I recently spent several hours playing 007 First Light, and if you haven't already, I encourage you to read my full impressions of the title. However, my time with "Jim Bond" sparked a realization that probably doesn't belong in a preview: James Bond might simply not belong as a video game protagonist.

The cinematic disconnect of James Bond

I know what you’re thinking—GoldenEye 007 on the N64 is a classic. But let's be honest, you weren't really playing as the character in that game; you were essentially just a floating hand with a pistol. In that instance, the character of Bond existed merely as a lore reason for your gun to emit bullets.

The real issue arises when games attempt to put players in his actual shoes and embody him as a character. Many of these attempts fail because James Bond is fundamentally a creature of cinema. He is designed for a 90-to-120-minute runtime, not the 40-hour commitment of a modern title.

Part of this struggle comes down to his personality. To put it bluntly, he can be an insufferable public school dickhead—a "rowing club Tory boy" who acts as if he has a right to everything on Earth. While that works in a movie surrounded by people who can roll their eyes at him, it doesn't translate well to gaming.

Why the Bond persona fails in gameplay

In a long-form game like First Light, his cocky one-liners and general swagger are often delivered to empty rooms or enemy corpses. Without reactive characters to witness his arrogance, the character becomes grating. There is also a fundamental mechanical friction between the player and the character:

  • Personality Clash: His "suave and unflappable" nature contradicts the player's experience.
  • Mechanical Error: When I miss a shot or accidentally fly headfirst into a desk lamp, I break the entire spell of his competence.
  • Lack of Interaction: Without an audience to react to his wit, his dialogue feels hollow.

I am not singling out First Light specifically; it is simply the most recent Bond game I have played, and it does a great job of realizing him as a character. However, that realization highlights the core problem.

During one fight in First Light, Bond grabs a teacup from a sideboard and drives it hard into an opponent's face, punctuating the moment with something along the lines of, "Time for tea." I have to ask: is a man who says something like that while assaulting an international terrorist the kind of person you want to inhabit for 40 hours? To change that would make him not James Bond, but as it stands, the character simply doesn't fit the medium.