The racing levels obviously exist due to the developer’s experience in this field but surprisingly, vehicular controls felt a bit sloppy. I was also pleasantly surprised by some of the set pieces that included a level on a speeding hovercraft, being chased by a giant piece of machinery and some racing levels that felt like they were ripped straight out of Split Second. While gameplay itself feels borrowed, the game definitely packs in a ton of level variety. Silent takedowns grant you something called “Focused Kills” which are nothing but one shot kills in slow motion (Splinter Cell: Conviction says Hi). If the game was challenging enough, this would make stealth a necessity but as of now, it’s merely a means for players to indulge in some close quarter silent takedowns. Once enemies are detected, the phone allows you to get the drop on them by pointing out their locations to you, just like, you guessed it, Arkham Asylum.

This phone is pretty much your life support in this game giving you hints, pointing you to your next objective(s) and even informing you of enemy threat(s) nearby. Some games like Darksiders, another amalgamation of famous game mechanics could pull it off but with Blood Stone I always felt I was playing a poor man’s Splinter Cell, Arkham Asylum, Split Second, Bourne Ultimatum etc.īesides the combat you’ll indulge in a fair bit of detective work, courtesy of your smart phone inspired by Arkham Asylum. As a result of this, it fails to carve an identity for itself. And their latest offering, James Bond: Blood Stone suffers the same fate._STARTQUOTE_Perhaps Blood Stone’s biggest fault lies in the fact that it borrows way too much from other games._ENDQUOTE_Perhaps Blood Stone’s biggest fault lies in the fact that it borrows way too much from other games. Developer Bizarre Creations, best known for the Project Gotham Racing series moved out from the Racing genre into the action space with The Club and the results were rather lackluster. There are a few like Criterion who can break free from the norm to make both a kick ass racing game (Burnout series) as well as a first person shooter (Black) but other than that, it’s never really worked out too well for anyone. Most developers tend to stick to one genre of games as it allows them to master it fully.

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