Going Undercover with Bond

GameSpot recently interviewed Jon Horsley, the executive producer on The World is Not Enough, to get covert details on the upcoming Bond game. To be published by Electronic Arts late this year, the title puts you, as the slick Brit spy himself, in situations from the most recent Bond movie. Also be sure to take a look at the game's rich environments in these new in-game images.

GameSpot: Will TWINE follow the traditional FPS formula, or will it incorporate certain adventure elements?

Jon Horsley: In The World is Not Enough, the player will be working within discrete missions, but it is part of a story and each mission has a selection of puzzles, characters and action. Like much of the contemporary games, it is a blend of things designed to challenge and entertain... not to mention stay true to the Bond legacy of intense action and excitement.

GS: Aside from the value of the Bond license, how will TWINE separate itself from Monolith's upcoming No One Lives Forever?

JH: Well, I don't know the details of what Monolith is working on, but an obvious differentiation is that we will be authentic. Electronic Arts is offering Bond exclusively... period, no other company can say that they've got the world's most famous spy as their "hero." Because of the exclusive license we secured from MGM and Danjaq, it is our mission to deliver a truly quality POV title that PC gamers will enjoy and appreciate. With that authenticity comes the diversity of Bond. We will be offering skiing, boating as well as some missions ranging from stealth within a casino to rock 'n roll action at the City of Walkways shooting down helicopters.

GS: As 3D engines go, is id's Quake III engine relatively easy to program on?

JH: Licensing id's Quake III Arena engine provided us a very strong foundation upon which we have added additional functionality. We truly believe that our single-player AI, animation and physics will set new standards. We can do this since id provided us such a head-start. All of our efforts were dedicated to Bond-specific tasks. The engineers at id are state-of-the-art, and we are grateful to them.

GS: Of the four platforms the game is being developed for, which is the most ambitious?

JH: Actually, we think all of them are ambitious within the scope of their hardware profiles. The N64 and PlayStation both have fantastic traits and offerings that I think will really appeal to their respective audiences. Probably the PC and PlayStation 2 versions will be the most impressive visually, but that is what you would expect. I know it sounds like a dodge, but we took very aggressive steps on all the platforms to ensure that each one would deliver the best game they could for their audience.

GS: Single out one feature you're most proud of in TWINE.

JH: Probably that we will be the closest yet to offering the experience of being James Bond. We think we've captured the essence of 007 and his world in the game.

GS: Will the game take place solely on foot, or will Bond be able to drive his standard bevy of cars and motorcycles?

JH: Bond will be availing himself to boats and skis, and he'll be able to use the BMW to some extent. Not drive it, really, but it would be a good assumption to say that car will no doubt some other features that will come in handy... after all, this is Bond we're talking about!

GS: What kind of environments do the levels in TWINE encompass?

JH: We'll offer some pretty compelling environment. Skiing and boating, which we mentioned earlier, plus the player will be experiencing environments ranging from a stolen Russian submarine tumbling into the ocean depths to a lush European villa, a casino, a nuclear blast pit, and the streets of Istanbul. Plus others. So it feels to us pretty broad and diverse.

GS: How many weapons will the game have in all?

JH: There will be a wide selection of cool weapons and gadgets to choose from. Definitely more than 20, but the final count won't be available until a little later in the year. That said, we are nothing but confident that The World is Not Enough will have all of the 007 items that one would expect in the Bond world.