Showing posts with label Video Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video Game. Show all posts

Thursday, September 7, 2023

The Story Behind ‘Everything or Nothing’ Plot: Voodoo Sacrifices, Zodiac Signs and a Submarine Battle



Everything Or Nothing is frequently considered as a better conclusion for the Pierce Brosnan James Bond cycle than Die Another Day, the twentieth installment in the EON-produced series, which was affected by its profusion of special effects and exaggerated stunts. Oddly, the sixth Bond video game published by Electronic Arts doubled down in most of these “exaggerated” aspects. To begin with, those who shuddered at the invisible Aston Martin Vanquish not only see it here, but the same adaptive camouflage feature is added to 007’s Porsche Cayenne and the secret agent himself, thanks to a “Nano Suit” that can render him invisible for a period of time. And, while Die Another Day allowed Bond to improvise and survive without MI6 backup or gadgets during the first half of the film, Everything Or Nothing moved from the Middle East to Egypt, Peru, New Orleans and Moscow with shootouts and car chases every five minutes.

The game was set to be released in November 2003, but delayed to February 2004 when the developers decided to improve the experience by adding a cooperative multiplayer mode, among other things. For the first time, a proper “casting” was made for a Bond game and Pierce Brosnan not only shared his likeness and voice talent for Ian Fleming’s spy, but so did Willem Dafoe as ex-KGB agent Nikolai Diavolo, Shannon Elizabeth as Serena St Germaine, Heidi Klum as Katya Nadonova, Mya Harrison as NSA agent Mya Sterling and the MI6 staff from the films, Judi Dench as M and John Cleese as Q. In this adventure, Bond not only faced off with a disciple of A View To A Kill’s Max Zorin, but he also fought Jaws, who for the first time appeared in an original 007 adventure not related to The Spy Who Loved Me or Moonraker in any form.


Written by Bruce Feirstein and based on a story by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo, Everything or Nothing saw Bond preventing Diavolo’s world domination plan through the use of a weapon based on nanobots capable of consuming most types of metal. Early stages of development of the game began in around 2001, as Electronic Arts wanted to improve the third-person experience in a Bond game after the lukewarm reception to Tomorrow Never Dies, based on the 1997 film and released two years later marking the secret agent’s Playstation debut.

But before Brosnan’s last Bond adventure became what we all know, early ideas proposed by creative director Phillip Campbell offered a much more intriguing plot beginning in Pakistan and culminating on a Thunderball-like battle under the waters of the Arctic Circle, with characters based on Elizabeth Hurley, Anthony Hopkins and Zhang Ziyi. The story was also bound to slight alterations depending on the decisions taken by the player controlling Bond, be it sparing an enemy’s life or choosing which girl to stay with at the end of the story.

Under the working title 007: Shot By Both Sides, the game had Bond fighting a cryptic organization known as ZODIAC, whose members identify with a zodiac sign and arrange different types of terrorist attacks to conceal a larger endgame: the destruction of the world through a substance known as “The Package”, deployed through a submarine fleet into the world’s oceans. ZODIAC was integrated by a high-ranking MI6 member (Capricorn), a former IRA explosives expert (Gemini), a Nazi scientist (Aquarius), the duo of assassins Mr. T and Mr. A (Taurus and Aries), an African warlord (Sagittarius) and a Russian Navy Lieutenant commandeering the submarine fleet (Pisces). The organization also counted on the services of Isabella Scorapinni, the treacherous agent 009 (Scorpio), a Chinese Agent who was a former flame of Bond (Libra), the man in charge of the final stage of the plan (Cancer) and Brittany (Virgo), the daughter of a prominent industrialist MI6 is initially assigned to protect, brainwashed through the organization’s eco-friendly front. ZODIAC at some point thought of turning Bond and having him join his ranks, the reason why they codename him Leo.



For a long part of the game, Bond is framed by 009 and accused of perpetrating a terrorist attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This takes him to a graveyard and a ceremonial voodoo site on the Louisiana swamps and then to infiltrate MI6 to discover Capricorn’s agenda, at the time Taurus and Aires plant explosives in the building he has to defuse while avoiding a bomb squad.

In a similar situation to Blood Stone, 007 is assigned at some point to destroy a chemical refinery near the Khyber Pass and board a transcontinental train to follow the lead of Sagittarius. Another level sounds suspiciously similar to Skyfall, as Bond fought Gemini in an Irish farmhouse which culminated with an explosive confrontation in an ancient chapel on the hills.

The final act of the story included a grand underwater battle in the vein of Thunderball, where allied forces fought the submarine fleet led by Pisces as Bond, on the ground, has a showdown with Gemini (presumed dead for a while) and his remaining henchman, Cancer, onboard a helicopter. After learning that ZODIAC was behind the death of her father, Brittany leaves them and joins Bond’s side to run them down.

While the ending seemed more in line with the grandiloquence of Die Another Day, this concept was incredibly brainy and well-detailed considering it was developed for a video game instead of a film. There are elements that fans will find familiar to the films produced by EON: Mr. T and Mr. A is a team of assassins who always work together like Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd from Diamonds Are Forever and Isabella Scorapinni obviously takes her name after GoldenEye actress Izabella Scorupco. The Aston Martin Vanquish also appeared, this time featuring a mini-hang glider named the Q Wing, detached from the vehicle’s roof, and the explosive robotic spiders (known as the Q Spider in the game) were used by Taurus and Aries.

You can read more details of this initial Everything Or Nothing pitch in the recently released updated edition of Nicolás Suszczyk’s book, The Bond of The Millennium, fully dedicated to the Pierce Brosnan 007 films and video game adventures.

Friday, November 20, 2020

IO Interactive To Develop And Publish A New James Bond Video Game

It all took us by surprise, yesterday, when video game developer studios IO Interactive announced their upcoming project to be a video game concerning the origins of the world's most celebrated secret agent, James Bond, as he climbs up the ranks to earn his 00-status. A teaser announcement video debuted on both the developer's official social media channels as well as the James Bond film franchise pages.

This is all - of course - a call for celebration among Bond fans in the video gaming subdivision of the fandom as it always has been a dream to see developer IO Interactive to work on a James Bond video game, especially when their original series, Hitman, has paid several homages to Ian Fleming's super-spy for two decades since its debut release in 2000. IOI's recent two efforts in the series even doubled down on the Bondian atmosphere regarding locations, stealth, outfits, methods of tackling the missions, characters, even going as far to hiring Sean Bean, who played Alec Trevelyan in the 1995 film, GoldenEye, to provide his voice and likeness for a special antagonist in the second installment in the World of Assassination trilogy, two years ago.


Last we've had a James Bond video game officially licensed by Danjaq (the company holding the rights to Eon Productions and the James Bond intellectual property on the screen), it was all but unfortunate effort that almost eliminated chances of seeing another entry in a video gaming form, called 007 Legends, released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the franchise back in 2012. Of course, its poor commercial performance and inadequately realized execution led to its developer Eurocom to shut down, and Activision, the publisher of the title with exclusive rights to release video games based on the 007 property, let go of the license a couple of months later. Another albeit a less extravagant attempt to bring Bond back to video gaming form was made in 2015 on mobile phones developed by Glu Mobile, entitled World of Espionage, which was universally panned due to its uninspired content and was pulled from digital stores in a year's time.

