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Just Imagine… 007 Legends

007 Legends was announced a few short weeks ago, and on paper the game sounds like one of the most intriguing Bond projects to date. The idea of combing 6 different Bond movies, including the upcoming Skyfall, into one seamless adventure is both fascinating and frightening.

The company is set to announce the first of the movies tomorrow at some point, but we wanted to take a look at the Bond movie canon, and see which movies have a chance, and why.

  1. Dr. No (1962-Sean Connery)- The movie that started it all. It is a lot more grounded than the rest of the series focusing more on Bond’s abilities as a spy than his ability to wield a gun or fight hand to hand. That said this movie has a very LOW chance of being in the game unless they attempt to tie together the movies using elements of SPECTRE since it doesn’t really have many memorable action pieces.
  2. From Russia With Love (1963-Sean Connery)- Perhaps one of the most beloved Bond films of all-time, it is the only Bond film to get a game made LONG after its release in 2005. The movie features one of Bond’s deadliest foes in Red Grant, and has several memorable action pieces including the opening segment in the Garden maze and of course the prolonged train segment which makes up most of the movie’s climax. This game has a STRONG chance of being included in the package.
  3. Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery)- The template for almost all Bond films since. This is the film that turned Bond from a super-spy to a super-agent with a focus on gadgets, cars and beautiful women. That said, this film actually like many memorable setpieces. Sure, it has the amazing torture scene, but Bond spends most of the movie in custody of Auric Goldfinger. The climax of the film could make for a decent level with the attack on Fort Knox, but that’s about it. This has a LOW chance.
  4. Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery)- This was when the quality of the Bond films began to get questionable. Thunderball may have been quite the achievement in its day, but the extended underwater sequences don’t seem to hold up as well over time. Combine that with the fact that water levels tend to suck in video games and we hope that this has a LOW chance of showing up in Legends.
  5. You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)- How do you turn a white male Asian? You give him slightly slanted eyes and bushy eyebrows. Or at least that’s what You Only Live Twice taught us. Yes Bond is off to beautiful Japan for this film, which features one of the greatest lairs in the franchise’s history. Yes, being able to assault a volcanic base with the aid of ninja warriors would make for terrific game play. So we want this to have a STRONG chance of showing up.
  6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby)- This is an interesting movie since it is an island to itself, being the only film in the franchise to star Lazenby. That said, it offers a thrilling chance through the mountains on ski, which would make for a fantastic game level, but skiing mishaps seem to become more common for Bond as we get later into the series. This film has a MEDIUM chance.
  7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery)- My personal least favorite Bond film, but that aside it does offer a lot of interesting setpieces for a game. Including a car chase through the streets of Las Vegas and a climax on-board an oil refinery. There’s even a final scene on a fancy yacht so from a game play stand point it brings a lot to the table. This has a MEDIUM chance just due to the reputation of the movie.
  8. Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore)- This is a movie of its time, as are a lot of Moore films, which means it may be hard to translate into a game since.. the villains are African American and pretty one-off for the Bond franchise. There’s also not many memorable segments, but there is the part with the alligators and the very long boat chase! This has a LOW chance.
  9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore)- The Man with the Golden Gun and a third nipple, yes those are his two most distinct features. While the Golden Gun has always found a home in the Bond franchise, the movie itself tends to be forgotten. But the entire premise of Scaramanga’s base being an amusement park fun house, would lead to an awesome level or two in any game. Also, he would make for a fun and challenging boss character. This movie has a MEDIUM chance.
  10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore)- Another Bond film that features a skiing chase segment, but aside from that there’s not much I remember from this movie that would make for a great game or is wholly unique to this movie. Unless they wanted to use the aquatic lair, and even still prefer the lair from YOLT. This has a LOW chance.
  11. Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore)- The most infamous Bond film of them all.. is the one most primed for a video game. It has over the top setpieces. It has laser guns. And it eventually takes Bond to space, which is something no other film in the series can say. That and Jaws makes a return appearance. This game has a STRONG chance.
  12. For Your Eyes Only (1981-Roger Moore)- Another strong entry in the franchise that lacks any unique and compelling set pieces. The scaling up the mountain and another ski chase are possibilities though. This movie has a LOW chance.
  13. Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore)- One of the middling Bond films, that doesn’t really do anything exciting. We have a train segment, but would prefer ones that came before or after, and the circus, but there are goofy setpieces in other films. The climax also only takes place in a mansion so meh. This has a LOW chance.
  14. A View to a Kill (1985-Roger Moore)- This is an interesting movie, as it features a pretty cool climax that ends on top of a bridge, and some underground/mining segments. How well those translate into actual video games is up in the air. I would imagine this has a LOW chance.
  15. The Living Daylights (1987-Timothy Dalton)- Dalton’s premiere entry in the Bond franchise suffers from the same thing as Dr. No and For Your Eyes Only in that they are fairly grounded movies that don’t have many unique action segments to make for compelling video game material. A good film though! This has a LOW chance.
  16. Licence to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton)- The movie that features one of Bond’s most ruthless foes, and some pretty cool and grounded set pieces including Bond’s chase through the streets in a giant tanker. There’s also the daring game of helicopter fishing at the start of the film. This has a MEDIUM chance.
  17. GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan)- Let’s ignore the fact that this movie has been made into a game twice already, and its namesake has been used in a combination of 4 titles. This Bond film has a lot to offer for a video game including the opening segment starting with the jump off the dam, there’s the chase through St. Petersburg in a tank, there’s the train escape and of course the climax in a satellite. This movie has a STRONG chance simply because of its reputation with gamers.
  18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan)- This is an interesting movie because it does feature a lot of interesting segments including Bond’s remote control car chase, the helicopter chase through Hong Kong and the climax on-board a stealth submarine. I just feel its chances are lessen due to Goldenye pretty much getting the nod and Brosnan’s film reputation. This has a MEDIUM chance.
  19. The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan)- Another film that features some interesting moments, mostly the opening bank/MI6/boat chase segment, and the Valentino’s factory/chain saw helicopter portion. But you can steal those elements without actually using this movie. This has a LOW chance.
  20. Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan)- Much like Moonraker, this film would work for a video game for all the wrong reasons. It just features some truly over the top set pieces. We have the car chase on the ice (Which also turns invisible), there’s the part where he surfs on the hood of a car against a tidal wave, there’s the giant air plane battle at the end and so much more. That said the strongest point of this movie would be using the opening of Bond actually being defeated to build on a plot for the entire game, but I doubt that’s an avenue they want to revisit. This is a MEDIUM chance just because of the reputation of the movie.
  21. Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig)- The next two will be a bit tough to really score. While it would make sense to put all of the Craig’s films together, it does kind of defeat the purpose of the Legends moniker. They are relatively new, and already have been in a joint game since Quantum of Solace was also a Casino Royale game. This has a LOW chance.
  22. Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig)-See above!
  23. Skyfall (November 2012-Daniel Craig)-A no-brainer since it was already announced.

So just a minor recap, the films I think have the strongest chance of being part of this collection are From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice, Moonraker, Goldeneye and Skyfall. Based on that, there is still a single film missing, and if I had to put money on it, would go with Goldfinger since it does set up the standards for the films. And offers some interesting set-pieces. That and it fits in with Goldeneye, and they’ve used Goldfinger as a major threat in a team-up game before.

Whatever the chances are, we’ll find out our first game tomorrow, and see how wrong we actually are!

Earl Rufus

The owner of this little chunk of the internet. Enjoys having a good time and being rather snarky!

1 Response

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