As the third member of the “Espionage-Based Badasses Whose Initials Are J.B.” trinity, Jason Bourne seems a natural for an action game tie-in. And, sure enough, Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy arrives to try and make us forget we ever heard the names “Bond” and “Bauer.” Or at least that we played Nightfire and 24: The Game.

The Bourne Conspiracy covers the events of the first movie, The Bourne Identity, with a hefty dose of flashbacks injected. About half the game comprises flashbacks to assassination missions from Bourne’s pre-amnesiac days, since the movie doesn’t really provide enough action sequences to hang an entire game on. Even with this extra content, the game only clocks in at about 5 to 6 hours long, although it’s a relatively enjoyable ride.

Being a highly-trained $30 million weapon, Bourne is adept at most forms of combat, be it ranged or hand-to-hand. Clearly a large amount of effort went into making it easy to transition between gunplay and fisticuffs, and the end result is a very smooth flow from one to the other. If you can close the distance between Bourne and a foe, you can beat them down. Obviously it’s not too wise to start a fistfight in the middle of a crossfire, but the option is there, which is a nice touch.

Deadliest man in the world with a book

Once you get down to the actual mechanics of combat, The Bourne Conspiracy frays a bit at the edges. Aiming with firearms is a little slippery, and enemies don’t really react to anything other than a headshot, so it’s easy to get shot up just trying to get the reticule to hold still over a semi-distant target. Conversely, hand-to-hand fighting is stiff and suffers from a lack of combo variety and an odd delayed reaction feeling to the button presses. The boss battles in particular go on for far too long, exposing the extremely simplistic and repetitive nature of the fighting. It’s certainly not bad as a part of the numerous gameplay styles present in the game, but nobody’s going to clamor for a Bourne fighting game spin-off.

Combat is immensely improved by the inclusion of Takedowns. As Bourne fights, he builds up a three-tiered adrenaline bar. A quick press of the B button when this bar has one or more tiers filled results in a Takedown. A Takedown can range from grabbing a nearby object and pummeling your attacker with it to instant kill shots with your firearm to slowing down time during a car chase. The hand-to-hand Takedowns in particular are extremely creative and make excellent use of just about every object and feature in Bourne’s environment. Thanks to clear and detailed animation and phenomenal sound design that makes you feel every punch and crunch, the Takedowns keep combat from becoming a chore, and help make the game recognizably Bourne.

Occasionally, other styles of play pop up to add variety to the action. QTE sequences reminiscent of Shenmue and God of War keep your attention focused on the game during cut scenes, as Bourne could need to dodge or counterattack at a second’s notice. QTEs also handle some of the more involved action maneuvers. Failing one of these sequences is generally a guaranteed game over, but checkpoints are plentiful enough to keep this from becoming frustrating.

Surveillance spotty

What does become frustrating at times is the wild camera during fights, which can swing into totally useless positions in small spaces. It’s rarely a game killer, but there are times when you’ll lose track of Jason entirely. Still, if you could handle the camerawork in The Bourne Supremacy, you’ll be fine here.

There’s also one driving sequence that covers the famous car chase through Paris from the film. This is the weakest part of the game, featuring car controls that resemble nothing so much as steering a bar of soap around. Marie’s Mini has no real weight to it, while other cars are apparently constructed of solid rock. The sequence is a lackluster timed race through checkpoints that does no justice to the exciting scene from the film.

There seems to be a lot to complain about, but the presentation of the game does help make up for what are mostly small flaws that pop up a bit more often than they should. The lack of Matt Damon’s likeness doesn’t hurt the game at all, and even the flashback missions seem to fit the Bourne universe well. For being so independent of the mainstream Bourne films, The Bourne Conspiracy never lets you forget the character you’re controlling, whether it’s through his badass fight moves or his consistent taste in sweaters.

Fans of the film will probably find a good amount to like about the game. Non-fans may be lost in the story due to the large amount of condensing done to the plot, but you don’t really need to know what Treadstone is to appreciate the sound of a skull rebounding off an oak desk. The short length makes it a definite rental, but espionage action fans could do worse than to kill an afternoon with Bourne.

Review by: Matt Keil