Shallow game mechanics, linear levels and non-existent storytelling just doesn't do the Bourne franchise justice...
Based on the novels and blockbuster movie trilogy of the same name, The Bourne Conspiracy puts players in control of Jason Bourne; the greatest thing to happen to the espionage genre since James Bond. With all the source material available from both the Robert Ludlum novels as well as the popular Matt Damon movies, The Bourne Conspiracy certainly has a lot of things going for it. Unfortunately, overly simple and shallow game mechanics, repetitive and linear levels and almost non-existent storytelling bring down what amounts to a passable action game.
The Bourne conspiracy is based almost entirely on the storyline of the movie trilogy, as opposed to the novel. It starts off some time before the events of The Bourne Identity, elaborating the events preceding the failed assassination that would eventually lead to Jason Bourne floating at sea with retrograde-amnesia. An over the shoulder action game, The Bourne Conspiracy is based on two gameplay elements; hand to hand combat and cover based shooting.
Hand to hand combat is the first gameplay element that players are introduced to. Once engaged by an enemy, the camera switches to an almost 'fight night' kind of angle. There is a quick attack and a strong attack and combinations of both elicit a quick combo. Normal attacks then help to charge an "adrenaline" meter. Once enough adrenaline has been accumulated the B button activates a "takedown"; a flashy, brutal and one hit kill move that emulates the Kali/Escrima fighting style made popular by Matt Damon in the Bourne trilogy. The takedowns are stunning to watch and have several varieties depending on objects and obstacles around you during the fight. This is especially evident with the boss fights, where books, pens, screwdrivers and all manner of plate glass act as weapons.
As fun to watch as the takedowns are, the fighting system is way too dependent on it. The two button fighting system is severely limited and the two or three non-takedown combos get old fast. Not to mention most enemies and especially bosses take forever to defeat in normal hand to hand without performing a takedown. Most fights end up into a button mash to accumulate enough adrenaline, to which a single button press then ends the fight. The fighting system in Bourne Conspiracy had a lot of potential and it's a shame it's marred by repetition and overly simplified and unnecessary hand holding. It just isn't as satisfying to mash buttons to fill up a meter and then one button kill your enemy as it would have been if you would have had to earn than flashy takedown with at the very least a simple button combo.
When not knocking foes through tables and the sort, the rest of the game is a straightforward cover shooter. Bourne is able to move to cover and then pop out to open fire. The mechanics are simple and work fairly well. It's nothing new, but it gets the job done. Though it's not as intuitive or as effective as cover systems in games such as Gears of War, Ghost Recon AW or even R6 Vegas, it's doable. As with the fighting system, racking up enough adrenaline allows the player to pull off a "shooting takedown" that insta-kills a target. These aren't as flashy as the hand to hand takedown but are quite helpful when severely outnumbered. Unfortunately you don't get to choose which enemy the shooting takedown is performed on, so while you might have wanted to insta-kill the sniper atop a roof plinking your life away, you might just takedown the grunt with a pistol who was barely threat.
Graphically, Bourne Conspiracy is passable, but certainly nothing to be too excited about. The player, enemies, environment and effects are just good enough to constitute a next-gen game, but don't expect to be graphically wowed by anything in The Bourne Conspiracy. Perhaps the most visually outstanding part of Bourne Conspiracy is in its animation, particularly during the hand to hand combat. As mentioned, takedowns look amazing sometimes, and the animation used for it is very well done.
Despite the source material, the Bourne Conspiracy is severely lacking in its storytelling. Players who have never seen the Bourne movies will be immediately lost in translation. The scant number of cut scenes is barely understandable for anyone who hasn't seen the movie and barely gives an excuse as to why the player is in a particular place and why he has to kill all these people. For many of us who have seen the movies this won't pose a problem as the cut scenes are modeled almost exactly after scenes from the movie, but those entering the world of Jason Bourne be warned; you won't understand what exactly is going on.
As an action game, the Bourne Conspiracy is not bad. A good blend of hand to hand fighting and cover based shooting give it just enough merit on its own. Unfortunately for a game that advertises itself as "putting the player in control of Jason Bourne" its woefully inadequate. To put it simply, the Bourne Conspiracy doesn't follow the flow of its source material at all. Espionage is almost entirely forgotten in The Bourne Conspiracy, stealth is barely incorporated and in the end Jason Bourne becomes blunt instrument, a one man army rather than the precision human weapon he is portrayed as in the film. Most of the time in the Bourne Conspiracy you will invariably kill every living thing from point A to point B in the linear levels, and then be forced to fight a predetermined boss hand to hand until you've beaten him into submission. If you're looking for a decent action title to pass the time then by all means pick up the Bourne Conspiracy, if you're expecting a Jason Bourne experience, you're better off spending your 50 bucks on an HD version of the trilogy.