Since then, several attempts by the fandom to bring Bond back to the video gaming format was made, including the successful Half-Life 2 conversion mod, the multiplayer game GoldenEye: Source among others. Another fan project based on Nintendo 64's GoldenEye 007 entered development in 2017, which has been ongoing for three years with positive reception from fans, aimed for release sometime in August 2022 at the time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film the game was based on. However, that was not meant to be, as Danjaq issued a cease and desist letter to the developers which ended plans to construct the game furthermore. The project, instead, diverted into an original title called Spies Don't Die, which is an original first-person shooter experience inspired by the aforementioned game as well as other 1990s titles from the same video game genre.

With the upcoming Bond film, No Time to Die, experiencing several delays, and adding to that it will be a long wait till the next era in the film franchise comes along with a new actor in the role of the secret agent, this video gaming experience will be a welcome change to soften the wait. At this point, development on the video game is understood to be in its very early stages, possibly having gotten past only the rough sketches to outline the game itself, IO Interactive, in its announcement description, stated that they were looking to hire elite talent from around the world to join their team. Currently, the project is only given a working title, conveniently named Project 007.

From a speculative standpoint, this upcoming video game could very well be played from third-person perspective in the style of the Hitman video games, even possibly drawing similarities between the two titles, and even probably to be developed on IO Interactive's very own Glacier engine the same as the last four Hitman titles, including the upcoming one, which is due for release on 20 January 2021. It is also entirely possible that full development on the new Bond game won't begin until Hitman III is released. We previously had third-person shooter Bond video games during both Electronic Arts and Activision's reigns – those being Tomorrow Never Dies (1999), Everything or Nothing (2004), From Russia with Love (2005), a port of Quantum of Solace (2008) on PlayStation 2 and Blood Stone (2010). Whether the video game is developed within the film universe or adopting a separate timeline of its own, featuring none of the cinematic actors who portrayed Bond before but a new one, remains to be seen. What also is intriguing is whether the origins story of Bond working his way up to 00-status will be inspired by Fleming's outline of the two-kill initiation program, or adapt the one seen in the pre-title sequence of Casino Royale (2006).

All in all, this is a very exciting news. To keep up with the official coverage, visit the official site here.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment on the topic below!

Thursday, November 7, 2019

'I.G.I. - Origins' Gets A Teaser Trailer

A career in government intelligence requires a proper level of violence, a talent for discretion, and an aptitude for war. Exceptional performances in expectation with the finest weapons and our newest technology. Our greatest secrets are in your hands.


Eight months after the game was officially announced with a brief first-look trailer, publisher Toadman Interactive released a teaser trailer for I.G.I. - Origins that gives us a peek at the heart of the game that serves as a prequel to the franchise.


The trailer depicts a mission set in Poland on the 10th of March 1980, an operative only known by his codename "Regent" in service of MI-6 on active duty is seen maneuvering behind enemy lines and military bases, engaging in firefights and maintaining stealth at the same time, crossing borders as well as hacking computers, all of which are absolute reminiscent of the original installments. However, as it is set at the beginning of the eighties, it's safe to say Regent is in no way David Jones - the protagonist of the first two video games - as he happened to be a rookie during the events of the first entry, which was set in 2000 - the year it was released. The official synopsis states the following:
The prequel to 2000's Project I.G.I.: Experience a high octane thrill ride through a spy fantasy world of gadgets and guns against the vivid, sumptuous backdrop of the 1980s. Unravel a mystery that threatens to plunge the world into a new era of nuclear annihilation. You're going in.
The game also promises to offer an extravagant experience of unthreading mysterious twists and turns where the player's actions will determine the place of friends and enemies. A globetrotting adventure in what the official website describes as a "dramatic, filmic experience" that will eventually explore the origins of Institute for Geotactical Intelligence - otherwise known by its acronym, I.G.I. - as Regent seeks to uncover the truth behind events leading to world-shattering ramifications.

Developed by Antimatter Games for publisher Toadman Interactive, the engine is seemingly that of Unreal Engine 4, as the company's name was listed in the credits that appear in the trailer. A release date is still unclear apart from the previously stated 2021 as the year the game will be available to purchase. It also isn't clear whether it will be available on optical discs, but Valve Corporation's Steam online video game service will provide a digital release of the title at an unspecified date.

A first look at our protagonist codenamed "Regent", armed with a suppressed Browning Hi-Power
While it retains the features the original fans embraced, the latest entry is sure to deliver an experience that will introduce the franchise to a new generation of fans. Stealth fans as well as those enjoying Ubisoft's Tom Clancy titles - Splinter Cell in particular - shouldn't shy away from giving this video game a try. It is something Hitman fans themselves would also enjoy, provided it is of a very similar format, albeit played from first-person perspective.

“Think your way in. Shoot your way out.”
For more information, visit the official website.

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Book Preview: 'The World of GoldenEye', by Nicolás Suszczyk


As the silver anniversary of GoldenEye is around the corner, Nicolás Suszczyk, co-editor of this site, gives you a unique tribute to the 17th James Bond film. Set for June 8, 2019, the 25th anniversary of the day where Brosnan was officially announced as the fifth James Bond actor in London, the book will cover the generational impact of the 1995 film and the huge success of its many official and unofficial video game adaptations, starting with 1997’s GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64. At the same time, the filmmaking process of the film and the relation of the story with many historical events as the Cold War, the betrayal of the Cossacks at Lienz in World War II and the 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachov will be thoroughly covered.

ABOUT THE BOOK
GoldenEye was much more than the debut of Pierce Brosnan in the role of James Bond. It was the film that saved the series after facing six years of an uncertain future, and the title is now a popular legend among gamers thanks to the huge success of the Nintendo 64 video game adaptation. In the eve of its 25th anniversary in 2020, this book offers a comprehensive analysis on one of the best Bond films ever released and the impact in popular culture that brought a new generation of Bond fans, in a craze that was very reminiscent to the waves of Bond mania from the 1960s. The creative process behind the film, the emergence of a relatively unknown international cast, and the influence of the Cold War in the story are just some of the themes this comprehensive analysis of the 1995 film will address to prove GoldenEye is, many times, an overlooked classic.
The book is set to be released on June 8, 2019, by Amazon Publishing, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Pierce Brosnan's announcement as James Bond. Print and ebook versions will be available.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicolás Suszczyk has been a James Bond fan since the day he first watched GoldenEye, aged 7, on his native Buenos Aires. A freelance writer, he has contributed for many Bond and movies related web sites and publications like MI6 Confidential and Le Bond, from the French 007 Fan Club. In 2011, he founded The GoldenEye Dossier, a tribute for his favourite James Bond film, which is set for a major update in 2020. He also manages Bond En Argentina, a site dedicated to the releases of Ian Fleming's fictional hero in his country, and co-admins The Secret Agent Lair, a blog dedicated to the fictional spies of cinema and literature, with Jack Walter Christian. The World of GoldenEye is his first book.

SOCIAL MEDIA
The book will be primarily promoted on The GoldenEye Dossier's Twitter account (@gedossier007), the official hashtag to be used is #GoldenEyeWorld.

Visit the book's official site at: https://goldeneyedossier.wixsite.com/goldeneyeworld

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

'I.G.I. - Origins' Announced!

Every glory has its beginnings. Every victory is achieved by climbing up the ropes and ladders. Every legend has its origins. And therefore comes the time those roots are explored.

