Much like the women in his life, Bond games have come and gone in various shapes and sizes over the years. From Russia with Love is an unusual game adaptation however as it revisits the original 60’s era of a Sean Connery 007, rather than a modern-day movie franchise like the many other Bond titles out there. The game features missions revolving around the events of the movie but also includes original, action-intensive sequences that have been penned specially for the game. Offering a wide variety of different gameplay modes including intense driving levels, stealth missions and role-play-type character upgrading through out – there is a fairly solid amount of entertainment to be found here. Unfortunately none of these really stand out or make you want to play them again. But a Bond game wouldn’t be proper without two things – highly expensive gadgets and gorgeous women. This time round, the EA studios have cast British actress Natasha Bedingfield as the leading lady who has not only lent her voice, but been involved in the whole production of the game including motion-capture for her animated alter-ego. This realism, along with the retro coolness of the original James Bond makes the game a visual treat with a living breathing 1960’s-styled world including classic cars, architecture, fashion, and exotic locations to explore.

From Russia with Love does include multiplayer modes which can be fun – but are not innovative or long-lasting. There are your standard deathmatch and capture-the-flag variants, as well as a dogfight mode, where everybody’s got a jetpack for carnage in the skies. There are two ways to play: either in single events or Survival Royale, where you play several events in succession as a tournament, point scoring fashion. There are some bonuses you can get in the Survival mode to make it more interesting, and some of the different booby-traps lying around and “Bond moments” in some of the maps are a nice addition. But for those used to playing Unreal Tournament or other fast-paced death-match games will find themselves falling asleep at the lack of action.