The name’s Bond, James Bond. Seeing as how he’s one of the most iconic characters ever written, it is only natural that the legendary agent 007 would go on to star in a slew of video game adaptations, which range in quality from mostly forgettable to some of the most incredible titles of their generation.
High stakes spy intrigue abound as you play through the various escapades of the celebrated agent, with some titles doing an excellent job of capturing the essence of his character and proving to be incredible tales in their own right. This run-down features the greatest of them all, from incredible movie tie-ins to unforgettable original stories.
10 James Bond 007
If you saw this James Bond game on store shelves when it was released, your immediate thoughts may have been, “Oh, is this going to be a simple cheap shooter or a simple cheap platformer?” This kind of thought would be natural, as movie tie-in games have a reputation for being unambitious affairs. While this Gameboy exclusive may not be the best movie tie-in of all time, it is surprisingly intricate for the platform it’s on, being a Legend of Zelda inspired top-down RPG.
Sure, the graphics and gameplay are dated, undoubtedly. This doesn’t entirely take away from the intriguing plot set up by the game, and for those of you with a reasonable imagination, it can be quite the immersive experience. Walk around as Bond, making his decisions, and tracking all the little details to capture the villain. Though it is held back by its platform restraints and the time in which it was released, this remains one of the better Bond games to ever release.
9 Tomorrow Never Dies
In the grand pantheon of James Bond video game adaptations, a good majority of titles are played from the first-person perspective, with their identity owing entirely to the landmark success that was Goldeneye on the N64. One title dared to strive away from this formula, for better or worse, and it was the direct sequel to Goldeneye.
Releasing in 1999 for the PSX, Tomorrow Never Dies puts you into the third-person perspective. You play through many different moments from the film, from high intensity action sequences to more nuanced espionage moments. The title does show its age very clearly, though, and doesn’t quite hold up when compared to its iconic predecessor.
8 Agent Under Fire
Agent Under Fire is a rather unique entry into the series, as it doesn’t feature any major actor from the film end of the franchise, and instead goes into entirely original territory, with a new Bond to boot. It’s a high stakes plot of bio-weapons and world destruction — just another day in the life of James Bond.
The game is let down a bit by a somewhat loose, inaccurate aiming control scheme, and the frequent driving sections can be pretty grating with their subpar physics’ system. The game is certainly worth revisiting for its original tale and relatively enjoyable shooting sections, but it does hold itself back a bit in areas.
7 Quantum Of Solace
The James Bond franchise is often delineated by its fans into different eras, represented by the actor who filled the title role. The Daniel Craig era, beginning in 2006 with the release of Casino Royale, is known primarily for rooting the series into a more realistic landscape, eschewing the somewhat ridiculous nature of previous films. Craig’s video game presence follows this trend, showing the character in his most grounded adventures yet.
Interestingly enough, Quantum Of Solace’s video game adaptation primarily focuses on the events of the 2006 film Casino Royale, rather than its namesake, with only a few moments from the former film book-ending its main plot. The outcome of this is a wonderfully plotted tale which recounts what is easily one of the best films in the franchise, all while featuring some of the best first-person shooting action of the series. While it may not be as iconic as a certain earlier title in the franchise, or as wonderful as some of the more original stories that have been told, Quantum Of Solace stands as a great video game debut for Daniel Craig and a great Bond game in general.
6 Goldeneye
This is it, this is the one! Considered to be one of the best N64 games ever made and one of the best first-person shooters ever made. It’s addictive, attentive to detail in regard to the film, and most of all… aged.
In some ways, it has aged like a fine wine, with incredible level design and a multiplayer mode which transcends generations. In other ways though, it has quite honestly not aged so well, with its control scheme being particularly flawed in hindsight. The game is undoubtedly iconic, practically becoming an entity unto itself, having been remade or recounted dozens of times. This is for good reason, as the core experience is fantastic — it’s just one that has been surpassed a bit by time and technical progress.