Almost two decades after its last release, today the fans of the Project I.G.I. franchise can celebrate the announcement of the third entry in the series which Swedish video game studio Toadman Interactive is developing, aiming for a 2021 release.

I.G.I. - Origins takes us back in time when the organization was seeking its foundations to counter terrorism across the globe. When warlords and criminals were profiting off of civil and national unrest, protected by diplomatic immunity no law enforcement institution could've touched, someone had to step up to execute what others won't. No resources, no backup, an underfunded and nonexistent black ops unit was formed to prevent worldwide chaos before it is triggered.


Other than the reveal teaser trailer, we haven't been informed of much about the project other than its being in early development so far. The game was originally announced back in May 2017 as Project I.G.I.: We're Going In, five months after Artplant purchased the intellectual property from Square Enix. Only last year, Toadman Interactive bought Artplant in full, and now they've taken over the project.

Without revealing much, it was stated the title will feature "the freedom the series has become known for." However, as the current branding suggests, the game is set before the previous entries, serving as a prequel. The period piece wasn't specified by the reveal. But, it seemingly is set either during the 1970s or the early 1980s by the looks of it. Speculations are all over the place. Whether David Jones is going to be featured in the game or not, that is yet to be clarified.

While the project is said to include members who worked on the original two video games in the series, specifics aren't made yet on who's recurring and who isn't. The fans of Project I.G.I. for instance, highly expect the return of composer Kim M. Jensen who was instrumental in orchestrating the atmospheric soundtrack to the previous titles. But, those inclusions and exclusions are yet to be confirmed.

I.G.I. - Origins Reveal Trailer

For more information, visit the developer studio's official website here.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to discuss the topic below.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

'I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike': An Overlooked Masterpiece

A long time ago when video games were gaining newer grounds among worldwide entertainment mediums, they were becoming less arcade-oriented and more cinematic-inspired in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the Call of Duty franchise came to exist. One of these video game franchises was the Project I.G.I. series that only spawned two video games, both developed by the Norwegian-based late Innerloop Studios.


The first video game itself was described by the developers as "GoldenEye 007 on Windows PC," bearing the difficulties of a hard-edged first-person shooter (minus the blood and gore a la Wolfenstein and Doom, for instance) while involving a plot centering around military espionage. It challenges the player to move quick, think strategically, and fire the weapon accurately without being reckless as the enemies are themselves quite the marksmen. Each level has to be completed in one go where mid-game saves do not exist. Although, it did garner a lot of fans back in the day, the game received mixed reviews from the critics for a number shortcomings including the aforementioned lack of save option and a multiplayer mode that is demanded by the general audience of the video gaming world. Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In was published on 15 December 2000 by the late Eidos Interactive, whose current parent company, Square Enix, hold the rights to this particular title.

Three years later, we've had a sequel to the millennium game, that is vastly updated from its previous effort, adding more agility, a lot of functionalities and further induced development and programming into the heart of the project. I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike arrived on the shelves on 3 March 2003 by the same development team, albeit with a different publisher - Codemasters. A game that was different yet the same, although better - a debatable matter among the fans - as it introduces new arrays of strategies that would lead the player to tackle each of the levels, objectives and given missions. But, of course, the game's military strategy and other set of technicalities were consulted by ex-SAS officer and Bravo Two Zero survivor turned author and novelist Chris Ryan. A fact that's very apparent in this game and why is it so great (perhaps even better) compared to many stealthy shooters that came before and after, hence the sub-title as it suggests "covert strike."

The story sees the return of I.G.I.'s most trustworthy agent, and ex-SAS operative David Jones who is sent to collect stolen modified EMP device smuggled from NATO by the Russian Mafia in and around the Carpathian mountains and Romanian borders, but overtime he discovers that things are not as they seem, having himself caught amidst the crossfire as he hovers around the globe, evading the dangers of betrayal in the process, and uncovers a plot by Chinese rogue military General to start World War III. And it's up to Jones to prevent the chaos.

The gameplay reflects on realism, albeit differently than the likes of Call of Duty gave birth to at the time. You, as the player character, are allowed to carry one primary weapon, one secondary weapon, a combat knife (always present by default), a hand grenade and sometimes other optional instruments of kill and first-aid kit rarely making appearances. Equipped with a GPS map tablet computer (called map computer, a product of its time), you can observe and decide where to make the attack or sneak in if you want it stealthy. Putting on the complete undetected stealth mode requires a lot of experience. But, if you're going to burst in with full attack mode, you are going to have to be very quick. Especially when confronting the Chinese troops face to face. Their level of accuracy in marksmanship is very high.

Now, what is my opinion of this video game? Let's see...

It is designed rather greatly, if I'm quite honest. Chris Ryan's influence on how to infiltrate a base, engage with the enemy (or disengage for the matter), balance your accuracy and learn to control your subtlety is evident throughout the experience. It is up to the player to dictate one's own movements and method in a sandbox map, allowing you to move around the area in your preferred order, delude the enemy, and pave the way in for your own advantage if you play your cards right. It's a lot more atmospheric, in my opinion, than the first installment, and draws the world around you as if it were real. Imagine the experience in virtual reality, it could be a commando's survival simulator, if you will, as opposed to its predecessor which relied on the player's accuracy and quickness of the hand - namely, a generic shooter (albeit a great one!). I could describe David Jones as a more "hands-on and gloves-off Sam Fisher" minus the acrobatic agility and the nightvision goggles.

Each mission one tackles places the player in circumstances where somewhat of a huge responsibility has to be taken, if one isn't an expert in the game. I myself am not an expert, despite my years of playing the game since it came out. A large part of what makes this game fun is that you are given the option to be rewardingly stealthy, but it would require a huge amount of patience, bravery and strategical thinking for you to go through with it. Otherwise, you could play the game just like Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In, blast the doors open, and leap in with guns blazing, provided you're as careful and quick as you were in the first game. As for me, I fall in the middle - Half stealthy, half confrontational, depending on my situation.


What also makes the game outstanding in its tone is Kim Jensen's music, as I stated above, who has upped his game and gave every level its own specific track which could get to your nerves and spawn anxiety if you will - the fear of getting caught. That is, of course, if you are to take the game seriously, which I do. Without the soundtrack, half of the game's fun aspect would be taken away, truthfully speaking. For a spy experience, you need quite the ambiance to keep you away from the fourth wall and treat the missions accordingly, it's supposed to be haunting even for someone as professional as David Jones. Then, there's also one element in each of the levels (well, most of them, anyway) I rather like - in each of their beginnings, the first thing the player sees is the landscape overview of the map from afar, and the world around it is silent, thus paving you the way in for an atmospheric infiltration.

A sample of the soundtrack by Kim Jensen - I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike main theme

...And then, there's that one specific level set at the Romanian borders where you are to evade hordes of hostile border patrols with Dragunov sniper rifles. Good Heavens! That's one level where you can't simply barge in with full action commando execution and let your gunbarrel flash its muzzle. It's even more petrifying than its namesake from the previous game (both called "Border Crossing") where you start off with no weapon but your combat knife.

