007 First Light Review - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast: 007 First Light Review

Episode Date: May 26, 2026
Featuring: Tim Gettys (Host), Greg Miller, Blessing Adeoye Jr., Andy Cortez, Barrett Courtney, Jordan Midler (VGC)
Main Theme:
A detailed, passionate review and discussion of IO Interactive’s "007: First Light," including impressions, critiques, comparisons to Bond media, and thoughts on stealth/action genre evolution.

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Episode Overview

This week, the Kinda Funny crew and guest Jordan Midler from VGC dive deep into "007: First Light"—IO Interactive’s highly anticipated stealth action game. The panel discusses their different completion progress, impressions of gameplay mechanics, vibes and cinematic elements, cast performances, technical performance, comparisons to Bond movies and other genre classics, and predictions for the game’s impact. Several hosts offer in-progress or final review scores and debate aspects both praised and criticized.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Embargo & Playtime Context

• The review embargo limited everyone’s playtime over the holiday weekend ([04:26]):
  • Tim: 8 hours played
  • Blessing: 10 hours (past halfway)
  • Greg: 10 hours
  • Jordan (VGC): Finished the game (14 hours)
  • Barrett: Finished, ~16 hours (plus time in "tax sim" mode)

Greg ([04:26]):

"At best maybe you had a full work day with it. No one here did...it was how much could you play over this weekend before hurdling into this review."

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Initial Impressions & Review Scores

Barrett ([06:54]):

• Played on base PS5, 18-19 hours total with side content.
• Score: 8.5 / 10
• Praises: strong Bond adaptation, fun mix of action adventure and light stealth sim; "a great first step for IO Interactive to start their owned Bond universe."
• Loves the cast but notes a few miscast roles.

Jordan ([10:02]):

• Score: 5/5 (VGC), 9/10 (Kinda Funny scale)
• Highlights: "Captures the James Bond fantasy in a way that not even many of the films do."
• Main criticism: driving sections ("push").
• Game was so compelling he finished quickly, not out of obligation but desire.

Greg ([12:15]):

• "The game is awesome. I truly, truly love the game."
• Not a Bond film fan but "completely captured" by the game's story and mechanics.
• Tentative score: 8–8.5; notes minor annoyances to discuss later.

Blessing ([14:48]):

• "Already, this game is a frontrunner for me for Game of the Year."
• Story is "really, really, really good and really solid...subverting my expectations."
• Cast and gameplay standout; "the star of the show here is the gameplay."
• Rating: 9.5–10 (in progress)

Tim ([21:17]):

• Finds it "hella entertaining," can’t stop playing, impressed with gameplay variety and cinematic presentation.
• "I think this is the closest we've ever gotten to an actual playable action movie."
• In-progress score: 8.5

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Gameplay: Stealth, Combat, Flexibility

Standout Mechanic – The Bluff ([17:43]):

• Lets players, when caught in stealth, talk their way out and regain initiative.
• Blessing ([17:57]): "You're not really asking how you can [complete an objective], you're asking how you want to."
• The system gives a powerful Bond fantasy; several replay for alternate dialogue ([19:33]), Jordan notes bluff dialogue randomization ([20:07]).

Stealth vs Action – Jazz Analogy ([18:11], [18:40]):

• Barrett: "It very much plays something Greg likes to say. It's like jazz, you know..."
• Flow between improvisational stealth and hand-to-hand or shooting.

License to Kill Segments Debate ([31:04]):

• Greg: These forced combat sections feel at odds with stealth: "I don't like how this feels...the mechanics are working against itself."
• Blessing: Loves them; likens flow to Hotline Miami, appreciates variety of takedowns and gadgets ([33:06]).
• Acknowledges learning curve; Tax SIM (VR challenge mode) helps bridge mechanics ([29:04]).
• Barrett: Found some forced combat "a little bit uninteresting," prefers moments where stealth naturally gives way to action.

Boss Fights ([46:56]):

• Jordan: "A little bit, like, kind of tertiary...I finished them so quickly.”
• Greg: Prefers this to artificially long boss fights, likens to Batman Arkham’s Penguin moment ([47:03]).

Hand-to-Hand & Gunplay ([23:01], [26:18]):

• Hand-to-hand praised for cinematic, tactile feel; "incredibly simple but effective" ([23:01]).
• Some criticisms of gun controls (weapon swapping UI, reload location) ([39:23]), but overall combat considered "fun and simple," especially the parry system.

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Narrative, Cast, & Writing

Story & Structure ([15:47], [27:04]):

• Blessing: Likes story more than the others, says it "subverts expectations" more than people give credit for.
• Pacing lauded—new Bond starting from zero, effectively introduced via missions/training montages.
• The cast is widely praised, especially Bond (Patrick Gibson) and Greenway (Lennie James), with the exception of Lenny Kravitz as the villain (“very miscast," Barrett [24:28]).

Cinematic & Presentation Quality ([23:01], [25:22]):

• "Playable action movie" feel; pacing reminiscent of Uncharted with IO’s own approach.
• Highly cinematic camera work and “bloomy,” movie-like visual style.
• Scenes like the nightclub with impressive lighting and DualSense feedback ([25:30]) are pointed out as particularly immersive.

Music ([48:45]):

• Use of the Bond theme is called a "cheat code" for dramatic effect, deployed with restraint for maximum impact ([49:25], [50:44], [51:24]).
• Original theme by Lana Del Rey notable.
• Diegetic music—jazz singer doing callbacks to previous Bond films, strong club and lab soundtracks (“Q’s crazy”) ([50:36]).

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Technical Performance

• Across PS5 and PS5 Pro, highly positive impressions:
  • “Showpiece” for PS5 Pro; marked visual improvement over base hardware ([41:56]).
  • Almost no bugs, minor frame drops only when capturing footage ([42:31]).
  • Long load times upon boot and when dying, noted as surprisingly slow for this gen ([44:12]).
  • Some humorous minor bugs: e.g., “one lady…horizontal in mid air—she was a possessed person” ([45:08]).

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Comparisons—Bond & Beyond

• To Bond Films ([20:07], [24:19], [51:24]):
  • Nails the Bond fantasy; more interactive than the films.
  • New Bond actor Patrick Gibson compared favorably to Daniel Craig, with a fresh, arrogant, cocky take. Hopes for more in this universe ([53:33]).
• Hitman & Genre ([06:54], [17:47]):
  • Feels like "Hitman Light" with more accessibility and action-adventure cinematic flair.
  • Uncharted cited as a key parallel (“does Uncharted better than any game since Uncharted” – Blessing [57:13]).
  • Similar in structure and replayability to Hitman’s best levels ([45:50]).
  • Touches of Mission Impossible and even Hotline Miami in action sequences.

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Replayability & Challenge

• High replayability noted:
  • Multiple dialogue outcomes via the bluff mechanic ([19:33]).
  • Desire to see alternative approaches in set pieces ([19:18]).
  • In-level challenges and incentives to replay levels ([58:15]).
  • Tax Sim (VR) side content noted for learning and practicing mechanics ([06:05], [29:04]).

