8:09
What is happening, y'all? Welcome on back. Let's see if we're actually making it to the end this time. The service was beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the bagpipes and rifle salute. Yes. Well, Webb was a national treasure, nothing less would do. It doesn't feel right, does it? Spies live and die in the dark, Bond. You want medals, join the Olympics. In case you're wondering, all charges against you have been dropped.
Blofeld's a reasonable man. Blofeld's a survivor. We came to an understanding. I testify that all he's guilty of is keeping bad company. He gets off my back and doubles our budget. Everybody wins. Congratulations. I suppose this makes you 001. Actually, M, I thought since I was the seventh recruit. Happens to be my lucky number. Just don't tell anyone. Someone pulled me out of that water and made off with Hannes Oberhauser.
There's only one person it can be. There's an unseen hand operating in the shadows, playing a game we know nothing about. How all of this is even possible keeps me awake at night. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to do some digging, 007. M, thought you'd never ask. Just trying to get my review thing up. Got my notes. Yeah, okay. So, we are at the credit roll. Oh, man. Bro, this game was a absolute blast to play.
Are we I thought that was the credit roll. Maybe not. Yep, that was the credit roll. All right. Oh, man. Honestly, what a just [__] fun game, dude. Like I feel like it's it's rare that we get games where the focus is just on like you know, just a straight-up roller coaster ride. Like I mean, god damn it. You going to going all the way back to the tutorial. Even the tutorial was like, "This ride does not stop. It just go." Um from a gameplay perspective, I had a ton of fun in here. Uh and I don't like Hitman, so you know, I was I
don't want to say apprehensive, but I was definitely kind of curious how this would end up being because, you know, like Hitman to me has always been one of the dull side just cuz of it's it's such a stealth focus. Um I think they really leaned into the action side of 007 here. Like, yeah, you could stealth and you could go around and utilize your gadgets, but I mean, when License to Kill comes up, it's License to Kill. It's not license to you know, sneak around. It's It's license to pop people in the head, rush them down, hit them in the face with throwables, do whatever you can. And to me that was perfect. Cuz if this had been like purely stealth focused, I know I would have bounced off of it.
Instead, it felt like an action movie, which to me that's what 007 is all about. You know, it's it's action, it's suspense, it's over the top. It's, you know, the swagger that Bond has about him and the theatrics that come along with it. And I think they absolutely nailed that in the gameplay scope. Just with the amount of flexibility you had in your approach and then, you know, picking out your different gadgets per situation. You could even see that. I mean, there were certain times where like having a laser allowed me to cut up different areas. Or instead, I could go around and pickpocket people. At the end there, I solved a [__] algebra problem to get a code, but instead I probably could have like smoke bombed the room and gone into
the vent. So, that's I love that. I love the variety of approach that we had in situations. Um the combat, too, very free-form. I know I was a big fan of just literally cracking skulls, you know, just bashing people's heads against walls, but you know, wall bashing, chucking people off ledges, shooting people, shooting their guns, charging them down, shooting their legs, shooting explosives. Like I loved it. It was the gameplay was an absolute blast. Uh from a world design perspective, they knocked it out of the park as well. Like I said, all the way back with the tutorial. The game starts with a And it's it's like you're in a [__] movie. You're in a literal training montage
trying to pick up all the buttons. Barely picked anything up as fast as the tutorial went by and just kind of had to adapt as time went on. Um but you know, the going through levels, the chase sequences, the you know, QTEs, right where they really needed to be. I think the world design here was fantastic, especially cuz it constantly pushed us towards that over-the-top vibe that I think Bond is so known for, you know, jumping out of planes and knocking a dude out and using his shoe or
you know, attaching ourself, hanging onto a tower as it's falling, jumping off of stuff, landing in the boat, taking off. Like all of that. To me, that's the [__] I think of when I hear James Bond. I don't think, you know, necessarily spy craft and stealth. I think over-the-top ridiculous action, and I think they did a [__] fantastic job here. Um in terms of the story, I like the story a lot, too. You know, early on I had a couple fallouts. I was like, "Oh, what if, you know, what if 009 was he actually uncovered something." It turned out that was true, which was really cool.