Overall, while the first game is a tactical shooter, this one is a strategically stealthy shooter. Personally, I prefer the latter. The storyline for Covert Strike is also more appealing to my tastes, as I could see it easily being a James Bond thriller, something that is indeed noticeable this time around in the characterization of David Jones who differs quite than that of his previous incarnation. No disrespect to the great Philip Morris (Jones's voiceover in the first) in the slightest, but I do like Christopher Fairbank better as I find him more suited to the veteran ex-SAS turned IGI covert operative character with his deep voice and the confidence that oozes in the lines he delivers without overdoing it. Then again, being a lifelong Bond fan myself, I do like Jones better as a Bond-like rather than something akin to a young and yet-inexperienced Jason Statham type. While I love Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In very dearly, the second game is by far higher in my book as it is in my top five spy video games list (all of them being shooters, mind?) that I revisit yearly, at least once.

Is there a future for this series? Luckily, yes. Sometimes, good things come to those who wait, as they say. Video games developer studios named Artplant purchased the intellectual property regarding Project I.G.I. as well as the character of David Jones and others in January, last year. Artplant is in itself founded by former employees of the now-defunct Innerloop Studios, who officially announced that a third game in the series, named Project I.G.I.: We're Going In is already in development as of May 2017. While the general fans of the franchise prefer the first game by a wide margin over the second, I personally hope the third installment is akin to I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike, which is more atmospheric, in my opinion. We're yet to get a first look at the third game or any reports on the matter. But, Artplant revealed that it will continue building on the feature of "the freedom the series has become known for." Well, I can hardly wait!

Thank you for reading! Feel free to discuss the topic below!

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Agent 47 Returns In 'Hitman 2'

With E3 2018 at the doorstep, IO Interactive announced the upcoming installment in the globally renowned video game franchise, Hitman in a new title, conveniently called Hitman 2, taking after the sixth entry in the series which was simply named after the franchise's label, thus serving as a continuation of its predecessor and bearing a very similar gameplay style.


Hitman 2 (not to be confused with the actual second game, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin that came out in 2002) puts the world's deadliest assassin, Agent 47 against the shadowy backdrop of conspiratorial conflicts as he pursues the mysterious figure only referred to as 'The Shadow Client' who has ties to his past while also looking into the organization known as Providence who meddle with world affairs without anyone in the know.

When IO Interactive bought themselves out of the holdings of Square Enix as well as purchasing the rights to the Hitman franchise last year, what was supposed to be an episodic release in the form of Season 2 in the title that made its debut in March 2016 was canned in favor of a complete retailer release only unveiled a few days ago. Only this time, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment will be publishing and distributing the title rather than Square Enix that has cut ties with the intellectual property regarding Hitman. It is scheduled for release on 13 November 2018 on Microsoft Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in various editions.

Aside from the six-level official missions narrating the plot, the concept of weekly Elusive Targets will return, downloadable contents will be available in each of their respective schedules, features from the fourth installment in the series, Hitman: Blood Money, will also be making comebacks, including the briefcase to hide a carbine rifle in, and the Sniper Assassin mode is available to those who pre-order the game, added by the cooperative multiplayer feature in it, as well. There will be further two expansion packs in the future, that include new sniper maps, locations, weapons, outfits and side missions unrelated to the plot of the game.

On side notes, after two unsuccessful efforts to bring Hitman to the big screen with an established film franchise, a television series adaptation was announced in November 2017, commissioned by Hulu, with the pilot episode being written by Derek Kolstad, the famous creator of another assassin franchise, John Wick. Although, it is not yet known when it will be airing as production on the episodes is yet to commence.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Nightfire: A Fan Novelization


Based on the ‘James Bond’ character created by
Ian Fleming

Based on a screenplay by
Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo

From a video game by
Electronic Arts


***

Novelization by
Richard Clemens

***

Chapter I: Flare for a New Year:

The scent and smoke of the festive fireworks were convivial at five to midnight on New Year’s Eve in the Parisian streets, the excitement beaming out of the reactive impulses conducted by the crowd as they watch the fulminations up ahead in the sky on the incoming celebration of the new year as they wave their farewell to the old. But, for a certain number of people, the pretense of these rejoices over nothing productive mattered the least, as some have been concerned with different compartments to pull and seek into.

Felix Leiter was piloting a Bell Model 412EPI helicopter across the Eiffel Tower as his eyes wander on the streets, searching into the target he was briefed to supervise the protection of. In the back, his fellow CIA colleague, Jack Wade had a green-plated with a blend of oil colour Accuracy International AWM sniper rifle trained in his arms, one hand holding the grip of the artillery, and the other elevating to place his finger against his earpiece, radioing in to the contact on the other side of communication just to check if there is a response. “White knight, do you read me? White knight!” He called, “Report. How much longer? Over.” Wade cursed like he had been given a rotten apple to bite, swiping off the unpleasantry by turning to Leiter, whose recent bionic arm substituted quite well for the lost limb as opposed to the mere prosthetic object he had to wear, guiding the chopper with no difficulties whatsoever.

“Any visuals on the woman?” Wade asked.
“None yet!” Leiter replied, his eyes ahead of the windshield.
“Sounds like I’m gonna marry for the fourth time before this Frenchie turns up!”
“Remind me to sculpt that on your gravestone!” Leiter added, leading the both of them to laugh.

Their interaction, however, was cut short when a white striped red Shelby Cobra bursts into the traffic, alerting everyone on the road, driven by a brunette in a fashionable tight leather catsuit, sprinting the vehicle like her life depended on it. That was rather true. Three black Alfa Romeo automobiles joined the pursuit, with a goon armed with a sub-machinegun leaning across the backseat window opening a nonchalant blind fire at the woman with the purpose of putting her down.

“There she is!” Wade screamed, immediately cocking the bolt of his sniper rifle, aiming for the tires of the Alfa Romeo on the front. “Keep it steady, Felix!” He demanded, fixating his eye through the telescopic sight, the crosshairs deviating onto the front tire. Wade took a deep breath, relying on his instincts, and right at the time he knew he had the balance in his hands, his index finger pulled the trigger to his side, sending the .50 calibre bullet speeding towards its target, defying the notoriety of the wind to derail its path, the bullet poked through the synthetic rubber that surrounded the rims of the wheel, creating an instant deflation, leading the vehicle with all its weight lose control and diverge from its normal rule, the driver trying to control the steering wheel and holding down the pedal of the brakes repeatedly, skid marks drawn all over the road over the panic the people within trying to reduce in a matter of brief two seconds, until the car itself flips over, rolling vigorously upon the ground, its shape destructive as ever, Lord knows whatever happened to the mercenaries inside, who possibly have embraced their demise.

“One down! Two to go!” Wade cried to inform of the scene, his right hand immediately rising from the grip to eject the empty cartridge from the rifle with a bolt action and assign the next in the line into the barrel, veering the crosshairs to the next target, hopefully as easy as the one before it.

“Any word from him, Jack?!” Leiter shouted loud enough to make his companion hear him through the heavy sound of the engine mainly filtering via the rotor blades to keep the helicopter in the air. “None!” Wade gave him the reply, with a thought in his mind placing a reconsideration of taking the matter in his own hands as the woman driver in the Shelby Cobra was being gained on, the tail lights catching bullets fired from the barrels of many goons in the remaining two Alfa Romeos.

Where the devil was he?

The woman in the red Shelby Cobra was a DGSE operative - or more commonly known as French Intelligence agent - named Dominique Paradis, one of their best, who had recently uncovered a domestic threat overseeing a terrorist plot to occur in Paris on the New Year’s Eve. She was already onto them, but her cover was blown, hence she resorted to NATO to send proper reinforcement back-up in order to prevent a nuclear bomb from going off at the Eiffel Tower, thus killing millions and turning the majority of France into another Chernobyl. Dominique was more concerned about pursuing the bomber and stopping him than she was for her life, weighing on the gas pedal to boost the speed of her car as her eyes intensely watched ahead of the windshield, ignoring the stripes on the road as they go by like a waving speed of light. Her chances, however, were experiencing reduction when three heavily armoured Humvee SUVs joined the chase, on top of them a minigun attached for each.