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Criticisms & Quibbles

• Forced "License to Kill" shootouts break flow for some, can feel like “monster closets” ([34:24]).
• Occasional stiffness in gunplay and minor clunky control bindings ([39:23]).
• Load times surprisingly long ([44:12], [44:44]).
• Lenny Kravitz as the villain widely seen as the game's most glaring miscasting ([24:18]).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Barrett Courtney ([06:54]):
  "I think 007 First Light is a great first step for IO Interactive to start their owned Bond universe."
• Jordan Midler ([10:02]):
  "It captures the James Bond fantasy in a way that not even many of the films do.”
• Greg Miller ([12:15]):
  "The game is awesome. I truly, truly love the game."
• Blessing Adeoye Jr. ([14:48]):
  "This game is a frontrunner for me for Game of the Year."
• Tim Gettys ([21:17]):
  "I think this is the closest we've ever gotten to an actual playable action movie."
• On the cast, Barrett ([07:25]):
  "Patrick Gibson as Bond himself. He is incredibly likable. The performance is excellent."
• On Lenny Kravitz, Barrett ([24:26]):
  "Very miscast with his…character. It's a really weird choice."
• On music, Jordan ([48:45]):
  "When you have the Bond musical license, it's a cheat code to elevate the stakes…they actually use it very surgically."
• On potential for success, Greg ([56:10]):
  "I don't see how it couldn't be [successful]. I think you're talking about a franchise that appeals to people outside of your traditional gamers."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Embargo & Playtime: 04:26–06:36
• Initial Review Scores & Impressions: 06:54–14:47
• Stealth/Bluff/Jazz Mechanic: 17:43–20:07
• License-to-Kill Debates: 31:04–36:41
• Combat & Controls Chat: 26:18, 39:23
• Technical Performance: 41:56–45:45
• Music & Vibe: 48:45–51:24
• Cast—Patrick Gibson & Lenny Kravitz: 24:18, 53:33
• Predictions for Success: 56:10
• Super Chat Q&A & Closing: 51:24–61:52

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Final Thoughts

The panel is overwhelmingly positive on 007: First Light, calling it not only a standout action/stealth game but "a great first step" for this Bond universe. Gameplay innovations, cinematic polish, strong performances (especially from Patrick Gibson), and impressive technical delivery are repeatedly highlighted. The game is hailed as a must-play for Bond fans and genre lovers, despite some nitpicks around shooting segments, load times, and a debated villain. Many are eager to see a sequel and expect the game to find mainstream success.

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If you love Hitman, cinematic action games, or classic Bond, 007: First Light is being hailed as a must-play, genre-blending highlight—and possibly a contender for Game of the Year.

Transcript

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[B]

If you want to get our shows ad free and our exclusive shows go to patreon.com kindafunny. What's up and welcome back to the Kind of Funny Games cast for Tuesday, May 26, 2026 aka Kevin Coelho's birthday. Aka the Day that we could have been playing Grand Theft Auto 6. Oh, but we're not. AKA the day that we have played at least some of James Bond 007 first light of course I am your host Tim Gettys. I'm joined today by Blessing at a OA Jr Good day Tim Greg Miller. Hello to this beautiful man you see here on the screen is Jordan Midler from vgc.

[D]

Hello, doll. How are you?

[B]

Very good. Very good.

[A]

Show how big you are. Just prove it.

[B]

Prove the allegations.

[C]

Is Kevin on the ones and twos?

[A]

No, it's Barrett.

[B]

Now we got Barrett on the ones and twos.

[A]

Look at how big this guy is.

[B]

Let me tell you.

[C]

There was a mix up before KFCD where Kevin kept talking about like, who's that guy that Greg's always talking about being big? And I'm like, it's Jordan. And. And Kevin's like, no, it's not Jordan. It's the other guy. It's like it's Jordan's co worker. I'm like, no, it's Jordan.

[A]

You don't know Andy Robinson.

[C]

Yeah, I don't think you know. And Kevin's like, it's the guy. I don't want to. I don't want to out Kevin. So I'm not gonna say who he thought he was. All I'm gonna say is that when he said that, when he said who he thought it was, I could not stop dying for a good 10 minutes.

[B]

I just love it. You know what I mean? There's just certain things that happen where we get information here at. Kind of funny not everybody knows everything. Kevin's in Locked In. He doesn't know.

[A]

I don't like having talked to anybody.

[B]

Yeah. Oh well, everyone, we have a lot to talk about today. Of course. I want to remind you that you can YouTube super chat in if you have any questions about 007 First Light and our experience with it so far. A little shout out, of course to Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm twining. Who are our Patreon producers? Let's get into it though. Without further ado, the topic of the show. This is our 007 first light review. Some of us full review. Some of us review so far. Why Greg?

[A]

Bad review embargo on this one. It's been publicly talked about. Obviously you guys just did it on games Daily. It's pretty much public information that comes for this one went out on Friday before a holiday weekend here in the United States. So at best maybe you had a full work day with it. No one here did. So it was how much could you play over this weekend before hurdling into this review here.

[B]

So with that, how much did we play? I played about eight hours so far. I can't wait to talk about my thoughts. Can't wait to finish this game. I definitely will be and can't wait to give a full final score whenever that happens. Bless. How much have you played?

[C]

I played about 10 hours. I believe I'm past the halfway point to the game. I don't know how much is left, but it just narratively, it feels like I must be past that halfway point.

[B]

Greg.

[A]

Yeah, I'm 10 hours as well. Just pushed over. That's what my clock says are on the PlayStation. Bless is just a little bit in front of me, but I was playing catch up even over here. And based on trophies, we're well past the halfway point.

[C]

Okay, perfect.

[B]

And then Jordan, what about you?

[D]

Because I'm a professional game reviewer, I finished the game. 14 hours was my. My run time. 14 and some change.

[A]

We gotta stop bringing him on when these are the things. He did the same for Pokemon. I take my job seriously.

[D]

And then I learned it from watching you. I think the. I think if I hadn't been very methodical about going through certain sections in stealth, you could honestly do this in 13 if you didn't like mess about too.

[C]

Dude, I don't want to get ahead of it, but I previewed the game and it was so fun revisiting an area that I did during the preview, which took me maybe like over an hour during the preview. I blazed through that shit in 10 minutes.

[B]

That's awesome. And then Bear. Courtney, what about you?

[E]

I'm also someone who, you know, takes the job very seriously. Very much like Jordan. I also finished it. It took me about 16 hours. My PlayStation clock is a little messed up because there was on Friday when we got code. I downloaded it here and then had a very busy Friday. So let it run for like a good six to seven hours. So it's. It's a little off. So yeah, it took me roughly 15 to 16, I would say, and then spent a few more hours in the tax SIM mode, which will, I imagine talk about a little bit as well.

[A]

What are you showing on gamescast plays today?

[B]

Very exciting. Me and you hanging out, having fun. Barrett, I'd like you to stay up for a second because I want to start with you. I would like to hear, since you are the official kind of funny member that has beat the game, I want to know what console you played it on, how long it took you, and what score you would give it on the kind of funny scale.

[E]

Yeah, so I played it on base PS5 again. I. In total, I would say I put about 18 to 19 hours with the story, plus the tax him stuff. And yeah, I had a really great time with this over the weekend. You know, it wasn't really on my mind trying to hit this embargo for, for Tuesday trying to finish this. This was not kind of like on my, like I must be on this to have this conversation to be a part of this review discussion. But it was one that it was hard to walk away from. I think 007 first light is a. A great first step for IO Interactive to start their owned Bond universe. A lot of my time playing, I was reminded a lot about Star Wars, Jedi games and Indiana Jones. Not just because there are other big movie IP that have been adapted into a game medium, but also thinking about those in particular and those developers looking at genres within the video game medium and trying to adapt and combine them to adapt the feeling of these movies on the big screen to a more interactive medium. And I think IO Interactive has done something really great here with combining the kind of typical action adventure third person game with some kind of light stealth, sim mechanics and design that I think makes for a really fun Bond adventure. I think the story is kind of by the books. You know, if you, if you've seen a Bond movie, you probably know what are going to be the big beats here. But I think it is really powered by the cast that I really fell in love with. And I think it's going to be a big hurdle for whenever we do get the next James Bond on the big screen to really have like following this up instead of Daniel Craig, because I really was taken by Bond himself, the actor who played Greenway Moneypenny. Like this was a really special cast outside of maybe a few miscastings here. And I think what the game ends up being about reminded me a lot of some other modern action movies, maybe not 007, but maybe a bit more Mission Impossible and some of the themes that they have tried to tackle. I think this game does it a bit more smoothly in what the kind of big story of it all kind of ends up being about. And I think at the end of it all I walked away from it thinking this is a great first step and I'm excited to see what IO does in the future of the series. And so I think at the end of it all I would, I would give it an 8.5, a strong great review on the kind of funny scale.

