From Russia with Love (2005 Video Game) User Reviews

Good game

[highridgehoosier · 8/10 · 24 September 2006]

I bought this game on an impulse buy from walmart. I am glad I did. It was very entertaining listening to Sean Connery and playing the game. I thought the graphics were the best I have ever seen in a movie/game remake. The bonus levels were very hard! The sniper one I think was too hard, it made me so frustrated I didn't play the game for a week and a half. There were too many people shooting at you with nothing to hide behind or life to handle it.

The only thing I might change was the upgrade system. I didn't notice any difference from un-upgraded equipment to the upgraded, such as buying an armor upgrade didn't seem to make the armor stronger or more filling on my life meter. I really liked the Q copter. I think the developers did a good job.

Bond at the top of his game.

[kylekool150 · 9/10 · 16 June 2007]

Good: Engaging cinematic firefights, great presentation, vehicles are actually fun to drive, fairly appealing multiplayer, faithful to the movie, and the list goes on.

Bad: Main missions are a bit short.

This game defines what a "good" third person shooter(not necessarily a spy-game) is. Great firefights carry on the story and make you want to complete EVERY single mission through, and unlock all the genuine bonuses the game has to offer. The hype this game had, was lived up to, and I personally think you should buy it, and hook up with a couple of friends and play this one. Loads of fun.

The sound in this game, is a rip-roaring achievement from a few previous bond games, and firing a weapon, really feels like you're firing a weapon. It ties in with the aspect that you are a deadly and ruthless spy.

All in all, this game makes you excited and satisfied after you make it through, and some multiplayer that can compete with the standards of the crafty James Bond "Nightfire" game for gamecube.

Classic Bond game with love

[hellraiser7 · 9/10 · 18 November 2020]

Games based on the James Bond franchise have always been hit or miss, this game fortunately is one of those hits, it's another really solid entry in the Bond video game franchise as well as another solid licensed game.

This was a different entry because here they were once again making a game based on an actual bond movie but one from the classic era. This I thought was a really cool concept, a lot of us that are both gamers and are Bond fans and have seen each of the different eras of Bond and probably thought this or that film could've made a good game.

It looks like that wish finally comes true with a film from the Connery era made into a game. I'll admit I honest never thought this would ever happen in almost a million years and I'm glad someone finally had the guts to make it reality, especially a much beloved entry in the franchise; though personally this isn't one of my favorite Bond entries but I'm fine with it all the same.

I really like how this game really gets a lot of the film and its story to a tee. From the graphical presentation which I thought was sold as it was able to reproduce an era of James Bond long gone. We get most of the famous scenes from the film as well as storyline, so if your familiar with the film they you can easily remember and even see what's about to come in the game.

However, like with most licensed video games they've added plenty of things which of course is a way to make the game a little longer and provide more gameplay. But I also feel enhances the game to make it stand on it's own as this game sort of feels like an alternative version of the original film which makes it all the more interesting, even adds a bit more to the original storyline without hurting it.

Really like the voice acting as it surprising consists of some of the original cast members of the film, thankful they got there just in time because like a lot of fans I'm not sure I would want it any other way. It was a real treat hearing one of my favorite actors Sean Connery reprise his signature role for the first and last time in a video game and last time in general. It's true his voice right now might not fit perfectly like a glove for what he was back then, though same can be said for a few of the actors reprising their roles in the "Doctor Who" audio plays from Big Finish; however like them it really didn't bother me because after a while I got use to it and strangely it felt right.

The gameplay is sold, there is plenty of variety as each stage you go though you do something different which keeps the game fresh and is true to Bond fare as being constantly busy doing different things is what James usually does in all his films.

You have the standard run and gun/stealth action which are solid if nothing amazing. Really like you have a targeting system where you can focus on the target you want to take down and changes color to indicate the target is weakened and then neutralized. But also there is some sort of focus system when your in stealth attack mode or a certain distance from you enemy, in this system there are little targets on them circled, once you hit them at those spots their taken down instantly. This is a good tool to use to save ammo, good precise kills but mainly to disable you enemy of whatever tools they must thwart you like a communication device or a big gun.

Really like that you get to use Q's gadgets in places of the game, even like the look of them as their old-fashioned tech but due to the era this Bond was in they were high tech. And the gadgets are still interesting because of how ahead of their time they were, like the RC chopper you control to go inside and detonate is like the drone tech we have now.