“God damn it, Jack! This is turning into a war zone, how far is our man?” Leiter inquired with a terrified throttle playing out in his voice as he watches the SUVs in horror opening fire on Dominique’s vehicle who was merely dodging them.

“How the hell would I know?” Wade aggressively replied, right before shooting the tire blown at the second car behind Dominique, creating a similar effect to the one car he distorted earlier. “At times like this, I wish I was twenty years younger and ten times more physically agile in shape!” He added. Though it bought the French agent a little time, there were three behemoth of vehicles and a gullible minion - that being the third and last Alfa Romeo - targeting the woman. Of course, the Alfa Romeo was faster than the SUVs, hence it was the first to gain on the Shelby Cobra, and viciously slammed its robust side against the latter, putting Dominique’s balance behind the wheel into jeopardy. But, she did not hesitate to draw an immediate aim at the gas tank with her .50 AE caliber Desert Eagle she picked up from the leather-bound passenger seat, and pulled the trigger the moment her other hand steered the wheel to guide the car away from the assailant’s vehicle. And the explosion occurred in a flashy manner one would’ve thought the festivity of the New Year’s welcoming got out of hand.

“That’s one capable woman!” Leiter remarked with a smirk on his face, but that expression was long gone when his eyes witnessed the appearance of a military Bell AH-1 SuperCobra helicopter rivaling his own, its modified Missile Approaching Warning system informing him of his entity alongside his rotorcraft targeted in the crosshairs of an enemy incoming. “Wade, brace yourself!” he shouted directly to his colleague who was fixated on the road through the telescopic sight of his sniper rifle, lifting his eyes to look at Leiter questionably as to what he meant. Spotting the rival chopper with heavy artillery attached to it in horror, Wade held on to a strap for safety as the both of them were demonstrated with a flash in their eyes, a wind approaching them slowly, and making its speed feel like robust raindrops attacking their helicopter. Damn those heavy bullets. Leiter rotated the helicopter as much as he could to avoid being shot at, which in the process led to Wade’s sniper rifle fall out of the helicopter.

“White knight, I repeat! White knight! Where the hell are you?! We’re taking fire! Over!” He shouted through his earpiece, tackling onto the straps as tightly as possible in order not to fall as Leiter was shaking the helicopter from left to right.

“White knight to White rook,” a deep voice spoke from the other end of the earpiece to Wade, surprising him after the radio silence for a long while, “I’ll be in position in three... two... one...”

In the heat of the moment, just as hope was starting to fade away, right amidst the pursuit, an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish steered with ninety degrees angle from a crossroad, finding itself on the tail of the three Humvee SUVs, releasing a hellfire rocket from its grill, blowing up the nearest of the land vehicle up to ascension, sending its contained members to possibly the afterlife. It appears the driver had more tricks up in the sleeve reserved for the assailants as he intensely watches ahead of the windshield, his finger pressuring against a button on a custom-placed control panel with ‘Armour’ labeled on it, thus activating the potent shape of the front bumpers in its effective role. “And that’s one mishandled grill up in the smokes.” He spoke through his earpiece with a smug hint in his voice as well as jocular, referring to the Humvee he extinguished. Or Vanquished.

Dressed in the finest of the tailored Italian suits, a black two-buttoned Brioni Roma with a white shirt from Turnbull & Asser, as well as a blue tie and a white triangular pocket square, British Intelligence agent, James Bond - also known by his codenumber: 007 - raced through the traffic hurriedly, keeping his presence unquestionably intact in the pursuit, as well as vehemently in control of his re-issued Aston Martin from the Icarus mission, modified enough to meet the standards of a domestic threat in civilian circles. The matter at hand considerably required his full attention as two objectives have been placed under his orders:
  • Eliminate all threat regarding the safety of Dominique Paradis.
  • Neutralize and stop the nuclear bomb from going off.
Having been spotted by the opposition, Bond witnessed a mercenary lean out of the window of the Humvee and open fire at his car. Much to the latter dismay, Bond’s Aston was fully bulletproof, enough to resist a .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun round. Weighing his foot on the gas pedal, Bond gained on the SUV, and slammed against it from the back, using his the aid of his armoured bumper. The larger car was going out of balance, shaking from side to another as its driver apparently had trouble controlling the steering wheel. It advanced ten feet away nearby the fence that oversaw the river of La Seine. ‘That makes it convenient’ Bond thought to himself without blinking as he hit on the gas once more, speeding on account, the seatbelt fastened around him against an up and coming counter-measure, he saw the opportunity coming arise, he rammed against the very corner of the Humvee, agitating it enough with the one strike by the front bumper of his to let the larger vehicle roll over and thread hard through the metallic fence, landing into the water, Lord knows if the passengers in it were alive by now, despite the car remaining on the surface.

“Well, that certainly should keep them afloat for a spell.” Bond remarked smugly, watching the vehicle raft up by the narrow of his eyes before turning his attention straight ahead.

Agent 007’s halfway admiration of the turnouts he had caused was cut short once he witnessed bullets raining from above on the concrete ground, penetrating through the cement and stabilizing themselves into their respective holes, with the shots from a turret coming his way had a strict intention of taking him out. The same party that almost had a target locked onto Leiter and Wade’s helicopter. It appears Bond had managed to divert their attention from his fellow agents assigned to likewise prevent the nuclear chaos, racing against time while guns ablaze, he did his best not to allow any of the incoming strikes of the allegorical scythe into his tires when they were the only unprotected portions of the vehicle by armour. Just as with the motion slowed down, the first thing that crossed Bond’s mind in the heat of the moment was to ask Boothroyd of the Q-Branch to eradicate that little problem with the next modification of the Aston. That is if he does survive the pickle he was in at the very moment.

Elongating his finger to decide which button to push while driving at a speed of 178 mph, the first to pop up in his undivided attention was the one labeled with ‘Stinger’. Without giving further thoughts, Bond pushed his fingertip against it, which unveiled the stinger missiles behind the radiator pits on the front bumper and a transparent screen pointing at potential targets on the windshield, operable to select by touching either of the crosshairs placed on a computed heat signature. Cutting edge as Q would’ve put it. Bond pressed the one covering the Bell AH-1 SuperCobra, under which a warning message appeared saying ‘incoming missile’. Having to act fast, Bond quickly confirmed the target by commanding the stinger button once more, a rocket was fired from his part, after which he immediately had to resort to the Shotgun button, resulting in two namely shotguns with automatic target-seeking injunction surfacing from underneath the hood air vents of the car, shooting the hostile missile ten feet away, creating a blast of an explosion in the sky at least from Bond’s point of view, which didn’t take to have a further detonation afar that was the helicopter assaulting him and previously his CIA colleagues. The SuperCobra chopper eventually sunk into its fate and descended wildly at heavy speed, yet luckily into the river, generating a rather large splash upon its nosedive.

“How the mighty have fallen,” Bond declared, smirking in the face of the blaze in relief. A blaze of glory for him, especially when he had to look death in the face and dodged the grim reaper’s scythe by the skin of his teeth.

