He has been called the James Bond of our generation. His movies have grossed millions and his books are best-sellers. It was only a matter of time until Jason Bourne made it to the land of video games. Sierra did not want to make this a Splinter Cell remake and they succeeded in that. The game is very original and is true to the movies. A new combat system, adaptive AI, and detailed environments make this game worth getting into. This is your chance to become the ultimate weapon.

The game is based on the first movie, The Bourne Identity. You follow all the events that lead up to the beginning of the trilogy and find out how Bourne ended up floating aimlessly in the Mediterranean. The games menus are slick and the cutscenes are well worth watching. The voice acting is decent and it was disappointing that no one recognizable from the film lent their talents. You think Matt Damon when you think Jason Bourne. Hearing someone else does take away from the story. Much attention was paid to the background environments, but character models are repeated too frequently and their are noticeable collision detection issues. It is also not unlikely to see a foot sticking out through a wall or a body half into a cement pillar. Its the little things like that which make the game seem either rushed or lacking polish.

The gameplay is where the title really excels, but falls flat at the same time. The fighting mechanic is a thing of brilliance. You need to mix light and heavy attacks while blocking to defeat your enemies. Button mashing will get you nowhere and you have to vary your attacks or you will get your ass kicked. Land enough combos and you will fill your adrenaline meter which allows you to perform takedowns. These are akin to finishing moves on regular enemies and damage inducing to level bosses. These boss fights take awhile and seem like a real fight. You can’t rush it, you need to watch their moves and fight back. Now, the bad. The shooting is a huge letdown. The targeting reticule is a dot and Jason Bourne is the worst shot I have ever seen. You can only carry minimal ammo and you will shoot round after round hoping for a headshot or the five or six it takes to drop an enemy. The shooting is over the shoulder and the cover system does not work. Too many times do you roll out and are riddled with bullets while trying to move from cover to cover. There are driving levels also. The car handles like school bus.

The game is also on rails which is sort of a pain in the ass. You get this ability called The Bourne Instinct which tells you where to go, what to interact with, where enemies are, etc. The game is on rails. You have to follow a certain path so the instinct tells you where to go as if you had a choice to go elsewhere. It doesn’t take away from the game, but does not bring much either.

There is no multiplayer and not much to unlock aside from bonus content. There are three levels of difficulty, but not much to warrant another playthrough. This is a good game, but what I mentioned above keeps it from being a great one. There is a ton of talent in this studio and they are definitely onto something with this series. The poor shooting mechanic and repetitive nature of the game leave you from wanting to really explore the game, albeit there is not much exploring to do. I strongly recommend this as a great rental. After a week, there is not much else to do. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are identical. Aside from achievements, the PS3 version has accomplishments, the games are the same. If you feel like beating someone’s ass with a book or smashing their head into a concrete wall, give this a look. If you want a deep, gaming experience, I’d look elsewhere.

Overall: 7 out of 10.

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