[B]

And then Jordan, what did you give it on the VGC scale? And what would you give it on the kind of funny scale?

[A]

Yeah, toss it in the converter.

[D]

I gave it a five out of five on VGC's illustrious scale. And on kind of funny's even more illustrious scale, I think I'm at a strong nine for this one. I think it's a game that really captures the James Bond fantasy in a way that not even many of the films do. It's a different prospect from what you want to watch James Bond doing rather than what you want to do yourself. And I think the game really understands that. I think everything that it takes from the experiences of World of Assassination is very smart. And just like Barrett said, I think this game is so heavily carried by Patrick Gibson as Bond himself. He is incredibly likable. The performance is excellent, the writing is excellent as well. And I think that it's a game that has so many desperate mechanics that all work very well, apart from the driving, which I think is push. But the rest of it, I think is so incredibly strong. You mentioned the review period there. This reminded me of. I got the game on Friday and I was finished by Sunday morning. That wasn't me necessarily crunching to get the review done. That was, I cannot stop playing this game and there's nothing else I want to be doing right now. Like, it reminded me of going to the shop on a Friday to get a new Uncharted game and having it completed by Sunday because I was just so into it. So I think that it's a. It's an excellent first step. I think that the. The natural way you would go forward with it and some of the mechanics that could be advanced a little bit. I think there's. It becomes fairly basic towards the end when you're still doing like the distract electrocute. Like a few mechanics don't really evolve that much towards the end of the game, but I think it sets up for what has to be a series at this point. Obviously in the time since this game was started and now Amazon have taken over the rights to Bond. So as long as they don't follow the rule that used to be in Bond media, where whoever was the film Bond had to be the canonical Bond across all media. If they're willing to get rid of that, then I want another game from. I want another game in this series from IO as quickly as possible.

[B]

Hell yeah. Bless. We already heard some of your thoughts on the preview, so I want to jump to Greg first. What's your time with the game been like?

[A]

Amazing. The game is awesome. I truly, truly love the game. You know, I think it'll be fun to wade into this and talk about where we're at with it. It's also interesting to step Into a game here, you know what I mean? Where not as much time as I want with it. I would have loved, obviously in the alternate universe if I had the option, like, I would have played it. Yeah. Non stop straight through.

[D]

Right.

[A]

It is that idea that like, yes, holiday weekend, I had a lot of plans and different things do. But whenever there was a moment that I was like, okay, I'm going to go play Bond. Because I liked it so much. I like the story so much. They do so much. Right. And I think what's important for my angle on the review is I'm not a Bond film fan. I've seen the one Bond where he ends with. I thought Christmas only came once a year. That's the one.

[B]

I know when to watch because that's

[A]

the one they had you watch in high school. Yeah. That's all I know about it.

[C]

That's the one.

[A]

That's the one. Apparently. But this totally captures me. Captured me. It is the kind of game I love, that third person action adventure. You know, for me right now, these 10 hours in, give or take, I'd say I'm somewhere between an 8 and an 8. 5. I imagine I'll come down an 8. 5. I am annoyed by two specific things in the game that we'll talk about when we get there. One I feel like is a bigger annoyance right now, Tuesday morning because I had one last night, Monday night where I was like, oh my God, let's just get through. So it's like that's what's on my head. Where I'm like, that's Nate. But the hour I got to play during games daily at my desk there and do another mission and do what I fucking love of, crawl around, come up, bluff the dude, walk over that hack this thing like that shit is so good. To the point that I know when I'm done with this and whether that is I'm gonna do the tax sim stuff for the first time on the stream here today. Whether that is I'm done with the story or I do more of that or whatever, I have the hooks in me right now that I gotta go do. World of Assassination where it's like, damn. Like now that I'm in this rhythm and in this vibe, I want to jump back to Hitman, which I've tinkered with before but never fallen in love with. The mechanics of 007. First light are so good on that. Hacking, stealth, bluffing, all that jazz. I love it. And yes, everything every else is said story. Yeah, by the numbers for sure. You meet a guy, like the first act. Oh, you're going to be the bad guy. I'll see you in a few hours. Like, okay, cool. Yeah. That was a weird thing to say to me, but, I mean, performances, everything, I'm eating it up. And again, as someone who's only tinkered with Hitman, World of Assassination before, like, what a step up for IO, like, storytelling, cinema, how they're framing things the way they're doing things, the montages. We have a lot to talk about today.

[B]

Yes, we do. Bless. Where you at now? After the preview, you're coming back. You playing more?

[C]

Yes. Oh, my God.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

So, you know, after my first 10 hours of playing, I think for me, where I land at is already, this game is a front runner for me for a game of the year. Like, I'm. If it continues at this pace, and I don't think it's going to shit the bed in the last probably five hours I have left of this game. This will be my. My game of the year so far. I think everything this game does and tackles is fantastic. You know, you guys talk about the story being by the numbers. I'm actually not feeling that. I. I'm not. I'm not saying this game is doing anything brand new in terms of story, in terms of, like, you know, blowing that out. Like, you know, me being blown away by that aspect. But I do think that the story is really, really, really good and really solid. And honestly, it is subverting my expectations on what I think is going to happen. Like, there have been multiple things early on where I'm like, oh, obviously this is going to happen with the main thing. And then I get later and I'm like, oh, shit, I did not expect you to take this route. You know, like, I. Barrett mentioned Mission Impossible. Even things that they tackle in some of the latest Mission Impossible movies. Yeah, like, there are similar analogs. I think this game does better than the latest Mission Impossible movies. And I love Mission Impossible.

[A]

Right.

[C]

Like, that's one of my favorite action movies. So the fact that I'm here with this and I am, like, fully engaged on that level of what they're doing here narratively, I'm very impressed. Like, you guys mentioned cast and excellent. Love the actor that's playing Bond. Love Lennie James playing Greenway, who's essentially solely to Bond's Nathan Drake. And I kind of. I like the dynamic. I think there are things there that add a little bit of friction into it, but I don't mind it as much. But I Think the star of the show here is the gameplay. And I am very impressed by how they take what they've historically done with the Hitman games and mix in the Uncharted isms in there. Now that we've gotten our hands on the full game, I'm so surprised with how much of this game is Uncharted, but then when it takes the time to slow down, you know, I remember during my preview, that was one of the things I was kind of worried about as far as how it resonate with other people versus how it would resonate with me. They'll slow down in moments of now you're in a big environment, you know, eavesdrop on people, figure out how you want to get from point A to point B. All that stuff. I absolutely adore that stuff. I'm curious to get into that and talk about, like, whether that stuff work for you, but for me, that's what I'm here for. That's what I'm here for an IO game for. Right. Like, the fact that they were able to translate so many of the Hitman isms into this game, but also making it easier, more approachable, but then also more dynamic. Like, I don't think stealth inherently is meant to be hard, and Hitman has hard stealth, and I love Hitman for that. That's why I think it's. It has some of the best stealth gameplay for the kind of tools that it gives you and how much it pushes back against you as a player. I've been so blown away by how easy they make stealth here, but how that doesn't ruin the stealth experience. You know, the bluff mechanic of you get caught, press a button, and then lie to some person, and then now you have a few seconds to do what you want to do and figure that out. That's an inspired mechanic in a stealth game. Like, you know, being able to just press a button to lure somebody, being able to press a button to make something blow up in somebody's face.

[A]

It makes you feel like James Bond.