“I’d usually applaud you for such witty remarks, James, but there’s a more important matter at hand we’ve yet to take care of.” Leiter’s voice was heard from Bond’s earpiece. “Speaking of which...” His speech was interrupted by an abrupt yet imminent turnout.

A bullet was directed towards the front tire of Dominique’s Shelby Cobra, the sound of its blowout echoed at a range of at least fifty feet square, which contained both Bond in the chase from behind, following an aggressive Humvee that fired the said bullet, and a still operable helicopter by Felix Leiter from above. Dominique, whose mind was almost on concentration over chasing a stolen military truck afar containing the nuclear bomb, expressed a voiceless baffle at her sports car getting out of control and leaning its weight aside. She cursed in French upon realization, and tried her best to keep up despite the SUV racing close to hit her by the bumper in the back. Spotting the danger incoming from the rear view mirror, Dominique shook the car from a side to another in attempt to confuse her aspiring perpetrators.

“Wade,” Bond communicated through the earpiece, “Could you take out the tires of that Humvee? Or aim for the gas tank if possible?”

“I would, you know?” Wade replied, “Only that I don’t have the sniper rifle with me.”
“What on earth are you on about?” Bond asked.
“It slipped off my hands while we were being attacked.”

Leiter briefly turned his attention aside, intended for Wade at the backseat, and offered his jest, “Isn’t this helicopter a property of the Swiss?” He inquired, “I’d figure this being a Swiss military issue, they’d have something of a useful artillery under your seat, Jack. Perhaps something of a SIG 550 series?”

Without losing a moment, Wade pressured his toes against the concrete ground of the chopper and held on to a grab strap for his safety and turn around and flip the slip seat open in search for the said weapon. Diving his hands beneath, he carried up what appeared to be a locked rifle’s case, brought the seat back to its former post and situated himself on it, leaning across the ground where he lent the case upon to unpin its teeth and open it up. “I’m starting to suspect you’re Santa Claus, Felix!” He chuckled, picking up the rifle parts to assemble it as fast as he could. It was a SIG 552 with a telescopic sight nonetheless. “I sure am keepin' this baby!” Wade added.

“Don’t get any ideas, Wade.” Leiter responded. “When we get back, I’ll buy you one myself. It’s enough paperwork to fill up for the loss of that damn sniper rifle. We wouldn’t want another bureaucrat breathing down our necks for two.”

“Won’t you just let a man have fun?” Wade remarked, having finished the assembly process, he loaded the rifle with ammunition, cocked the bolt and aimed down at the SUV heading aggressively towards the Shelby Cobra controlled by the French agent.

“You, chaps, finished with your two-man show, yet?” Bond spoke through the communication link, overhearing the conversation between his CIA colleagues. “Wade, fire at the Humvee as effectively as you can.”

“You got it, Jimbo!” Wade replied with enthusiasm, aiming carefully at the SUV, its telescopic sight isn’t as advanced as the sniper rifle he had which was harder to operate with, relied on his instincts with patience and squeezed the trigger with burst fire.

The bullets have hit the robust body of the targeted vehicle, but the results so far were pointless, since it was not ordinarily but heavily armoured. Ignoring the gunshots, the driver of the Humvee brought the car to the side of the Shelby Cobra, and a passenger door on the back of the SUV was opened, with a mercenary climbing out carefully and jumped up on Dominique’s car, who was alerted by the sound of the thumping on the leather seat in the back and drew her Desert Eagle to shoot at the assailant. But the latter kicked against the pistol with his army boot, disarming Dominique, and entangled the back of his elbow around her neck in a manner of a headlock, trying to strangle her.

Dominique being pre-occupied with controlling a car with a blown tire on the front, struggled against the threat, groaning as she seemed to run out of air. With one hand on the steering wheel, and other trying to detach the arm around her neck, she found the convenience to strike the mercenary in the nose with the back of her head, elongating her free arm to bring his head forward, and headbutted him, took an immediate hold of his head in her palm and slammed it against the glove compartment repeatedly, and kicked him with her high heel in the face off the car, sending him to a permanent set of broken bones injury, or if lucky, death as he stumbled on the road with repetitive roll.

“Resourceful girl.” Bond expressed himself vocally, smirking in the face of attraction he was already developing of her from afar as he watched her work and send a goon to his death, while he himself was gaining on the chase, dodging as much as terrified traffic as he could.

Much to Dominique’s surprise, however, she felt a rather large hand winding up around her head, having very little time to veer left to see it came from himself a large man standing by the side step of the SUV attacking her, and before she could do anything, all she witnessed in a nanosecond was a strike coming on to her face by a single punch, knocking her unconscious, the giant henchman grabbed her by the neck as her car started going sideways, and effortlessly picked her up and transported her inside the Humvee, throwing her in the back next to another underling of a mercenary and ordered him to tie her up.

“Why not just kill her?” The mercenary asked.

“The boss needs her alive!” The henchman replied with an aggressive and no-nonsense tone.

The Shelby Cobra with its flat tire, eventually romped up by the riverside, rolled over and collapsed into the water, creating an explosion from underneath. What a waste of a beautiful machinery, one would’ve thought.

Expressing a dissatisfaction with the turnout, Bond shelved up the roof of his Aston Martin with a computed command by the control panel, and directed a request through the earpiece, “Wade, get a rappelling rope ready!”

Bond activated the ‘Auto-Pilot’ mode at the command compartment, the Aston Martin already nearing the Humvee, 007 found himself climbing up the roof of the car, he measured up the distance between the bumper of the enemy vehicle and the hood of his own. It would’ve been a lot easier if he was wearing tactical shoes rather than formal ones due to the slippery skin of his car body. It all happened out of a sudden. Once the moment was right, and Bond having a short window of time, he acted fast and on instinct, jumping at the back of the Humvee, which thankfully had long enough bumper to stand on while his hands hung on stable handles he could hold on to, and climbed towards the rear left passenger door where the underling of a mercenary was sitting by. Pulling it open with aggression, Bond swung a punch against the mercenary’s face, grabbed him by the collar and threw him out onto the road, leaping inside the SUV for Dominique’s rescue.

The giant henchman sensed his presence in the heat of the moment, in a matter of a blink or two, rushing to the backseat section of the vehicle and landing a fist onto Bond’s gut, whereas half-unconscious Dominique was swinging against the glass window of her side of the door, agitated from her current state of mind, while the man had received an elbow swipe right in the cheek, sending him backwards at the chair and briefly collapsing upon the woman. “Sorry about that!” Bond apologized nicely while wrestling with a threat, trying to regroup, he found a large hand heavily holding the back of his collar and pulling him away, the giant henchman slammed him against the console center of the car, and punched him twice in the face, blurring his vision due to ominous pain gasping through the nerves and weakening the senses of his brain. Bond, relying on his remaining other sensory faculties, shielded his face with his elbows, defending himself against the almost unbeatable assailant, with his instincts kicking in, he held one wrist upon the swung and missed punch, and elevated himself fast enough to headbutt the henchman in the nose as hard as it could with his forehead, struck him twice back with his fists and slammed his head against the door, while Dominique, already conscious, jumped from the back and attached her flexicuffs against the henchman’s throat, trying to strangle him. The driver, on alert, pulled a SIG P226 off his holster for defense, which Dominique was observant enough to kick his arm away from Bond, thus the firearm releasing a gunshot and wounding the giant henchman in the leg who let out a brief groan over it, repeatedly having sharp inhalations, he held Dominique’s hands, pulled them away from his throat in effort, bringing them to a unison, he unfastened them at once and broke the flexicuffs, freeing both himself off her and her hands in the process, gasping for air.

