007 First Light is like a James Bond movie in the best way possible

The James Bond franchise is nothing if not a spectacle: Aside from the explosions and gun fights, even its calmer moments are dripping in the pomp and glamour of elite ostentation and luxury locales. Bond, however, has always been an odd mascot for the espionage profession, which ordinarily operates under silence and shadows. With 007 First Light , an origin story from Hitman developer IO Interactive, that spectacle rivals any of Bond’s cinematic adventures. Across 20 some hours with the game, that breathtaking spectacle punctuated one of my favorite action games in years, one filled with exhilarating combat and an incredible variety of missions. The game starts with Bond, still merely a British soldier, called in with his squad to check in on unresponsive scientists operating in the frozen wilderness of Iceland. The squad is shot down and only Bond survives. The opening sequence is, unfortunately, extremely generic, but it does its job in setting up Bond’s future. Despite the improbable odds, he succeeds, but not without killing several bad guys and blowing things up. It’s this, combined with his refusal to leave people to their fate, that garners the attention of “M,” the new head of the reinstated “00” program of MI6 (the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence service). Bond joins the recruitment program and starts training, under the guidance of the irascible Greenway, played by The Walking Dead ’s Lennie James. …