5 The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough had the benefit of being released very late into the lifespan of the Nintendo 64, and this title pushes the hardware to its absolute limits. It does a fantastic job of being a true follow-up to Goldeneye, improving upon many technical aspects of that title.
It also boasts a similarly fantastic multiplayer mode, one that was somewhat overlooked on release due to its placement later on in the consoles’ life, as many other influential shooters were being released around this time. The multiplayer alone features a level design which is absolutely addictive, many customization options which were not available in the previous title, and an unbelievable character roster. If you are looking for more classic first-person Bond with a rather polished experience, you definitely shouldn’t miss out on this gem.
4 Blood Stone
Daniel Craig had an interesting run as James Bond in the video game universe. His first game was a sequel tie-in which was really about the first film in his series, his second game was a remake of a Pierce Brosnan film — and yes, of course it was Goldeneye! Released on the same day as that “reloaded” title, Blood Stone was underrated in its time, but it stands today as one of the best original tales told in the franchise.
The title is set between the events of 2008’s Quantum of Solace and 2012’s Skyfall and features the voices of Craig himself as the main character, along with Judi Dench in the role of M. These actors go a long way towards making this title feel like another film in the franchise, and the game features some fantastic, gritty third-person gameplay. If you’re a fan of Daniel Craig’s rendition as the character, this is sure to provide hours of entertainment, and it surely deserves reevaluation as being one of the best Bond games.
3 From Russia With Love
From Russia With Love is a particularly fascinating entry into the video game world of James Bond, as it is not every day that you see a relatively slow burning film from the 1960s adapted into a high octane espionage adventure. This entry is made even more interesting by the fact it was the final appearance from Sir Sean Connery, the film originator of this iconic character.
It can be somewhat jarring to hear the older Sean Connery’s voice come from his younger likeness, but still he remains as charming and intriguing in the part as ever. The developers of this title, EA Redwood Shores (later known as Visceral, the creators of Dead Space), also developed numerous titles featured elsewhere on this list, so it is safe to say they were the go-to Bond devs at the time. Their experience shines clearly here. Everything is polished to a T, looking and running fantastically even on dated hardware.
2 Nightfire
Nightfire was the first game to fully capture all the little elements of a Bond film. You have the pre-title sequence to capture the audiences’ attention, the gorgeous theme song performed by Esthero, the gun barrel sequence — it’s simply all here. It is an entirely original tale as well, featuring the likeness of Pierce Brosnan, but not his voice, with the character instead being voiced by Maxwell Caulfield.
This title also features the absolute best, most polished first-person shooting available in a Bond game, with the developers learning and using lessons from the past decade’s worth of 007 shooters. The multiplayer mode is an absolute blast to this day, featuring numerous playable characters from the film franchise, such as Jaws and Goldfinger. If you are looking for a truly excellent James Bond FPS that stands the test of time and remains a wonderful experience even years later, look no further than Nightfire.
1 Everything Or Nothing
Pierce Brosnan saw a lot of love and a rather large spotlight in the video game industry during the early 2000s, likely owing largely to Goldeneye’s massive success, as well as the success of his run of films in the franchise. He has more original interactive tales than any other James Bond actor, and some of those original tales saw an incredible amount of dedication and work put into them by the developers.
By far and away the most impressive title to release during this Brosnaissance era would have to be Everything Or Nothing, telling a fully fleshed out original tale in his timeline. Huge A-list actors make an appearance in this title, with Pierce Bronsan making his final appearance as the character, and Willem Dafoe filling the villainous shoes of your main foe throughout the game, really capturing the grandeur of a true Bond film. The title also features some of the tightest gameplay you can find in the series, with incredible third-person action sequences and a rather well polished control scheme for the time it was released. All of these elements come together to form what is undoubtedly the best James Bond game to ever be made, one that should definitely be on every fan’s radar.
