James Bond 007: Blood Stone Message Board

The next Bond movie isn't scheduled until 2012.

James Bond 007: Blood Stone wasn't exactly, er, well received, but as Activision remains the exclusive rights holder to the James Bond franchise, the video games keep on comin'. Activision confirmed yet another James Bond game is coming sometime in 2011 during today's quarterly financial call, but said little else.

In May of last year, I reported that Raven Software was working a stealth-based James Bond game, in addition to developing map packs for the Call of Duty franchise. That stealth game was put on hold at the time, but it's certainly possible Activision asked the studio to resume development. I'm looking into it, but can't add anything to the story right now.

There is no James Bond movie scheduled for this year, either. Director Sam Mendes is attached to what's tentatively called Bond 23, but only recently resolved bankruptcy issues at MGM delayed production. Bond 23 is not expected to arrive until November 2012, meaning the game would be an original story.

#rip On Friday, February 18, the studio behind video game greats like Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars will close its doors forever. The Activision-owned studio has no buyer and its last game, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, will be its last. More »

Agent double-oh-seven is returning to the silver screen next year with Daniel Craig reprising his role as Her Majesty's most famous spy, and a report by Deadline claims that the film series' restart has led to a new James Bond game getting the ol' green light. The site makes no mention of who's developing -- or even if the game will tie into the film -- but we can count out Blood Stone dev Bizarre Creations, currently in the process of being shuttered by Activision, which holds the video game rights to all things 007.

Wolfenstein and Singularity studio Raven Software was rumored as recently as last month to be working on a new, stealth-heavy Bond title (some supposed footage of which was later dug up). No matter who makes the game, we can only hope that it actually gets some, y'know, marketing -- unlike Blood Stone.

Dotcom; Amazon dotcom. The online retailer has bled half the price off of Bizarre's non-movie-affiliated James Bond game, James Bond 007: Blood Stone. For today only, you can pick up the latest Daniel Craigventure for $29.99 on PS3 and Xbox 360. The PC and DS versions aren't part of the deal, selling for $44 and $24 respectively.

Here's our insane theory: if enough people buy this today (like, eight million or so, depending on how many of these Amazon has in stock), then either Activision will reverse its decision to shutter Bizarre Creations, or some other company will become more eager to throw money at it.

A proper Bond for portables.

Rumors started circulating yesterday about the rebirth of a Raven-developed James Bond game. Today, a poster on NeoGAF has unearthed footage that could very well be from that project in the demo reel of Hanjin Song, an animator on Raven's recent sci-fi FPS, Singularity.

While the gameplay bears a surface resemblance to Bizarre Creations' just-released James Bond 007: Blood Stone, the screencap above show's a different UI, a new environment and what appears to be a more detailed model of Bond star Daniel Craig. In Song's clip, we see the super spy engaging in some death-defying parkour, sneaking around behind cover and, of course, shooting incompetent minions.

We haven't heard back from Activision nor Song -- so don't start pre-ordering just yet -- but if we're not looking at the rumored Raven project, we're having a tough time imagining what else it could be.

When it's not busy working on Activision's "largest digital offering ever" or making games with superhuman Nazis, Raven Software is allegedly working on another James Bond title for Activision. Bond fansite MI6 claims that the recently approved bankruptcy plan at MGM has allowed the unannounced Bond title to be "taken off hiatus," and says it's back in production at Raven. Additionally, the report alleges that the Bond title was one of two games being worked on by Raven -- a sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine is said to also have been in production, though that game is reportedly "on the backburner" currently.

Given the recent death sentence handed to James Bond 007: Blood Stone by Activision (did you know that game was released, because it totally was) and the tumultuous story of Bond's 23rd film (said to now be back on track) -- not to mention Raven's ties to the very, very lucrative Call of Duty franchise and a recent thinning of the studio's staff -- we're a bit wary that the supposed stealth Bond will ever see the light of day. Regardless, we are totally, 100 percent confident in our unabashed excitement for the reignited Bond 23 plans.

When it's not busy working on Activision's "largest digital offering ever" or making games with superhuman Nazis, Raven Software is allegedly working on another James Bond title for Activision. Bond fansite MI6 claims that the recently approved bankruptcy plan at MGM has allowed the unannounced Bond title to be "taken off hiatus," and says it's back in production at Raven. Additionally, the report alleges that the Bond title was one of two games being worked on by Raven -- a sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine is said to also have been in production, though that game is reportedly "on the backburner" currently.

Given the recent death sentence handed to James Bond 007: Blood Stone by Activision (did you know that game was released, because it totally was) and the tumultuous story of Bond's 23rd film (said to now be back on track) -- not to mention Raven's ties to the very, very lucrative Call of Duty franchise and a recent thinning of the studio's staff -- we're a bit wary that the supposed stealth Bond will ever see the light of day. Regardless, we are totally, 100 percent confident in our unabashed excitement for the reignited Bond 23 plans.