[C]

It makes you feel like James Bond, and it makes you. It makes you feel like you have the tools to not be like, ah, how the fuck? I'm just staring at routines, looking at anything. How am I supposed to. You're not really asking how you can. You're asking how you want to.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

And I love that in a stealth game. And so I got so many good things I can say about this game. Of course, I'm not going to give it a final score, but I am sitting somewhere around a 9.5 and a 10.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Barrett. Yeah. You popped up there.

[E]

Yeah. I was just thinking about what Blessing was saying right before that. Of just all of these systems. It. It very much plays something Greg likes to say. It's like jazz, you know, And I think that is a very smart way of them combining the third person action adventure stuff with the stealth SIMI type of things to kind of make this flow that doesn't feel repetitive, but gives that adapting that feeling of what James Bond goes through in any, any movie of trying something out it failing and then having to go into action and fighting or, you know, being able to successfully trick somebody to get into a place. Right. It had all of those kind of interesting hooks and flows that again, I think it adapted that into an interactive medium very well. Which again reminded me a lot of playing Fallen Order with how they use Metroidvania and then also very light kind of souls designed to kind of evoke that feeling of the journey of a Jedi. Right. And I think it was really cool.

[A]

Yeah. You know, that shit's good. When it's like, I do what I choose my path and I do the thing and then I'm like, but what about those other, like, it's like, it's almost one of those things. I mean, I'm spoiled coming off of Forza. Right. But it's like I wish we sometimes had a rewind button. Just go take it back and like, let's play it the other way. That way.

[B]

There were like two separate times that I made a choice of dialogue and was like, you know what? I want to know what the other option is. And like, I'm not talking about like, oh, it dramatically changed the game, but more just like the follow up response that I got, I was like, I want to try something different. So I reloaded the checkpoint to get something different. I rarely do that for story, like choice based games, but specifically for this type of game that you really don't need to do that. But that just is a testament to how much I'm enjoying the writing of the game and how much I just kind of want to know what the alternate taste could be. And I think the replayability comes in a bit there too.

[D]

Just on that. Tim, the when you. So I had a hard crash at one point and I had to do a bluffing section over again and it was a completely different line and a completely different accent the second time around. So I think there's just like a huge bank of one liners that shuffle through as you use the bluff over and over again. So it really makes me want to go back and do more of that stuff. And as Blessing was saying, the bluff mechanic works because James Bond is like a grounded fantasy character where he always lands at his feet. Everything just works out for him. So obviously he can just lie and it works. And I think that's another way where they've translated the character and the fantasy to a game that doesn't feel incredibly easy to the point where it's pointless to play it, but it makes you feel powerful and suave, which is a huge goal for any kind of James Bond media.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

And I don't know if you guys picked up on this, but every woman wants to have sex with him.

[B]

Every single one.

[A]

Every mission. You want to get out of here.

[C]

Everybody in this game, like, no matter gender, is hot, though. Oh, so everybody's so fucking.

[E]

I love it.

[B]

So many tattoos, so much cool shirts.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You guys love Hitman Tim.

[A]

Talk to me about what you thought.

[B]

I think this game is hella entertaining. I am right there with everybody that didn't finish it and even right there with the two that did, in the sense of like, I can't stop wanting to play this game. And I had a too many plans this weekend. So when the code came in, I was like, this is not great for me because I can't wait to get back to it anytime. I did have free time. I was playing the game. I am so impressed with the variety of gameplay and cutscenes and just the way that it is presenting the game, I think is so smart. It really. We've. We've said things like this so many times, but it's a playable movie. And I think that this is the closest we've ever gotten to an actual playable action movie. Like, it's funny because I feel like there's a lot more game in Uncharted. Like, I feel like with this, there is so much mix between the Uncharted type game and. And way it presents its story. Also with like Hellblade and then also, of course, Hitman, Hitman Light, which I do appreciate. But I also think that at points so far, I've been a little like, all right, they're letting me tackle this however I want to. I'm just going to run through it. But even with that, I'm very impressed with the amount of destructibility in the environments and not just like, you know, blowing shit up to blow shit up, but the amount of fights that you have, like hand to hand combat fights and you're being bounced around walls and bookshelves and everything is reacting in a way that feels like a James Bond movie. It feels like the, the, the fight scene was choreographed for the space that you're in. And that's something that I don't really feel much from a lot of other action games that present themselves cinematically.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And I think that the combat in this is incredibly simple but effective and the abilities you have to counter or dodge, but then also to kind of tackle and run and like push people's faces against the walls. It's so simple to control that I'm like, man, I kind of wish some WWE games would just work like this. You know what I mean? And like, that's a compliment that, yeah, I'm, I like the, the hand toand combat that much. But for a James Bond thing, you need to get a lot of things right. It's not just an assassin hitman. It is very different than that. Like Jordan was saying, it's this grounded human fantasy of what it means to be James Bond. And I've really thought they, they've done a fantastic job with it so far. I feel like just like James Bond movies, I'm not the biggest fan overall of it. So I am sitting at a right now 8.5. But that's great, right? I do think there's so many moments of me being like, oh, wow, like I'm amazed by this. But then there's a lot of moments that I'm like, this is great. I, I, I feel like there's, it's not necessarily like the most impressive thing that I've played before, but I can't wait to keep playing. The cast is so good that when the cast isn't good, it's a bit of a let down. And I have one major letdown in particular that I'm talking about. I mean, I could just say it

[A]

because how you gonna go my way?

[B]

Oh, man. My boy, Lenny Kravitz. I was so stoked villain and I am, I'm really not liking his vibe.

[A]

Let me just say that he is

[E]

very miscast with his like the character they build him up to be and then like, who that is in the context of the world. And then you see Lenny Kravitz performing kind of just Lenny Kravitz. It's a really weird choice.

[B]

Yeah, it is. It's pretty weird. But the biggest compliment I have for the game is so far, every area I'm in, I'm in for the exact right amount of time. And I think that the big areas that you're in when you are doing the more Hitman stuff are so immaculately designed and so interesting and so full of things and people. And there's some repeating character models and things like that. But like that.

[A]

But I mean like who cares? But I think it's so. Yeah. Like you look at this world and you push through this and I did not do the usual thing I do which is get hung up on. Oh, that's the same thing. Oh, that's the same person or whatever.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're so into it. They do such a good job with

[B]

the camera angles and just the look of it all is so impressive. Like, I just love like there's like a bloomy look to it that me gives it a vibe like I don't feel like it's color.

[A]

It's a movie.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It looks designed. And there's a scene in early on where you're in a club and it is the most impressive lighting I've ever seen in a video game. I am. I was shocked at how it was

[A]

so club like that. I was like, I can't believe people go here. How do people enjoy this fucking shit?

[B]

Like a rave.

[A]

Because it looks awesome. It plays so like you're like, damn, this is a.

[B]

And shout out to the dual Sense implementations with this. Oh my God. When you are in this club scene, it is like shaking to the base of the music. And I'm like, this is freaking sick, man. But yeah, very, very excited to keep playing. And I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the day my review is higher. Like so I just. 8.5 for now. But I have a lot to go.

[C]

I got a couple things I want to go for. One, you're talking about, you know how some of these areas look. I want to shout at the lighting in particular. I was playing on half on PlayStation 5 base and then other half on PlayStation 5 Pro. And like on the Pro especially seeing a lot of these lighting effects, I'm like blown away by how good they look. I'm with you on the combat. I think combat's so fucking fun and simple. But the fact that they have like a parry system in this like melee hand to hand combat game in the parry system works well and they give you just enough tools and do all that stuff. I think it's fantastic. I really like the pacing overall of the story. You are. Because you're playing as a new 007. Here you are starting from kind of ground zero. You're joining MI6. You're learning how to beat it.