Um Damien, I kind of saw Damien coming back just cuz we, you know, we kicked him, but we didn't confirm he was dead. So, I kind of had a feeling that was coming, but I like the angle they went here with the whole idea of, you know, the quantum computer. And then I didn't really catch the uh that there was a double. That I think was a nice twist that he had a secondary computer that was basically mirror quantum computing. And that's how they knew everything. Cuz for the longest time I was like, "Oh, Bro was just he, you know, he has a backdoor into Thea. Obviously, he knows everything." So, I thought that was a nice little uh surprise that they had planted for us. But overall, I mean, I like the story a lot. I think probably the biggest thing
about it to me is I really like that this is essentially like an origin story for 007. Cuz like we've seen like training montages and stuff for double 07, but you know, throughout history and in the media that I'm familiar with where we see double 07 out of Maybe it's different in some of the books, but in the movies at least, you know, he's already he's established. He's an agent. He already has that swagger that he's known for and the competency. And so seeing it from the perspective of a much younger double 07 before he even has the double 0. When he's still rougher around the edges and you know, just doing whatever he can to get by. I thought that was a really cool approach to the story. And just, you know, I don't know. I
just something about it. Maybe it's cuz Bond's been around for so long and it just hasn't been done, but like I think they did a great job kind of encapsulating what Bond is, especially from an origin perspective of like a young Bond. I think they did [__] fantastic. Uh graphics obviously were great here. Audio design, I think they nailed that as well. There's not much else to say there. Um length and price, what is I mean it's it's it's a full price game in terms of play time. We're 25 episodes, so that would come in uh right around 13 hours, 13-ish hours and there's still the uh the like tactical stuff, but
you know, I don't know. I feel like people honestly I think people put too much weight on how much time you're getting out of a game. I think it's like at the end of the day I would take the 13-14 hour experience I had here over like an 80-hour slog through fetch quests and [__] that I'm not interested in. Um you know, and that's not to say every big game is that, but there are a lot of big games where the open world is just like full of [__] that I'm not really too keen on doing.
Whereas like all the time spent here, we were you know, I was either looking for clues or getting into action or [__] crazy fight sequences. Like I had a blast, dude. This game was just all gas and no brakes. To me, that's you know, that's cool as [__] Uh in terms of bugs and performance, overall pretty good. We did have a couple of minor bugs. Like we had obviously the hood ornament bug. And then there were a couple times where like Bond was kind of stuck and then it resolved itself. Um performance for the most part was super smooth, but we did have two distinct moments where the game almost like froze up and then it ended up resolved. I was worried I was like, "Oh, [__] is it crashing?" I don't know. But it ended up resolving both times.
But you know, they stood out because everything else was so smooth. So overall with a final score on this, honestly for me, this would be either a nine or a 10. This was this is fantastic. I mean, I know a lot of people are saying that this has game of the year potential. I think it could end up being up there. This is a [__] blast. Um you know, I was actually thinking about reviews cuz I do think I want to move away from the standard review score.
Kind of like I really like how ACG does his reviews where he ranks stuff as like you know, must buy, um worth getting it, wait for a sale, or pass. And then like by that metric, yeah, this is a must buy. Especially if you're a fan of 007. Even if you're not, I mean, I mentioned it on Twitter, but like I haven't seen a 007 movie in probably close to two decades. I haven't seen any of the new ones. Like the last 007 movie I would have seen was back when like Pierce Brosnan was playing 007. Um you know, obviously I played GoldenEye, but like GoldenEye and the Brosnan 007 movies are basically the extent of my 007 knowledge. And I had a [__] blast here. So, I'm I'm not even like a 007 super fan or anything, but
this game was just it was just [__] fun, man. And at the end of the day, like that's that's what we want in games. You know, I want a game where I don't want to put down the controller. And I think they absolutely delivered on that here. Yes, I just had a [__] load of fun playing this. See if you get like a post-credit or anything. Maybe it Maybe a post-credit give us a clue of who Es is working for. Ah, just back to the menu. Soon in Taxim Valhalla Protocol. Mhm. Taxim Valhalla Protocol? Let me go take a look at that. Okay. Welcome to my dream factory. Before you start, you must load up a simulation using the Taxim console.
