“Skyfall” has begun screening for US press on the eve of its UK release, and so far, the word on the film is nothing short of ecstatic. I am very excited by everything I’ve heard about it so far, and I’m having to work hard not to read some of the more detailed reviews. I want a chance to see this one fairly clean, and so far, I think the trailers have been good about not giving away too much of the movie.
In the meantime, if you are itching for some Bond and you don’t want to wait, Activision has a solution for you and it’s hitting stores tomorrow. “James Bond: Legends” was created as an homage to the 50-year history of the film franchise, and in the game, you’ll be able to play your way through six of the films from the series.
I think it’s safe to call “Goldeneye” one of the classic N64 titles, but for the most part, James Bond has had a rough time in the video game world. I remember how excited I was to pick up “From Russia With Love” when it was released, and I wanted to enjoy it. Despite the fact that it’s one of my favorite films in the series, I just didn’t think it was a very good game. And that’s been a real issue for the character over the years. The “Quantum Of Solace” game was annoying from the moment it started, and it baffles me as to why that might be the case. It would seem like a world-traveling super spy with gadgets and guns and a license to kill would be a pretty simple character to build a game around, but for some reason, they seem to get it wrong more often than not.
You can see Entertainment Weekly’s exclusive debut of the trailer here.
I’m curious to play this one, though, and see how it handles the various films that it has chosen. I’m not sure I think “Moonraker” and “Die Another Day” represent the best of the series, but maybe they’ll work better in game form than they do as movies. In the meantime, I’ll be cranking up the pace on the “James Bond Declassified” series here on HitFix, and we’re entering a long strange stretch of titles where the series stumbled in a big way.
And we’re getting closer and closer to the release of “Skyfall,” and if you’re curious about that now, our own Guy Lodge just reviewed the film from one of its London press screenings, so you can check out his review.
“Skyfall” arrives in the US on November 8th.