[B]

Ground zero. Oh, speaking of ground zero in this game is just ground zero.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Which is awesome. But yeah, you're going through, like, training montages and stuff in the first few hours of this game. I'm surprised that it's like, oh, I've not even been put on a mission yet, but I've not even noticed because the pacing has been just so good about giving me enough to do and getting me invested into the story and the characters here that, like, by the time you do go on the mission, I was surprised by how far into

[E]

the game we are.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. I was feeling the same way where I was enjoying this so much, but they keep teasing this or doing that, and I was like, man, I know where we're going. And I was excited to get there, but thoroughly enjoying where I was. And again, I think it's a really good job of storytelling as well. Like, we've all done a tutorial. All right, now do this. This is how you reverse the way they mix it into this opening, not even opening training montage. The way they introduce the cast of characters and you get to know them and make your friends and make your enemies and do these things. I was like, fuck, man. Like, this is so nice.

[E]

I will say I also really felt that and really dug. And, you know, one thing we were worried about with this game was performance and the way that they're cutting, like between very quickly these training montages. I was really impressive, like how well it all ran, especially on a base PS5. I think the. My one kind of thing I was also feeling, though, was it was a lot to take in. Even though, like, at the end of the day, a lot of this is very kind of basic mechanics compared to your Hitman's, compared to your Uncharted. But there's still like a lot of different things you're kind of learning, like back to back to back. That I felt a couple of times when you start getting to the main missions, it was a lot of. What was that one thing I learned very quickly four hours ago that I could. I. I felt like the way they onboard you with some mechanics, I didn't think I was kind of utilizing them as well as I could have, but I think an unfortunate thing. And maybe this is a gamescast games tip. I won't play the intro, but I would say maybe when you can go into the taxim stuff, some of like the smaller challenge rooms, because I think

[A]

these are VR training simulator stuff, everybody.

[E]

Yeah. And I think those do a Lot of good things to kind of teach you.

[A]

Reinforce.

[E]

Yeah, reinforce some ideas, but then also make you think a little bit deeper about the kind of surface level mechanics that you get introduced to and other ways that you can utilize them. I didn't play some of those things until after I was done with the story. I was like, oh, damn, I wish I played this to make me think about how to better utilize some mechanics throughout the main story.

[A]

Yeah, I feel that one. I think my. My big complaint, since we're talking so much about all the things we love and there's plenty to talk about. Right. Is that. Stick with me, because I'll start with a compliment, is the idea that crawling, hacking, bluffing, talking feels so much like I am James Bond. And even I think to bear his point of, like, you get all these things early on and then you do start fighting people. And I was a bit like, oh, fuck, right? Red means dodge to the side, not okay, whatever. And I got the vibe and I think, you know, I'm picking up books and throwing them at people and tackling them and taking them down, and it really feels like this visceral, anything can happen thing. I saw a super chat from Ro Ro. No rad. Would you say it reminds you of the Bourne game? Yes. Thank you so much. I sent to Assets my Bourne Conspiracy hands [e-mail] from 2008. It says updated 5-20-12. But that's just what they did. 2008, played that born Conspiracy game for a preview and this is delivering on all of that of that. It's visceral. It's this. To Tim's point, it's easy. You feel like Bond when I'm in this fight and I grab the dude and I just. Oh, there's an electrical panic that explodes and takes that guy out.

[B]

So I can handle the hilarious fashion.

[A]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

Which. Which I appreciate just because it's like this game is, I think, a lot more in line tonally with the Daniel Craig era, which is serious.

[A]

Like, yeah, serious.

[B]

These are serious bad guys and serious stakes, younger cast. So there's a bit more like, hey, we're cool kids. But, like, it's still very serious. But then you get like. You see people's skeletons when you shock them. Yeah, I like that.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

So all of that feels great. And I feel so much like Bond in those moments when you get to these sections that go boom, License to kill, where you have the guns. This could be just a Greg get good thing or whatever. It feels like all the mechanics of this Game are working against itself. And it's one of those things. Like, I am still trying to get into cover, but they're blowing up the COVID But I'm shooting. Like a licensed skill section would have been like, from that state of play where they showed the airplane. The airplane sequence where we. They shot. There's all these explosions and Bond goes together.

[C]

Like, basically, if you. If somebody pulls a gun on you, then that means you can kill them. Like, it's your license to kill.

[A]

And I.

[B]

In kill everybody,

[C]

kill everybody, I.

[A]

And I. I would. This can be a discussion point if you want. But, like, if someone pulls a gun on you, I feel like that's what they say. But then for me, I think it's been three specific instances where it's a boom.

[C]

License to kill.

[A]

And it is killed. All these motherfuckers and they're coming at you, and you're. You only have 10 bullets. And then you're picking up their guns. They got 15 bullets in their MC. I'm like, yo, this isn't. I don't like how this feels. Because I've been playing this, I think smartly, stealthily, Tack, you know, hey, what's up? I'm talking. I'll choke you out. I'll do this thing. And now you're forcing me to fight, But I feel so unempowered like that. I'm just. And it's not that I'm doing bootstraps. I'm throwing the guns at people when they run out, but it's still. There's fucking armored guards running at me on multiple tiers and shit. And I'm like, this doesn't feel fun. Like when. When it says license to, my enjoyment

[B]

goes like, all right, I don't want to rock hard.

[C]

Yeah, I like the exact opposite. I love the License to Kill segments. For me, it's. I remember when we reviewed last is part two. One of the comparisons we made was Hotline Miami. I feel that Hotline Miami Ness in this as well, where it is like, all right, I'm fucking. I got five bullets. Take out this guy, he's down. I run to him, grab his gun. I use my gadget to, like, make this guy want to throw up. And he's like, you know, he's fucking dizzy. So now I have my takedown buttons that I can hit to fucking take him down. There's another button. I think it's like R1 and square.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It's like you fucking charge into somebody and their gun flies out of their hand. You can throw Your guns at people and then their gun pops out of their hand. Like, this game gives you so many tools. Granted to. I think it was Barry's point. Like, it kind of took me a while to get there. Like, it wasn't until yesterday where I had a combat sequence where I was like, oh, I see the Matrix.

[A]

And see, that's part of the jumping in the tax in today. I think the fact that there's been three where I. The third one last night in a darkened room with LCD screens to try to give you guys where we are. Like, that was the one where I was like the most annoyed, where I was just, I don't really want to do this, but if I had gone and trained or got more of them, different story. I feel they fall into that old school uncharted problem though, too. Of it's a monster closet. Like, there's the second middle one where there's I'll say igloos or not igloos, but whatever. Where it's like, cool, I fucking killed all these guys by bottlenecking them to come around here in a very not fun James Bond fashion of just like, all right, I've had one of those. Okay. And then I advance a little bit more. There's. He's in here. Oh, fuck, we're doing this again. I run back to the same choke point. They come through the Cho point. I'm like shooting cattle, coming through the thing like this. This doesn't feel Bondi or fun for me, but I am decidedly probably playing it wrong. But the game, I don't feel maybe it's to Barrett's point. Is it teaching me slash, encouraging me to play it right.