With all happening fast in so little time, all the four in the car had a short time to act. Bond grabbed the driver’s armed wrist and slammed the pistol against his nose, resulting in a blooded face and half an out-of-control guided vehicle. He took the firearm over, holding it by the flange, and slapped the henchman once on the facial bones next to his cheek by the grip of the pistol, and once over the back of his head with a wrath, reaching for the seatbelt next to Dominique, he wrapped it around his neck and squeezed it, locking its clasp against its buckle, and leaving the victim of it struggle in suffocation.

A glimmer of hope illuminated Bond’s eyes when he saw the light on the helicopter occupied by the CIA operatives signaling in the air, flying closer to the Humvee, with the rope already thrown hanging for both 007 and the French agent to grab onto as they escape. Turning to Dominique, Bond guided her to jump ship, just as the rope itself was closing in to her side of the door. She pulled the handle to unpin the hold of the lock between the car as a whole and its door, pushing the obstacle between her and the road open and felt the wind blow from the outside world right into her face, almost penetrating the vision of her eyes she did not intend to go blind. Pushing her heel against the ground, Dominique made her leap of faith with a chance, aiming her clutches into grappling right onto the rope sent from above and swung from left to right as the speed of the pursuit led her into the measurement.

‘Good girl!’ Bond thought to himself regarding her successful stunt and decidedly followed suit. Before he could proceed, however, he felt a force from behind pulling him back through the lapel of his suit jacket, and much to his horror, he found out the henchman had already broken loose, holding him against the opposite door and blocking his way out. It was as if 007 had another experience of witnessing a glimpse of doom when the aspiring perpetrator of his had his eyes locked on him with rage, anger and ferocity, ready to attack his prey. A shout was heard on the latter’s part, all these taking place on such short notice, the feel of it slowed down in motion for the secret agent, who saw a sturdy fist racing towards his face. Seeking time and convenience while thinking on his feet, he had it pinned down like all the pieces of the puzzle falling into their right places when it required of him to dodge the swing by strafing aside, the henchman tumbled against the vacated region of the seat where Bond was held at, the latter of whom struck his elbow against the back of the behemoth of a man’s neck, delaying the outcome of the madman’s provocation. With limited options around, he resorted to employ the seatbelts for his advantage and strapped it heavily against the wrist of his assailant, acting fast, the same was repeated to embrace the neck, blocking the windpipe, Bond pulled the seatbelt to his side, and the madman stumbled forward with the heave, Bond kicked the back of his head down to the ground with his shoe, finding the opportunity to cuff the henchman’s free wrist and clasp the seatbelt into the buckle behind him. That was halfway to the relief. The driver, who had recovered and steered his attention off the road, pulled his gun on Bond with the intention of shooting him dead. Bond threw himself forward, away from the gunbarrel, grabbed the driver’s wrist and twisted it, releasing the magazine off the pistol, and squeezing the trigger blindly onto the roof, sending the remaining cartridge free. He punched the man in the face as hard as it could have been achieved, indubitably breaking his cheekbone, whose head clashed against the steering wheel, the sound of the thumping heard louder than the screaming engine of the Humvee. The driver being incapacitated, the moment gave Bond enough time to find his way to the door, ignoring the giant henchman who was struggling in the straps holding him back, he counted on his instincts, tracked the rope carefully that still remained close, and jumped right on time, colliding to Dominique in parallel, his hands right above hers entangled to the rope. An explosion was heard from behind, which Bond peeked at with the corner of his eyes, learning the SUV had crashed into a construction site and blew up.

“We got ‘em!” Wade announced happily, only to be interrupted in his ear by a hollering Bond. A courtesy extended to Felix Leiter himself, as well.

“Felix!” Bond called out, “Follow the Aston on the road!”

Getting the gist of it, Leiter piloted the helicopter, looking for Bond’s Aston Martin driven somewhere on the streets of Paris. Meanwhile, with both the French and the British agents hanging by the rope, they exchanged eye contacts, and Dominique’s was an unwelcoming one. “Who the hell are you?” She asked aggressively, her French accent ever as present as her eyes blinking due to the heavy wind. “I work for the British government!” Bond replied reassuringly, his eyes as narrow as hers.

“James, we’re almost there!” Leiter communicated as he approached the vehicle in demand, whilst Bond looking down to see the end of the rope swinging about, and the reflection of the street lights surfacing on the layer of his Oxford shoes, developing visual of the subject racing on the road, its rooftop still open, the Aston Martin significantly seemed like it was calling for him, ready to catch him when he falls. ‘Steady,’ Bond wished for the chopper to be piloted rightfully so he’ll extract himself and a passenger to the vantage point it needed. He lifted his eyes up to look at Dominique and spoke, “Hang on to me!” he told her. Dominique knew what was in the play and decided not to ask any questions, trusting what appeared to be her circumstantial guardian angel. Embracing Bond tightly with her arms around his waist, she looked at him and awaited his course of action. With the insurance that Wade was watching from above as an oversight ready to aid, Bond measured the potential fall and ensure the timing and gravitation was right, he deployed the buckle of the rope by pushing the red button amidst the sophisticatedly formed group of pliers and fell along with Dominique where he aimed at, feeling the slight octane while they floated in a split second in the air.

The next thing they knew, they felt the rather comfortable covers of the seat on support to their backs, the instant filling them with slight bit of a confused consequence as they landed upon the seats into the car from above, Bond was already regrouped, with a brief smirk making appearance on the features of his face as he stared at Dominique who was right upon his lap, arrived on top of him as they descended down to the Aston Martin with a leap of faith. “I wouldn't mind the view, Miss Paradis, but my concentration is better wielded on the danger afoot.” Bond spoke jokingly, only to feel a rather aggressive push of palms on his shoulders, resulting in from Dominique's reaction to the Englishman's remark in the heat of the moment. She rotated herself to the left side of the vehicle where the passenger's seat was located and placed herself firmly as she buckled her seatbelt. “At least, I might have the chance to thank you later for the catch-up...” She exasperated, “If we hurry and catch the damn nuclear bomb on that truck ahead.”

“The thought had flashed across my mind.” Bond replied, pushing his finger down upon the button to replace the roof to its original post with its convertibility, assigning the 'Auto-Pilot' off to regain manual control of his car. “At least we agree on something!” Dominique reported with punctuality, before narrowing her eyes in a questioning manner, turned her gaze to the man in her company and inquired, “Who are you, again?”

“The name's Bond.” The secret agent responded, adjusting his tie and taking a hold of the gear lever, ready to boost the Aston Martin forward, “James Bond.”

***

To be continued in "Chapter II: An Agent In Need"...

Thursday, November 30, 2017

'No One Lives Forever': Early Development, Reinvention, and Release

In 2000, when The Operative: No One Lives Forever has hit the shelves, it was sold millions of copies all around the world, and resulted in a huge success for both the developer and the publisher. Simply referred to as No One Lives Forever, the game pays a visit back to the 1960s culture where the spy craze was all around the media. Its homage comes from the most notable and iconic spy franchises, specially Our Man Flint, the James Bond series (first five films with Sean Connery), Get SmartThe Man From UNCLEThe Avengers, with the inclusion of Modesty Blaise amongst others. At the time, First-Person Shooter genre was a popular gaming category, which combined all those spy media inspirations into its circle and created a stealthy action video game which left a huge impact on the audience, which spawned a sequel and an interquel spin-off. They were all developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sierra Entertainment, with the exception of the original game being published by Fox Interactive.


