- Title: Robert Ludlum’s: The Bourne Conspiracy
- Platform: Xbox 360
- Publisher: Sierra
- Developer: High Moon Studios
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Third-Person-Action
- Pros: Nice graphics and sound; fun hand-to-hand combat; good achievement list
- Cons: Very short; gameplay is fun, but simple and repetitive; extreme overuse of timed button press events; no multiplayer
In The Bourne Conspiracy, you play as the 30 million dollar weapon Jason Bourne as he tries to uncover his past and remember who he really is. Through a combination of missions based in the present as well as flashback missions, you cover a lot of ground, kill a lot of bad guys, and unravel a pretty interesting story. Actor Matt Damon does not play Jason Bourne in the videogame, but the character looks fine in his new skin, and the voice acting is pretty solid for all of the characters, so you won’t miss Damon at all.
One thing that should be noted is that you don’t have to be a Bourne fan to enjoy this game. This was actually my first foray into the world of Jason Bourne, but the story in the game is easy to follow and the overall experience is very accessible. And I have to say that now I am interested in the Bourne universe and I’m going to watch the movies. It shouldn’t seem so surprising that a licensed game is actually effective at selling the product it was licensed from, but after all of the bad movie games lately I had honestly forgotten what their purpose was.
Gameplay
The core of the Bourne experience is the adrenaline meter. When filled, it allows you to do special takedowns that dispatch enemies quickly. In hand-to-hand fighting, these takedowns usually make use of the environment so you smash your enemy into a wall or through a window or into a copy machine or a hundred other things. When shooting, takedowns perform a one shot, one kill on an enemy, which is very handy for getting out of tight situations. The only problem with the takedowns is that you press the “B” button to start them, and then just have to watch Jason do all of the work. They are definitely cool to watch, though.
That is kind of the problem with the gameplay overall here. It is very, very simple, and you spend a lot of time just watching. The shooting is fairly standard TPS faire. The fighting is only light and heavy attacks and block. And even the driving level is simple and easy. It is all still fun, but it is very repetitive and simple and way too easy.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, The Bourne Conspiracy is a nice looking game with particularly good looking character models. The explosions and fire and special effects look very nice, and the environments are detailed and realistic looking.
The sound is also very well done. The music and sound effects are near perfect, and the voice acting for all of the characters is very solid.
Bottom Line