[E]

And yeah, some of the forced license to kill segments, yeah, I found a little bit uninteresting as well, I think there again, I think it fits more in some of the jazz moments where you're playing around with the. The stealth, but then going into action, maybe escalating that to, okay, now I got to kill a couple of dudes. That stuff worked for me. But there. There are a couple of long, drawn out segments that are licensed to kill that I've found myself having to repeat a lot. And I think it's because I think hand to hand combat and the gun mechanics themselves feel a little bit too stiff for me to the point where, like, I just personally wasn't connecting with how all of that controlled. So again, that's more of like a personal thing there. But yeah, and I'm with you on

[A]

that because I think that's the part where the gunplay just, I think the stealth and the action and the devices, while stiff, I think works and feels so much like Hitman, where I'm like, I get it. And I like this a lot. Where when I get into the gunplay and I'm picking up different guns and it's only 15, that doesn't work for me. But something interesting you said there, right, Barrett, of, like, going through and finding that flow and having that idea, I. I still haven't had it to my knowledge that I remember a License to Kill moment pop up that isn't one of these big monster closet fights. But I love when I am stealthing, it goes wrong. The guy sees me, another dude comes over. Now we're fighting, and I'm throwing shit to stop you from making the call. And then I'm knocking you all out, and it pops up. It's like, situation handle. I'm like, that feels fucking awesome. Because that feels like my stealth plan went wrong. But I was able to say that

[C]

goes back to my thing of, like, you know, stealth can be easy and fun, and I like how many. How many ways they take to make stealth easier. But, like, keep it. Because, yeah, when you're doing that and you're stealthing around, what's the worst thing that happens in a stealth game is when you get caught and it's like, all right, everything's gone to shit. I don't have any other option. Like, either I'm going loud for the rest of the level, or it's like, I die and I try again here. The fact that you have the option of, like, essentially every stealth sequence is kind of, like, contained to whatever room you're in. And so you get caught in that room. So you take out two dudes and it's back to stealth. It feels more like Bond, right? It feels like a moment in the movie of, like, oh, shit, gotta take out these two guys.

[A]

And then you adjust your time.

[C]

Adjust your time. You keep doing what you're doing.

[B]

Yeah, I. I'm really.

[D]

The point that Greg just made about the. That LCD screen sequence. So that can be entirely stealth, as far as I'm aware. There's, like, only two or three License to Kill sections that the goal is to, like, clear the enemies out. Whereas a lot of the License to Kill, like, stage sections, if you will, can also be stealth. And there's, like, challenges associated with that as well. But I do agree in the sense that all of those sections felt like they had maybe five too many enemies where it's like, okay, I feel like I'm doing really well. Got him, got him, got him. I've got, like, a sliver of health and then, like, five of the big guys are there and I'm like, well, there's no real point in me. Like, I should just start again at this point because they're going to get a hat on me, like, pretty quickly.

[C]

The most. The most annoying thing for me was, like, there have been multiple times where an enemy would shout, it's just me and you. And I'm like, okay, sick. This is the last guy. And I kill him and there's like, five more guys. I'm like, why do you stay with me? Why'd you lie to me?

[E]

Another gamescast game tip. And I think this is just my brain being broken from playing other stealth games quite recently. What Jordan was saying of, you know, kind of letting a sequence kind of kill you and restart. Don't go into the menu and pick. What is it? Like, restart, checkpoint, restart, checkpoint. Because that'll take you much further back than maybe you want. I learned that very quick. Whereas if you just let an enemy kill you or, you know, fail mission, that'll take you to a moment that is much closer to where you're actually at. Which, you know, again, I think it's like a weird. It's a weird small nitpick, but it's something that I associate with the genre of being good about kind of checkpointing and, like, auto saves and stuff. So that was. That was one thing.

[A]

I found Barrett showing the airplane assault here. And I will point out this has got to be the most basic difficulty in the fucking game because it's too thin. I'm playing on just middle what I recommended or whatever.

[B]

Intended. Yeah, normal.

[A]

Intended. Normal. And I'll tell you right now, I'd be fucking dead as a doornail. The way the people are shooting in my game. If I was just, like running around, doing the slow head shots. I'm hiding, popping out, using the focus, I'm still getting shot face.

[B]

I'm like, God damn it. I really like the monster closet sections in the game so far. My only criticism, though, of the gunplay stuff is there's two control things that just don't. My brain doesn't work that way. The switching weapons, only having two weapons and it being down on the D pad. Yeah, there's something about that that when I'm in the heat of it. And to bless his point, it is very hotline Miami running around, just like, keep the momentum up, do something just keep going because the moment you stop and think you're going to die and reload on circle, there's just something about that too that I constantly kind of panic.

[C]

The one for me that I don't like, and this is just based off of the fact that I played Hitman, is that they have like your scan that you have, which is you have like these cool retinal things in your eye that like let you see like a scan version of the L1, right? That's on L1 and then like sprint take covers on R1. That ain't right, man. That just ain't right.

[D]

You don't do that.

[B]

I want to keep talking about 007 first light, right after a quick word from our sponsors.

[A]

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[B]

This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. Rocket Money can track subscriptions and has the ability to cancel unwanted ones within the app with just a few taps, saving users over $880 million in canceled subscriptions. The amount of time Mike has signed up for something, forgot about it after the trial period ends, and then charged month after month after month is, quite frankly, terrifying. So many people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month. Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all of your subscriptions in one place and cancel them within the app with just a few taps, saving time and avoiding charges. And the app consolidates checking, savings, loans, and investments into a single dashboard to give you a clear view of your financial picture. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] kind of funny. That's rocketmoney.com kindafunny rocketmoney.com kindafunny and we are back. I did want to say real Quick, because we were talking about this during the break. I played so far the majority on my PS5 Pro, but then I had to play on my PS5 a couple times. When we first saw this game, there was a couple presentations that I, me and Andy specifically were really concerned with the performance. And so far it's ran so well on the PS5 Pro. I've been very, very, very impressed with it. I've had a couple bugs here and there, but that's not a performance thing. I think it's more like there'd be times where I get my character model gets stuck behind like a drawer and I couldn't get out, so I had to restart and things like that. But I was shocked going to the PS5, which still runs great and still looks fantastic. But the delta of difference, like the PS5 Pro is a stunner. Like, it looks so good and I really took it for granted, like going down to the PS5 where I was like, wow, there's a marked difference. But the PS5, I still thought looks and runs great middle. Are you about to jump in there?

[D]

Yeah, I think that is a. It's a real showpiece. I think that I had like a couple of frame drops that were only perceivable because I was capturing it and I could see the active frame rate going when things get really, really busy. But other than that, like, it was a really an amazing experience on. On PS5 Pro. I think it's a flex when there's like, no, as far as I'm aware, there's no like graphical options on promo. It's just like, this is. This is a full bang. You're getting everything that we can do here. So. Yeah, I think it also. They do so many location porn shots they've got here. They know exactly what they've got here. So, yeah, I think I only had that one hard crash that I mentioned earlier. And outside of that, no bugs for me as far as I can remember. Yeah, it was a pretty. Especially considering when this came in, I was like, is that's going to. Is it going to be a little bit. A little bit spicy? But it seemed okay for me. But as I'm surprised to hear that

[B]

you had a couple there just little things. I mean, I think the biggest noticeable issue for me is like, there's a lot of like shimmering, like there's a lot of just like looking at reflections and you just get that kind of like shaky look to it all that you kind of get with a lot of the super sampling stuff in. In Game so. But again it's like so much of this is so great and runs well and is beautiful. Like it's not a problem and I, because I thought a lot of stuff was going to be a problem. I thought we're going to get like intense slowdowns for explosions and there's not, there's a ton of explosions here. So there's a lot of opportunities for it to have shit the bed and it definitely did not.

[C]

Yeah, I had only one hard crash during I tried to do the taxim stuff and then it crashed there and I was like, it's not meant to be. I'll do this later.

[A]

Yeah, I forget what I was doing. I had one hard crash and you know, do you want to report it to PlayStation? But I can't remember what it was. Yeah, my only technical thing was I thought the loads were long but that was probably amplified by how annoyed I was when I was dying. These fucking God, the dying.

[C]

I think the loads are long when you die. I think. Well this generation, I think we've been.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

For this.

[D]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

It's long enough that I was able to. When it would happen I got my phone and open Instagram because I knew I'd be there a minute.

[B]

And this isn't even a criticism, it is more just like an observation. Like speaking of like long load times, I don't, I don't think I can remember a game that takes this long to boot up.

[A]

Let me go. Stop showing me about the seizures.

[B]

It takes so long. Like it's unbelievable. Like it takes like Spider Man.

[A]

You turn that thing on, you're swinging.