The driving sequences are solid, the car handles well and like the look of it as it's the trademark classic 007 car the Aston Martin. Their fun as some of them are you standard drive from point A to B without dying or even chase sequences which are slightly similar to the arcade game "Chase H.Q." where you have to track and chase down one of the enemy cars and blow it away. Your car is armed with guns and missiles, using them is fun reminds me a little of the arcade game "Roadblasters". If your car is damaged and you run low on missiles, there is a special garage that is there for you to make a pit stop for repairs and reloading, then you're as good as new.

There are gunning sequences, like you're on a boat and you man a turret to take the bad guys down before they take you down. Sniping sequences which are a bit similar to the arcade game "Silent Scope" as you have the task of covering your buddy by nailing the bad guys from a distance before they nail him or even you.

Another really fun portion which is my favorite is when you get to use the rocket pack from "Thunderball" which is actually cool, as you have freedom to fly above ground however high or low you want. But what I really like is how you can gun down or shoot out missiles at any enemies stationed on the ground, flying jet packs or any flying vehicles gunning for you. Though this rocket pack doesn't make you bullet proof, so you still have to take evasive action and make sure you don't take too much damage. Thought there are also pit stops in this where you can land and then get a new jet pack and your good as new.

Only misfires of the game are there are some places where the difficulty ramps up a bit almost at a ridiculous level mainly in the shooting segments. Not to say they were unbeatable mainly due to the short length of them, but I felt they could of lightened up a bit like have a piece of armor to shoot and refuel your armor gauge a little.

Another is the upgrade system is kind of lame, despite the ability to buy upgrades I didn't feel there was too much difference in what I already have, except being able to carry more ammo and longer clips for longer shooting time. This could have been handled much better like being able to buy different kinds of parts for the guns you have, so you can build a better and more effective gun than before.

Overall a very solid James Bond game, if you a fan of the original film or of the bond franchise, or just simply like play spy and action games in general, then this entry is worth a shot.

Rating: 3 and a half stars

The Most Amazing Experience... For a Bond fan

[SylvesterFox007 · 10/10 · 3 March 2007]

The goal of any James Bond game is to make the player feel like he is fulfilling an ultimate fantasy: step into the shoes of Agent 007. "FRWL" comes closer to this goal than any other game, because this time you control the real James Bond. No offense to Pierce Brosnan, who made a fantastic Bond and loaned his voice and likeness to "EON", but Sean Connery was the original James Bond, and there will never be anyone who comes close to his level of cool.

I must say at this point, like many others who have reviewed this game, that Sean 70 year old voice doesn't fit his 30 year old image on screen, and this takes some getting used to, but it's certainly worth it. He makes lines like "Bond… James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred" into a big deal again. But controlling Sir Sean as he takes on the evil organization known as OCTOPUS is, as Bond said in "Octopussy", "only the tip of the tentacle." The awesomeness of the game begins with the opening gun barrel. It's the original gun barrel from the movies. Then you take on first mission, rescuing the Prime Minister's hottie blonde daughter from terrorists at Parliament, and everything from the cars to the clothes is perfectly retro. The world of the game is truly the world of the original James Bond, right down to the classic rock-n-roll rendition of the James Bond theme that finally plays during a key moment late in the game, as Bond infiltrates a secret factory.

After the game's opening, the plot faithfully follows the plot of the movie "FRWL." James Bond is sent to Turkey to retrieve a Lektor device from a Russian cipher clerk who claims she has a crush on him. In Turkey, Bond teams up with lovable sidekick Kerim Bey. Bond must retrieve the device, protect the damsel in distress, and get both safely back to London. Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein worked on the script, and he's done a good job of making the game the same but different to the movie. The characters from the movie are all recreated well, but some are better than others. The impersonators voicing villains Rosa Klebb and Red Grant are uncanny. And there's a moment early on in the game where you interact with a Miss Moneypenny, M, and Q who all look and behave as they did in the original Sean Connery 007 movies.

What puts this game miles ahead of the other Bond games, besides Sir Sean's voice and likeness, is two notable features in the game play. One is Bond focus. While you can dispatch villains simply by locking onto them with one button and killing them with the other, an additional button push will allow you to zoom in closer on a target and choose between spots Bond would shoot at, such as a grenade attached to a belt that will dispatch an enemy and a few of his friend or a rappel cord that will cause a suspended enemy to plunge to his death. The other notable feature is the stealth and mêlée kills. When you're in close enough range, just hit a button to beat down an enemy with the raw brutality that only Sean Connery's James Bond displayed.

