this new face of James Bond. The missions take place in a wide range of locations as MI6 sends Bond to tackle dangers that are growing everywhere from the UK to Africa. These aren’t unrelated adventures where MI6 is sending secret agents, which is an angle I would love to see in another game, but a part of a bigger conspiracy affecting the entire world. Some of the twists and turns were all too predictable, and the character that Lenny Kravitz played made me cringe a little too much. But all in all, I enjoyed the campaign’s storyline that sets the stage for this new agent joining the illustrious “00” program. Plenty of Possibilities The third-person style of IO Interactive fits this role quite well. Bond is presented as a master at hand-to-hand combat as well as firearms, while also having a knack for being stealthy when required. Most sections of missions have a lot of freedom. This means I could beat up every goon and security guard on the way to an objective, slip past them without sounding a single alarm, or do a mix of both. My sessions usually end up with the third option because I tend to be impatient about waiting for a patrol to move. Drawing from its Hitman genes, the developer almost always gives multiple routes for going through missions. Levels can be massive, sometimes sporting hundreds of NPCs going their own ways and having conversations. If my objective is to break into a security room on the third floor, I could look around for roof access, eavesdrop on conversations to find out where someone lost a key, create a distraction and pickpocket a guard for a keycard, sneak in through the vents, or simply kick down the offending door. I enjoyed the variety on offer, especially because the same solutions didn’t usually show up in different missions. Before heading out into a secret MI6 escapade, the gadget specialist of the branch walks Bond through the organization's latest and greatest achievements. This can be cool little devices like a laser built into the watch, a phone that fires poison darts, or a camera that emits a powerful shockwave. The choice of what can be taken into the mission is up to the player. I could usually find fresh routes or get out of tough situations with a punch or two, so I never had the feeling of missing out by not choosing the right equipment. It’s still a fun practice. Choosing the armaments before a mission enhanced the super spy feeling quite a bit. As I mentioned, stealth comes in as a very viable option for most of the missions, letting Bond sneak past foes or knock them out silently. While it is satisfying to clear entire areas of goons and walk away without any alarms, the way of accomplishing this could have been done better. Bond can lure enemies, sneak up and knock them out, or use a gadget to disorient them before dealing a nasty blow. Bodies cannot be moved or hidden afterward either. It’s a very simple system, which I wish were more exciting to pull off. Perhaps more stealth-orientated gadgets, distraction options, or multi-takedowns could have helped here, I think. Getting caught while attempting to be in stealth does not mean a game over. Other than getting into a fist fight, an interesting twist of 007 First Light is the bluffing option. While an enemy is confused as to what you are doing in a restricted location, Bond has the option to improvise and persuade them that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. These are fun little dynamic interactions with unique dialog depending on the mission and location, giving a few extra moments for Bond to go past suspicious guards smoothly. It’s the first time I’ve witnessed this system in a game, and I hope to see more. License to Kill Bond isn’t just dealing with security guards or civilians. From time to time, entire gangs of gun-toting mercenaries show up in levels looking to take down our protagonist. It is then that License to Kill mode is activated for Bond, letting him use firearms with no restrictions. I was surprised by just how tight gunplay is in 007 First Light. The weapons feel powerful and satisfying to fire, with single bullets capable of taking down an enemy with a headshot. Ammo is scarce, and enemies don’t drop weapons with full magazines most of the time. This forces a hectic kind of gameplay where I am always advancing towards enemies to take their weapons after they are downed. Things like shooting legs to immobilize, aiming at the hands to make their weapon go flying, blowing up nearby fire extinguishers for cover, and using gadgets to halt a goon in their tracks while I reload, make up enjoyable levels. I had to hold back my disappointment when the enemy count in these action sequences dropped to zero and I had to go non-lethal again. Speaking of action sequences, First Light isn’t just offering sandbox levels to complete at the player’s own leisure either. Each level comes with specific linear and directed scenes to move the story forward and put Bond in tight situations. These usually end up with high-octane chases or driving sections, offering the chance to witness chaining explosions, hails of