[B]

You're freaking swinging, man. But yeah, once you're in, it's good.

[C]

I had one bug where I was in one of like the big open area moments and I'm like, you know, blending in with the crowd. There was one character, one lady that was just horizontal like in the mid air. Like she was a possessed person. It was.

[D]

I would also like to point out that even in this footage license to kill is because I killed so many guys. Like pulling them out of windows off of like sheer cliff faces. Like they are not surviving. Like it's not even like Spider Man. Yeah, it's not even like Spider man where they like web them.

[A]

Yeah, they were in web with a side of the building.

[D]

Yeah, it's like. No, you're actually. I will send a note to your

[C]

family because I, I when the game over screen when you die, it's cool for a second but then it just turns to Black pretty quickly. I think it was kind of whack. I. I'm dying enough in this game where I'm like, you got to step up the.

[B]

Spice it up.

[C]

Yeah. There's like a cool effect that happens right when it happens. But then, yeah, just. This is black screen with the menu.

[B]

Jordan, do you. Do you want to take us anywhere? Before I get to the super chats, I'm.

[D]

I'm trying to think what we haven't covered. I'd like to give a shout out to having big, meaty chapters that feel like you've actually done something after playing for a little while, because I think that it's like there's 10 as far as I can remember. Maybe some of the chapters are like shorter versions, but it's like, okay, you're getting the title card. You're going to play something that could last you an hour or something like that. There's very, very few moments where it's just a fleeting trip through an amazing area. It's all these kind of built out, luscious locations that is very hitman. So I think that the. The pacing. That's the word I'm searching for. I think it's got a very good sense of pacing. And even towards the end, when you're ramping up for what will be kind of the final battle and the final resolution, I think it all works. I wanted to ask you guys, I don't know if you've done many of them yet. What did you think of the boss fights? Because I thought they were a little bit, like, kind of tertiary. Like, I finished them so quickly. There's one where you have to manipulate objects and, like a museum backlot and like, that. I did, like, one thing, and the guy was down to, like, almost no health.

[A]

Yeah. He's got to do three.

[D]

Yeah. I thought that was kind of. I mean, how do you handle boss fights?

[A]

I liked it. Like, I understand the argument of not Jo, but I. I always hated. Still do. In video games, when you're playing something, you get somewhere, and suddenly this boss has this gigantic health bar for no explanation. It works narratively in some games, not in Bond. And so, yeah, for getting to these guys and having them be, quote, unquote, normal. Almost Arkham, I would say.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Well, I remember how that amazing moment where you step up and punch the penguin, it's over. Like, it's like, yeah, like, this makes sense for how it would work. But that one was a weird one too, where I was overthinking it as well. When I finally Was like, oh, wait. Oh, fuck, this is easy.

[E]

Yeah, the, the bosses reminded me a lot of Arkham, especially some of the boss designs I don't love all of the time, which is the kind of you're sneaking around while an overpowered enemy is kind of hunting you down. I think of Bane at the end of Arkham Origins. I also think of, you know, one that was done really well in Arkham, Mr. Freeze. We talk about all of the. The time. And I think the bosses in Bond remind me of that, but like way simpler and yeah, like done way quicker. Where I was kind of. Once I got introduced to what the boss was, my head immediately was like, oh, this is going to suck. This is not going to be fun for me. But then they were like over very quickly because of how many tools you have at your disposal to kind of combat this, you know, big character. But, you know, it's all about your resourcefulness. So it was one of those. I, I dreaded it at first, but I, I think the, the way they implement it was like done well enough that I. Again, I think it's a very inviting for players who may not have experienced a boss design like that before.

[B]

So.

[E]

But yeah, it was also.

[D]

I also wanted to. Sorry, I just wanted to shout out as well. This is kind of a Star wars thing. But when you have the Bond musical license, it's a cheat code to elevate the stakes. And I think that they actually use it very surgically where they tease it a few times and then the few times that it hits fully, you're like, okay, this is incredible. And also I think that the game's theme, the Lana Del Rey song, I think that's great as well. That whole intro sequence with that song and giving the credits, I thought that it set things up perfectly. It's like it's for their first Bond game, man. Like I, I don't understand.

[C]

I'm so impressed with it, like saying

[D]

they don't do this.

[C]

They've been making Hitman. So like, yeah, them being able to, yeah, do the story, that's way more about the narrative, way more about the characters, way more about those moment to moment set piece action moments. Like, I'm like, where did y' all find this? You know, like, why?

[A]

It's another gear for them. It's a step up for them for sure.

[B]

Speaking on the music Talk, I am 10 out of 10 supremely impressed with the music in this game. Like all of it. Where, like the. To Jordan's point, the. Their restraint with the Bond theme But then also, it's not like they're not using it, it's just they. They tease it so perfectly and they, they use it fully at all the right times. But beyond that, just the quote unquote generic spy music that plays like, just when you're, you know, walking around a hotel or whatever. It's so high quality. It's such good stuff. The little stinger at the main menu is incredibly Bond, but unique at the same time. Like, it's not something we've heard before.

[A]

There's a party section where there's a jazz singer and she was so good. Like I was. It was like, this is the same song on repeat, but it was so well done.

[B]

The club scene, like, it's like a legit dope song. It's not like the, you know, hey, we just need some EDM here. It's like, oh, it's like Storm Z and like, it's very, very cool.

[C]

One time where I watch it like Q's Lab and I'm like, there's a jam playing in here. Like, damn, Q is crazy.

[B]

Yeah, it's. It's really, really good.

[D]

The bet that Greg just referenced, when the jazz singer is playing, she's singing the don't you know it's the end of the world, which was the closing theme of the last Daniel Craig, James Bond. And I was like, that's a. That's a nice touch. They do tons of, obviously they do tons of references to moments that haven't happened yet and this James Bond's life. But I think it's pretty reserved, actually, where a lot of it's kind of heading or it's collectibles or it's just. You will have to Google this situation. It's not like hanging out the back of the legacy of the films, which I think is a really impressive bit of confidence from them being like, no, this is our James Bond. We'll pay credit to those who have came before us, but this is our turn to do it.

[B]

We got a super chat from Dexter saying, how does Patrick compare to the other Bonds on the silver screen? And how shocked are you with the quality of the game after an unimpressive presentation? And lastly, is there any poker in the game? I love y'.

[A]

All.

[B]

Happy birthday, Kev. I just want to start off because I was one of the bigger detractors of his casting and of the, the quality of the game. I'm very impressed. I. They. I think they pulled it off and I thought it was a weak first showing of a presentation and I'll even take it a step further because one of the things I looked at was like, ah, that doesn't look fun to me was the driving. And I know Jordan was saying he doesn't like it. I was, when we first started, controlling. I'm like, I'm impressed with how this is controlling. I'm enjoying this. So, yeah, overall, very surprised. And I love Patrick Gibson. I think he is great. Is he my favorite Bond? Not yet. Like, I don't think that I like this character. I like what he is, but I think that he is more Nathan Drake than Bond. But that's a good thing. Bond also quips. It's a different type of quip, but I enjoy this. I enjoy it a lot.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What do y' all think?

[D]

I think that Patrick really steals the show, in my opinion. I think that the, like, becoming a James Bond is like becoming Doctor who. Like, you are more than just an actor that plays this character. You have to embody everything that this kind of franchise is at this point. And I think that he does that in a way that, as someone mentioned earlier, it will be tough when they eventually announce who the next cinematic James Bond is, because it's like, well, we've got this guy who's doing it really, really well. Like, I love Daniel Craig. I think he was probably my Bond. I think Skyfall is probably the best of all the. Of all the films. So it's. But it's such a different. It's such a different gear change from this old grizzled, I could die at any moment Bond to this super arrogant, super cocky, everybody wants to shag me. Like, that is such an exciting place to start, this character. And when the game finished, I was like, get the next one out. This can't be. This can't be eight years from now. Get the next one out as soon as possible. I don't care if you really use locations. I need more of this Bond. I need more of Money Penny. I need more of all these people.