Sean Connery's Bond relied mostly on his raw wit and talent, so you only have a few gadgets, but they're good ones. The Q-copter is a remote control helicopter that can self-destruct and explore areas Bond can't reach, like the Q-spider in "EON", only better. The classic laser watch is useful, not just for getting into sealed rooms, but dispatching enemies when you have no other weapon available. Sonic cuff links and a serum gun are the most fun to play around with, but you must experience them for yourself. Besides the gadgets, you can go dress Bond up in a number of retro costumes found during the game, including the gray suit from the movie, the standard black tuxedo, a retro stealth suit, and that classic white tuxedo, all which look exactly like they did when Sir Sean wore them in the movies. When you drive in the game, you drive the Aston Martin DB5 straight out of "Goldfinger." It can't turn invisible, but it has a gadget for popping tires like in the movie. And when you're not flying down the streets of Istanbul in the "Goldinger" car, you can fly through the air in the "Thunderball" jet pack.

Then there's the multi-player. Of course, it has to be compared to the standard of the "GoldenEye" game, and it fails. Also, you can only play Bond villains rather than Bond himself or the other heroes of the game. But the multi-player is amusing, and a decent bonus since the awesomeness of the single player campaign alone makes the game worth playing. The basic game does have other flaws. Some of the movie's most exciting moments, particularly the gypsy camp shootout, Bond's brawl with Red Grant on the Orient Express, and a confrontation between Bond and Rosa Klebb's bladed shoe, aren't done justice in game form. And the game is a fast play, even on the hardest difficulty. But overall, this game is the best James Bond experience so far.

Best bond game so far.

[kyle-mcdonald · 10/10 · 14 July 2007]

This James bond game is the best bond game i have played in my life it is my favorite James bond game so far because:

The missions in this game are really fun they can be really hard that makes it more fun to play the missions have lots of actions the weapons you use are really good. The cars in this game are awesome the car missions have lots of action and are really fun to play. The voice over actors are really good and it is cool that Sean Connery does the voice for James bond also the way bond looks is really cool because it looks just like Sean Connery when he played James bond in the movies and the other character look pretty much the same as the look in the movie. The graphics a pretty good in this James bond game. Also the game follows the movie pretty much but not all the but most of the time it does which is cool.

overall score ********** out of **********

Its a guilty pleasure

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 30 November 2021]

I didnt see the movie but the game with James Bond world its pretty good to do in my opinion. And i enjoyed to do it. It have a pleasant gameplay even if its pretty classic but the world make me want to continue the game until the end even if the game is pretty classic and dont create new things: its pretty pleasant to follow the story and pretty goodd to finish it. Like i said its my guilty pleasure!

from ea with love

[inter_9111 · 10/10 · 8 April 2007]

EA have shown us that they can make a classic 007 agent and make you feel in the 60's world. The graphics of the game are outstanding and also the voice recording is very professional. I got this game April 2007 (two years after release), and I am still impressed with the gameplay. It's a shame that EA will no longer make 007 games.

I give this game 10/10 for the levels it contains, especially the "consulate" level. I would recommend this game to anyone from the age of 13 and over. The only thing I didn't like in the game is the Russian boat level, it was too much pressure. On the whole I like the game A LOT!!

Not as good as the film bust still a good game

[Da_man175 · 29 November 2005]

When i first heard that from Russia with love was being made into a game i was quite excited especially because Sean Connery was doing the voice of James bond and they Had taken the voices of the other actors living or dead and added them to the game this was for what i was hoping to be an original gaming experience an that i was to enter the classic world of James bond. however when i actually played it i found some of the story had been changed and new characters added that never in the film also the villains in the film spectre were renamed octopus as the game progressed my hopes were being restored but by the end of the game they used part of you only live twice and the villain red grant came back where as he died in the film on a train this was a great disappointment as was the opening all though the ability to change costumes was a benefit in this flawed game but when compared to rouge agent it was far better.

The Only Bond Game To Feature Sean Connery

[WarMovieCollector · 7/10 · 6 September 2022]

This review is for the PS2 and PSP version.

To start off, I have not seen the movie. In the behind the scenes clips featured in this game, the creators wanted to make a directors cut movie edition of the game...interesting take. The impression I had was the creators wanted to be as close to the film as possible and exploring more of the world of the movie in a video game setting, which I very much enjoyed.