Development on the project started in 1998, after Monolith's latest two titles, Shogo: Mobile Armor Division and Blood II: The Chosen were released. The game actually started off as a mission-based, anime-inspired, paramilitary action thriller intended as a spiritual sequel to Shogo, which was supposed to be an action-adventure involving the elements of fantasy, but eventually the project ended up being a 1960s spy adventure in the tradition of Our Man Flint and countless other spy movies and shows of the same nature. After finally signing a contract with Fox, the team was able to draft a mission statement, which stood as a point of reference during every aspect of developing the game. Craig Hubbard, who contributed in designing many Monolith video game titles, insisted that a strong narrative, with twists and turns in the spirit of Charade or Where Eagles Dare, featuring a fiercely competent hero and an assortment of despicable villains, memorable moments, death-defying situations, opportunities for stealth as well as all-out action, and a variety of exotic locales to explore categories are heavily required.

 
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division served as a spiritual predecessor to No One Lives Forever.

Eventually, the game was announced at E3 1999 conference show, with some screenshots and a small footage of the game was shown. Monolith claimed that No One Lives Forever will feature a retro backdrop set in 1964 Europe, complete with the fashions and styles of that time period. The main character was said to be named Adam Church, a British secret agent working for MI0 (pronounced MI-Zero), an ultra secret group operating under the authority of "Her Majesty's Most Secret Service". Reportedly, Church's mission is to help aid in the defection of an East German biophysicist named Otto Dentz. When the mission goes awry when the defector is abducted by a terrorist group operating under the name HARM. This unknown group and its motives for kidnapping Dentz are unknown, and Church finds himself in the midst of perplexing puzzle as he attempts to find him. The player is also able to use several high-tech gadgets, including lock-picks, sunglasses with cycling visions, a cigarette lighter that melts any metal locks sticking onto gates and doors, among the others.

 





Early No One Lives Forever development screenshots featured at E3 1999. A male hand is seen wielding the weapons, and wearing a dark blue suit as it appears. None of these locations have appeared in the final release version of the game.

During the production after the title was surfaced, the game was compared to the James Bond series, and particularly the 1997 video game, GoldenEye 007, which led the developers to get into rage and restart development on No One Lives Forever. Hubbard stated that the intention of the game was to make a 1960s-themed spy adventure, and not a Bond-inspired imitation, leading them to submit many changes to the storyline. Originally, the game was supposed to have a drop dead serious tone, but afterwards, the Austin Powers-styled parody was dragged into the genre, with many standards remained still the same. Each location and level maps seen on the early footage, all of them have been absent in the newer edition. The protagonist, now, has been changed to female operative named Cate Archer, a former thief burglar, now a secret agent in service for the British Monarch, under a super-spy agency UNITY. The only objects that survive from the original development were the weapons. They've also added something in front of the working title to get away from any reference to anything that relates to James Bond and his franchise (particularly the Bond novel written by John Gardner, titled Nobody Lives Forever), with a final conclusion settling on The Operative: No One Lives Forever, with the front name making reference to Cate herself. Not much of the original project was revealed at all, nor a concept art for Adam Church was ever seen. So, nobody but the developers know how did the male protagonist looked like.

An element from the final game features similar stand-off between the protagonist and the enemies, echoing the same cable car scene from Alistair MacLean's Where Eagles Dare.

Cate's first mission was to protect an enemy target from HARM assassins with her own sniper rifle, which reminds the audience of the scene from The Living Daylights, with Bond sent on a similar assignment.

In The Operative: No One Lives Forever, set in 1967, seven active UNITY covert operatives have been assassinated by a mysterious group of terrorists. Cate Archer, a low-ranking agent, has been called into service for her first major assignment, which was to investigate a recently discovered organization which turned out to be HARM and its executive director, former KGB assassin called Dmitrij Volkov. Cate is the first female agent to be recruited to UNITY, and somehow has been "untrustworthy", which is why her superiors are skeptical of a woman working as a field operative, and have previously relegated her to more mundane assignments. Through many betrayals she faced, many murder attempts she survived, many fuses she lit, and many locations she travelled to, Cate finally comes face to face with someone from her past, who wants revenge from the whole world by provoking a conspiracy all over the countries, with the intention of starting a possible World War III conflict. With the only highly-trained agent left in the field, the entire agency counts on Cate Archer who's their only hope for saving the world.

Cate Archer in the Alps, sent to defeat the Baroness Dumas.

In the next two years, a sequel to the game was released with a bit more serious tone, titled No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in HARM's Way, focusing on Cate Archer facing even deadlier enemies. HARM, driven by vengeful plot against Cate, mark her for death, while they develop their evil schemes to provoke a war between the US and the Soviets.

Cate preparing to infiltrate a village where all the female ninjas live.

An interquel, a game that takes place between the previous two installments, was released, which follows the events of the first game, even re-visits some locations that ocurred in the previous adventures, and predates some happenings which took place in the second game. In this title, Contract JACK, the players take control of a contract killer named John Jack, hired by HARM operative, Volkov, to rescue a scientist from a rival terrorist organization called Danger Danger, led by an Sicilian mobster named Il Pazzo (The Crazy One in Italian). It does not involve UNITY nor Cate Archer herself. JACK, however, stands for "Just Another Contract Killer", which points out that he isn't important in the No One Lives Forever chronology and timeline.

"Just Another Contract Killer". Must be John Jack of HARM.

Cate Archer is based on an American model and actress, Mitzi Martin, and was voiced by Kit Harris in the first game. As the character is from a Scottish descent, Harris recorded her voicework in Scottish English accent, but due to the accent itself being used too lower class, she re-recorded her voicework again in a full-time "British Bent" instead. In the second game, however, Cate's look completely differs, as the writers decided to give her a resemblance to an English model, Jean Shrimpton, and this time, she was voiced by Jen Taylor, a professional vocals imitator herself. The character of Cate Archer met generally positive reviews as her games did. She was described as James Bond's female counterpart, and an improved version of Emma Peel.

Mitzi Martin provided her likeness and motion capture performance for the character of Cate Archer in The Operative: No One Lives Forever, even appeared in disguise as Cate during E3 2000.

Jean Shrimpton's likeness was used for Cate Archer's character in No One Lives Forever 2.

A third game, however, was never mentioned about and wasn't even planned. Monolith switched to working on a brand new franchise with a very similar gameplay to No One Lives Forever, but they have nothing in common when it comes to the genre. Rather it's a horror-themed science fiction thriller with a group of elite forces sent to terminate some failed experiments which turn out to be monsters. It resulted in FEAR, which didn't last long. Fans of No One Lives Forever kept demanding to make another installment in the spy series, but Sierra Entertainment, which published the latest two installments in the series, is owned by Activision, who never give any greenlight to video games involving female protagonists. But, it's still unknown who owns the IP to the franchise, but it's most likely Monolith, who are acquired by Warner Bros. a year after Contract JACK's release. In 2008, the US-based Play magazine expressed their desire to see Cate in further sequels than just one or two. Only time will tell.

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