Much better than expected, but unfortunately certain parts use game dynamics to create false difficulty.

User Rating: 7.5 | Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy PS3
This game was announced early on and no one was quite sure what it would be about or quite how it would play. Then, when it was revealed that it will revolve around the first movie with a unique combat system, I got pretty psyched. After playing the lackluster demo that had a poor, repetitive battle system and a familiar plot (sans Matt Damon's likeness) I was getting skeptical. The finished product doesn't do much to polish the weaknesses, but the level design is dynamic enough to keep me satisfied.

What's the best part about Jason Bourne? Doing a barrage of awesome moves and quick decisions that no normal human can pull off. Even though High Moon chose to do these sequences in button-pressing cutscenes, the timing is so quick and spot on that you feel like you're still playing the game. Additionally, they don't keep you in this situation for long, forcing you to run and fight in the normal game mode during many intense scenes. They also did a good job of recreating the scenes and levels you want to be a part of (I loved hunting down Wambosee on the boat and The Professor with a shotgun). In the end, however, much of Jason Bourne is also about close quarter combat, which is where this game begins to falter. The controls for combat are odd and clunky compared to the smooth moves of 3rd person perspective. The controls (at least on PS3) are the same button press for a punch or a kick, but depending on how long you hold the button you get a different result. I beat this game on Assassin Mode (the hardest) and I have yet to figure out how to be sure of when you're throwing a punch or a kick. They claim a "complex combo scheme'" but you can only get like a dozen combinations from only two buttons in 3-sequence formation, half of which just won't work against bosses. In the end, you try to make the combat more diverse or more intense and you end up dying and before you know it the repetitive "block, block, block, punch, punch, punch" combination gets you through. Too bad, this seems to be what High Moon was focusing on to build this game; I recommend they focus on backgrounds or something insignificant in the future because combat is the worst aspect of this game.

My only complaint and warning about the game is when (uh, spoilers, I guess, but if you've seen the Bourne Identity you already know this) you actually get to hand to hand combat with The Professor. You are given a 2 minute time limit, and even the most aggressive Bourne player will spend some time on this baddie. Again, i was on the hardest, so maybe he isn't that bad, but for me he was tough. The worst part is that he understands the poor combat system much more than any player I've seen and therefore is at a great advantage. The challenge won't be living, it's killing him in 2 minutes, so be sure to focus on that. This unnecessary and pseudo increase in difficulty is one of those moments that upsets a gamer who is enjoying a game. If I wasn't super determined, I'd have quit this battle and walked away from this useless boss that is just before the end of the game (especially when you find out the last boss is a breeze).

In the end Jason Bourne is a decent experience. I must admit that the play time I've heard of about 5-6 seems a little short (although I never played on anything but Assassin) as I found a completion time of about 8 hours. Not worth the buy, but a decent rental for a weekend or quick purchase at $20, which it no doubt will drop to in the next few months.