James Bond, Her Majesty's secret agent, is back on the job. This time on the PS2, with the game adaptation of Greetings from Moscow.
From Moscow with love
James Bond, played by Sean Connery, went to Istanbul to pick up the Russian encryption machine "Lektor". He's supposed to bring her to England. Behind everything is the organization "Oktopus" (aka Specter), which wants to get rid of him once and for all.
Shaken, not stirred
Electronic Arts has retained the third-person perspective in this game, which was already used successfully in “All Or Nothing”. The successful predecessor was taken as a model for this. You trade yourself down, fight the bad guys with a wide variety of weapons and are allowed to deliver the rapid chase. A great graphic supports this, but it quickly dampens the joy. In one or the other scene it jerks a little too much due to the falling frame rate. That happens especially when there are many opponents on site. This is especially true for PS2 players.
Level design
The levels of From Russia with Love are very well guessed. The story is linear, but still offers varied things to do. From rescuing hostages to defusing bombs, everything is included. Chases are also not avoided. With some orders you are under time pressure because there is a time limit. With the right moves from Bond, you get skill points that you can exchange for extras videos, concept art or more player characters. Collected blueprints or abandoned suitcases give you research points that you can exchange for weapon improvements and equipment optimization. The button action allows you to influence your environment to a limited extent. This includes, for example, opening doors.
Technical finesse
In From Russia with love, Q gives you your gadgets, laser watch that you can use to blow up locks, or your grappling belt. With a mini helicopter you can keep an eye on the situation from above. With the belt you can climb up or down buildings, for example. There are also weapons such as machine guns, rocket launchers and grenades. The sonic cufflinks attach perfectly to the tailored suit. The zoom version supports you in combat, for example to be able to shoot more accurately. The level of difficulty can be set individually before each mission. The scores of the levels are saved automatically.
Graphics and sound
The character in From Russia with Love is very well animated. Sean Connery's face is very recognizable. Explosions, water effects and cutscenes are graphically well designed. In multiplayer mode, the game can be displayed as a split screen. Up to four players can participate. In the English version, EA Games called in Sean Connery to dub his younger counterpart. A different dubbing voice was used in the German version. The sound effects that accompany the action are good and the original Bond soundtrack suits the action very well.
Summary of Greetings from Moscow
His name is Bond ... James Bond and that's exactly what this game is all about. Using the gameplay of “all or nothing” again was a very good idea. The linearity of the game and the low level of difficulty are ideal for beginners. In the long run, shooter pros will not have any fun because they will have played it through very quickly. In the multiplayer mode one would have wished for a little more than the split-screen version. Bond fans will still enjoy this game. The game offers a lot of action, beautiful women and nasty villains. PS2 players get the aftertaste from the stuttering that creeps in more often.
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Originally posted on 2018-06-27 09:04:00.