Now for the PSP version, it felt very lacking, all the car chase or vehicle sequences chapters were cut out in it's entirety. A pity. If you want the full experience, play the console versions.

James Bond OO7 has arrived on the PS2

[TankGuy · 10/10 · 23 November 2011]

I got this game many years ago when it came out, and i'm still playing it today(6 years on!!).

It's brilliant and one of the best video games ever and i will never forget it, the graphics are quite good but that's not what matters, it's all the different levels in which you can play bond and get involved in all sorts of all guns blazing action.

The game has several levels, in each level you can shoot and kill enemies using pistol,machine guns,rifles,grenades and bazookas, in some levels you can also take control of bond's aston martin DB5 and recklessly skid it around the roads while taking out enemies and getting away from enemies. Unlike the movies,the aston martin is equipped with rockets and machine gun. In other levels you can take control of speed boats which are mounted with a machine gun which has unlimited ammo, you get to destroy tanks,shoot down helicopters,destroy other boats and destroyer a tanker, you can also take control of jetpacks which fire machine gun rounds and rockets, what an awesome game!!! You can get multiplayer in which you battle it out with your mates in a variety of different locations from the movie, which is excellent as you can select a lot of different modes and secenarios. Yoc can unlock several bonus levels if you do well in another.

This is a brilliant game and i recommend it to newcomers,action and bond fans alike. Some of the levels are pretty hard, but look up cheats and you will have the game completed in no time.

Great single player means a good game

[xj13 · 8/10 · 30 April 2006]

** WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS! **

First of all, I would like to say that I really liked this game. I got it for Christmas after two months of dropping hints to my parents. I am glad that I did that.

First off, I would like to say that the single player was very good. The first level is probably one of the best in the game, when you are at a party in London, and some evil guys ruin it by kidnapping the Prime minister's daughter. Of course you have to rescue her, and it is quite a big level, but should probably take you at least five minutes. The best part, and I think also the funniest part, is when you are in the jet-pack, and people are rappelling down Big Ben. Just equip the jet-pack's most trusty rocket launcher and blast the clock faces and the enemies down. Pure fun!

The rest of the levels are very good, but pretty short. There are four mini-levels you can unlock, and that is one of the let downs, because only the first two of them are actually fun, and the last two to unlock are just 'kill 25 enemies' objectives, I mean, c'mon! We got loads of points to unlock these missions and the last two bonus missions are really bad!

The multi player, me and some of my friends agree, is very good and challenging, even if there are no bots. Halo didn't have any bots but that is still some fine multi player games! You can be a load of bad guys, and you go against each other, and you can also set traps, which is the best way of killing people without going into view of their character.

Gameplay - 8.5/10 (levels can be quite repetitive and bonus missions could be improved). Graphics - 9/10 (there is the odd bad graphic, but that isn't extremely often). Multiplayer - 10/10 (needs no comment, just great, you get to drive in jet-packs and vehicles). Sound - 8/10 Replay value - 7/10 (the only levels I go back on are the Loondon level and Istanbul Part 1).

I give this game: 8.5/10

Could have a bit of improvement, but it's still good.

Awesome Game. Must Have For Fans of the Series.

[bigbodynobaccin · 9/10 · 23 April 2022]

Very fleshed out and well made game. Back when Activision actually cared about the quality of the games they released. Good upgrade system where you can tweak with weapons and gadgets that you find throughout levels which also contains my only gripe with the game; I prefer starting with a pistol and picking up various weapons from fallen enemies rather than the more arcade-y route this game went down where you carry over weapons from level to level. It may be a bit of a nitpick and at the end of the day it doesnt take away from how amazing the rest of the game is but I just like the more realistic approach rather than having an arsenal stuffed in Bonds prison wallet.

Beyond that the combat feels very good and you are able to target various weakpoints on the enemies body including grenades they have on their belts to chain kill enemies around them which can lead to some cinematic moments. Car chases are a staple of Bond games and movies and they do not slouch in this game. Alongside cars however you will be driving and gunning in a variety of different machinery, my favorite of which is the jetpack. Flying around in a jetpack as Sean Connery (who voices himself in the game which is just amazing) while launching missiles and bullets at angry russians with guns is the pinnacle of James Bond gaming and, among others things, really sets this game apart from the rest of the flock.

All in all I think From Russia with Love, Everything or Nothing, and Blood Stone are the three games that capture the movies the best within their gameplay and stories respectively.