We've just added some exciting new challenges to the portfolio. Go on. See what strikes your fancy. The Taxim console contains our library of available sims. There are several types of missions available to you. An escalation is a tactical trial where each successful play-through unlocks a new tier of difficulty. An operation tests your lateral thinking, requiring you to use your tools creatively to solve any number of challenges. Completing challenges uses your skills in melee which increases your clearance level, giving you access to new gadgets, weapons, and outfits. Level trade through the museum garden area.
Level try through laundry area. Then this is tactical training. Close combat training. Hordes of rust. The assault. Throw five enemies over the ledge. Where's the car one? I want to do the car one. This would be something fun to do on stream. I should try and find some time just do some tax streams. What else do we got here? Legacy items. Is this like Oh, this is all the stuff that I found. Cards and whatnot. I haven't really looked at this stuff at all. Clearance level one. So, I probably got to get up and clearance level two and unlock more cool [__] to do. That might be something to do
do next week. Classified papers. Well, let's let's do one. Let's at least check out a tax submission. I'm kind of curious. Um close combat. Let's just try one out. Let's get this show on the road. Come with me. Up ahead is the simulation platform. The system taps into your Q-Lens and projects a virtual space directly into your field of vision. No compatibility necessary.
The platform turns in all directions, ensuring you remain in the center at all times. 360 treadmill. Nice. And the menswear? As always, it is the devil's in the detail. We find experiences more immersive when you dress the part. Something tells me Q is behind this. However did you guess? Now, pick your outfit from the wardrobe, your weapon from the firearms console, and your gadgets from the carts. When you're ready, simply step onto the platform to begin the simulation. Ah, recruit Bond. Check out the latest styles. Whatever you fancy. Classic chess master purple, agent white tux. Consciously unobtrusive.
Very good. Bond, welcome. We have a broad range of gadgets and firearms available. Help yourself. What did that say? Next mission something Items can be purchased. Maximus outfit, event staff, chess master suit. Oh, and different weapons. Weapon skins. I purchase gadgets, upgrades, and then skins for that as well. Oh, it shows up quite a bit of stuff here in the taxi. Just give it a shot. [groaning] Damn. Run away, you little coward.
[groaning] I've got this. And I should have done this at the start. [screaming] [groaning] How do I throw you over the railing instead of just breaking your face into it? I'm going to mess up. [groaning] [screaming] [groaning] There's different tiers and whatnot. Yeah, this is definitely something to save for a stream cuz we could easily spend a couple hours going through Taxan.
Oh soon in Taxan Valhalla protocol. Okay, so that is not unlocked just yet. That's cool though. All right, but yeah, we will wrap things up here for double 07. Definitely a fantastic game to kind of kick off the summer season with I think. In terms of what is next, just looking at uh at game releases, the most obvious consideration is the re-release of Gothic that they are dropping. Cuz that comes out June 5th, which should be like right around the time these episodes wrap up. Um more than likely that's going to be next. I mean just looking at other releases for the month.
Um There's nothing too crazy and Gothic would probably take us into July where I'll I'll probably end up doing Black Flag re-synced just cuz drunken pirate sailing is fun. But there's also the echoes of Unkred that might be good too. I don't know. That's a July problem. Either way though, we're going to wrap this up. Thanks for tuning in and hopefully y'all enjoyed double 07 as much as I did. And I'll catch you all soon with a new series.