[A]

Money Penny is great.

[E]

Yeah. I agree with Gibson being really great here. And I think it's also getting the actual opportunity to see a younger Bond, right? Like, I think they say he's in his mid-20s here. Whereas when we first get Craig in was, you know, casino 20 years ago, right. He was still, like, almost 40, I want to say, like, in his first movie. So I think it was also, like, Gibson's performance, I think, kind of. And being a unique era of Bond, seeing a younger Bond was just kind of refreshing overall. And it isn't quite like this, but it reminded me a lot of, you know, Kingsman spoofing Bond in ways there's exactly more youthful energy. Especially like they. I think they say like this takes place in 2026 at one point. That feels a bit more modern and I think like fits a. A tone for a 007 in the 2000s. And yeah, like, I'll. I'll say this again. It'll be a tough act to follow. Not. Craig was already a tough act to follow because I, I really liked Craig as well. But I think Gibson here is. Is going to be one. Not just because of his performance, but kind of the unique era that we're getting to jump into with his career.

[C]

Yeah, I think it's. I also think it's just a great entry point for Bond. You know, like Skyfall is the only movie I've seen. I've played other Bond video games and so I'm familiar with the characters. Like oh yeah. M. Moneypenny Cube. I know who they are but I also associate them with history. And like Baron mentioned. Right. Like Craig is old. And so like when I watch Skyfall, I'm like, I'm watching what feels like the last movie in 100 movies. You know what I mean? So hopping into this and it being we're starting from ground zero. Here's this character, here's him meeting Moneypenny, here's all this stuff for the first time it feels very refreshing, especially knowing what my perception of Bond is as he grows. And like playing world is not enough. Funnily like being my NC floor. That blue. Oh man, I missed that blue cartridge. Actually I have that blue cartridge because I got my analog 64. But playing that and knowing that that's my view of Bond and playing this version of Bond and like kind of having that path of knowing like this is who you become. I guess theoretically. Because this is a weird. This takes place in modern times. But it doesn't matter. I think it's cool. I. I really like this version.

[B]

Yeah. We have the once in future Jason. Could this game success cause a new influx of spy games? I'd kill for an Alpha Protocol remaster. That game's a flawed gem. Big question. Do we think this game is going to be successful?

[A]

Yes. 100 it I don't see how it couldn't be. I think it's gonna. I think you're talking about a franchise that appeals to people outside of your traditional gamers. Right. So I think you're gonna see not Hogwarts Legacy Success. But I do think you're gonna see a lot of people activated of oh man, a new James Bond and it's gonna have 10 out of tens and five out of fives and all this stuff and be like oh man, I should go check that out. Yeah. And like word of mouth, especially from gamers like us. Cuz it is delivering on a game we all, not we all. You know my history with Uncharted, my history with third person action adventure, like this is that kind of game. Get in, strap in, go on a, you know, globe spanning tale that you're going and doing different things. I think that just appeals to so many different people and I think they nail it so well. And you know, Jordan put it poignantly of like how big these levels are that like when you finish one you do feel like you finish an episode of TV or a film unto itself that will lead to the next thing. Of course that's what it's so hard to stop. Whereas like, ah, but it's also the great point of like all right, cool. You know, the new name pops up, the new number pops up for what chapter I'm on. I can put it down here and move on.

[C]

Yeah, I think it does Uncharted better than any game since Uncharted. And like personal preference, I like this more than Uncharted. Like this is hitting for me on a level where I'm like oh yeah, this is giving me the set pieces, give me the visuals. Like as I entered the new chapter that I started last night, I was like, man, this is fucking cool. It's a cinematic experience and I think that's really going to resonate with the audience. And then yeah, to Greg's point about like double oh, seven the ip I double seven I think weirdly is as iconic as a video game IP as well. And I think there's probably so many people that are, that have been hungry for a new James Bond video game and like it. I don't think anything can be Hogwarts legacy to that degree. Right. But like I, I think this is going to do surprising numbers.

[B]

Ronald Rad says, should I drop 70 on this or Batman?

[A]

Oh, what a great question.

[D]

I would say this. I think I really liked Batman as well. But I think this is something that's just a cut above for me and I think Batman will maybe come down in the future. Whereas that's like prestige single player thing they're probably going to want to keep.

[A]

You know, coming off of the Batman review last week where I was real positive and Love Batman. Like I would say this as well. Like, I think that this is just that big Triple A. Not adult, but I mean, Batman's a kids game and you can find a lot of fun in that as a DC Batman fan, for sure, but this is going to scratch a very different itch, but more of that. Oh yeah, I'm. I'm gaming. You know what I mean? Like we didn't, we mentioned it, but didn't. Like every time I do something in this game and finish a thing and I'd stealthily get through and they pop up that I got the challenge for it, I was like, ah, it feels so good. I'm like, yeah, I didn't even know it was there. I wasn't even trying for it. But I did something that you wanted

[E]

me to go do. Yeah, I would agree. I, I think this is again, this has been a weird year for me in my interest in games, but I would say this is one of the few must plays that I've gotten hands on with this year. So if it was this or Batman, I would say this.

[B]

Hell yeah, man. I'm getting must play vibes myself. So definitely check this one out. If you were at all interested or if you've ever enjoyed James Bond, I think there's something here for you. Like Greg was saying later today, we're gonna do a stream so you can actually see him play the game. That should be fun. We have one more super chat, Greg, that I want to end on here. Okay. This is from the once in future Drake saying birthday tax. I turned 37.

[A]

Happy birthday once in future Jake.

[B]

I took the week off, excited to watch instead of, listen, Greg, can you cut a promo on me? Because only a pea brain mouth breather would enjoy Starfield. Which makes sense why you love it so much. Once in future Jake just turned 37.

[A]

Once in future Jake, why would I waste my time with you? I saw your chat come through. I see everything that happens in this building. So when I go over to your YouTube page and I say, what's your most popular video from 10 years ago? Paragon. 583 views. I would tell you to hang it up, but you haven't posted on your YouTube in a year. So then I go, okay, maybe he's on big on Twitch. Hasn't posted on Twitch in five years. Go to your Twitter, which is one of your few links you're still advertising. Maybe I'll talk shit there. Nope, haven't been there since 2024. So I'm glad that you decided here in the year of your lord, Greg Miller, 2026, you would show up with the fucking audacity that your avatar on all social media is you with a crown. What are you the king of? Fucking hanging it up? Being a big time fucking loser? Because that's what you are, sir. Okay, so, yeah, your promo's been cut. You have my permission to go jump off whatever bridge you were waiting for this promo. All right, get out of here. Just get out of here. It's over.

[B]

I love that. I saw that and I was like, do I slack Greg and ask him if he has it in him or whatever? And I was like, you know what? Something tells me Greg has this. And here we go. Happy birthday, Jake. Jordan, thank you so much for joining us. What are you saying?

[D]

I was gonna say, has Greg ever not had it in him to do something like that? And also Starfield, great game. Five out of five.

[A]

Yeah, that's my man right there.

[B]

Jordan, thank you so much for joining us. Where can people find you?

[D]

Of course we've had a lot of jokes and japes, but it's dark out there and the games media landscape. So if you would consider supporting Patreon.com video games chronicle, you'd be supporting a 3 person independent business were tiny compared to this kind of funny conglomerate. So if you consider going over there, you get ad free, browsing, extra podcast, extra videos and all that jazz. We know people don't have a lot of money right now. No one does. The world is a Ben fire. But if you want to support good games media, you can do that over there.

[B]

Hell yes. Thank you. Let us know in the comments below how hyped you are for first lights and until next time. Love you all. Goodbye.