gunfire, and scripted parkour scenes that remind me of Mission Impossible movies more than Bond. Elements like seeing James Bond jump out of a plane without a parachute or drive through buildings in London inside a trash truck were fantastic and always left me at a high point when finishing a mission. The classic James Bond theme is sprinkled in here too, which only happens a handful of times in the game, but at just the right moments. Visuals and Performance Compared to Unreal Engine 5 games we are seeing nowadays, 007 First Light isn’t flexing a huge amount of realism when it comes to graphics. The models, textures, and effects all feel a little dated, with the starting mission that I mentioned being the most visually striking. However, the complete lack of stutters, the hundreds of NPCs that can be on screen without a single hitch, massive sandbox levels, and smooth transitions between them all play a part in making this an immensely immersive and complex experience. The in-engine cutscenes are gorgeous as well, offering an upgraded visual style and model detail over the gameplay sections. Animations are one aspect that jumps out at me about any new game, and First Light has nailed what a third-person action game should feel like. Walking, sneaking, and running all have a heaviness to them that I appreciate. Whenever Bond moves past a wall or a ledge, his arms reach out to lightly hold those structures until he moves away. NPCs actually react to my character and move out of the way. Even during melee combat or takedown animations, the fists impacting a body or a head hitting a wall all have that same weight. Even the more frivolous animations, like catching a gun in midair or chucking an empty one at a goon (yes, you can do that), are satisfying to pull off. Of course, the in-engine cutscene animations are remarkably well done too, with facial animations and the upgraded model details improving my engagement with the characters. I have an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB paired with an eight-core Ryzen 7 3700X and 32GB of RAM, with the game running at 1440p resolution. Deciding to completely max out all the graphics options gave me a range of frame rates between 60 and 100 depending on the scene and level. While I did try to enable AMD FSR, which bumped up the frame rates by a good 20% at Quality mode, IO Interactive’s implementation of the technology wasn’t that great. Every corner and edge in levels began shimmering, and I was also seeing smearing issues in fast-moving sections. The title seemingly uses the older generation FSR 3.1 and not the machine learning-assisted FSR 4, leading to these artifacts. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to manually upgrade this right now either. I opted to turn off the upscaling and play the game in native 1440p to avoid problems. I would say the FPS range I was getting was an acceptable one for a single-player action game for my setup. I do wish there were an FOV slider option in the settings. While the camera is far enough back for my tastes in most situations in this third-person adventure, at times the perspective is far too close. When trying to look around quickly and spot targets, I realized I was getting a slight headache at times due to the use of an almost over-the-shoulder close-up camera. Conclusion Being James Bond in 007 First Light is a treat. Traveling around the world chasing conspiracies, using high-tech gadgets disguised as everyday accessories, and improvising on the spot to fool foes all give a fantastic feeling of being a super spy. For an origin story, IO Interactive has done a great job at introducing the character and his motives for doing what he does. The satisfying combat animation and fantastic voice acting are definitely high points, with the License to Kill moments being my favorite. Not being able to move bodies and the simplistic stealth of mechanics does hurt its presentation a little. The NPC logic and intelligence is easy to manipulate and trick, repeating the same actions over and over again if I keep making distractions. The lack of an FOV slider was also a pain (quite literally) at times, and the FSR implementation is quite poor. These are things I hope the studio will improve upon with updates. Even with its faults, IO Interactive and James Bond are a match made in heaven. The studio knows how to make a main character that oozes charm and competency while also leaning heavily into its Hitman experience to make gigantic levels with what looks like hundreds of NPCs roaming around. Being an origin story, IO’s Bond has a way to go before he becomes the highly effective agent we see in the movie world. I am hoping the studio will continue this series alongside its Hitman ventures going forward, just so we get to experience the journey for longer. 007 First Light is available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox PC), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. This review was conducted on the PC version of the game provided by IO Interactive.
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