Well, this blows.

Beginning with a NeoGAF thread and followed up by Giant Bomb and VG247, comes rumor that Activision is closing Bizarre Creations, the studio behind the just-released Bond title Bloodstone. It was responsible for Blur, The Club, the Project Gotham Racing series, and downloadable favorite Geometry Wars. The studio, founded in 1994, was acquired by Activision just over three years ago.

Giant Bomb's source says that Bizzarre Creations will undergo a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy." That sounds ... bad. According to the VG247 report, the cuts would mean a loss of over 200 staffers. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything official. Stay tuned.

[Update: Getting some context for the above quote: Apparently Bizarre isn't closed yet; the 90-day period is required in the UK (where Bizarre is located) before shuttering a business. That 90-day period also serves as a 90-day notice to employees that their company is likely to be closed/sold/downsized/etc. - an official statement should be along shortly.]

[Update 2 2:01pm: Activision's statement: "Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business."]

Well, this blows.

Beginning with a NeoGAF thread - and followed up by Giant Bomb and VG247 - come rumors that Activision is closing Bizarre Creations, the studio behind the just released Bond title Bloodstone, Blur, the Project Gotham Racing series, and, most tragically, Geometry Wars. The studio, founded in 1994, was acquired by Activision just over three years ago.

Giant Bomb's source says that Bizzarre Creations will undergo a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy." That sounds ... bad. According to the VG247 report, the cuts would mean a loss of over 200 staffers. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything official. Stay tuned.

What's that? You want another Black Friday deal post? Well ... okay, but you'd better finish your vegetables first. All done? Great. Best Buy has some killer deals on console bundles, with the best probably being the Wii (black or white) bundled with Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, a Wii Remote Plus and a Nunchuk, all for $169.99. If you're in the market for a PS3, Best Buy is bundling the 160GB model with LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers and a Cars Blu-ray for $299. Meanwhile, 4GB Xbox 360s will be packed with LEGO -- namely LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, LEGO Batman and Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures -- all for $199.

The store is also stocking the red and green DSi bundles first spotted in the Sears Black Friday ad for $149. Finally, several big titles will see impressive discounts. Check out some of the highlights after the break.

#review Ian Fleming's British super spy returns in an all-new original adventure, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, that's about as unoriginal as video games get. Blood Stone is an entertaining, just good enough shooter that borrows heavily from better games. More »

In a month where, after almost a two-year hiatus, we see two new Bond games thrown at us, PS3 and Xbox owners can't help but feel a little jaded when they see the re-vamped GoldenEye headed solely to the Wii.

"They got the new GoldenEye with a fancy new controller and all we got was another rip-off 3rd person shooter!" the masses say, clutching their well-worn N64 controller, wracked with guilt over not playing Quantum of Solace in 2008 or, worse, having played GoldenEye: Rogue Agent in 2004.

Allow me to squelch your rage with four simple words, angry mob: Blood Stone is fun.

The people behind Blood Stone and Goldeneye tell us how they brought Bond from the big screen.

Two new Bond games for the price of two.

Less like GoldenEye and more like a black eye for Bond fans.

Look, we're all curious what a Bizarre-crafted Bond game is gong to look like -- but we're going to have to wait just a little longer than we expected to satisfy that curiosity. When asked during an interview with VG247 whether a 007: Blood Stone demo would arrive on PSN and Xbox Live before the game's release, director Jeff Lewis replied, "unfortunately not."

Sure, it's kind of a bummer that we have to wait until the game's November 2 release date to try our hand at it, but we understand why Bizarre would want to keep a trial version of the game tabled. After all, it would be difficult for the demo to hide the major plot twist that Joss Stone is the Blood Stone, and is actually made of diamonds. Whoops!

In the words of designer Sandy Lockie, Bizarre Creations has "a fantastic pedigree" when it comes to racing games -- "just such a good fit for a Bond game." Lockie himself also has a fantastic pedigree for rad hair. Scraggly chin beard? That too.

How Blood Stone's pre-credits sequence could place it up with the series' best.

An interview with Bizarre Creations' Peter Collier about translating the big ideas into minute-to-minute gameplay.

We've never actually met a "henchman" before, but we sure hope they get a good health plan. If this James Bond 007: Blood Stone trailer is any indication, they're going to need a good doctor ... and an even better dentist.

It's an odd sensation for us to feel excited about a James Bond development these days, but it's hard for us not to get moderately pumped by this dev diary for Blood Stone. It's got shooting, punching and stunt driving? That's like a delicious salsa, only with awesome things instead of vegetables.

With veteran racing game developer Bizarre Creations at the helm of James Bond 007: Blood Stone, you might think there would be a heavy emphasis on driving in the next Bond adventure. Not so -- only about 20 percent of the game is played behind a steering wheel, Activision associate producer Michael O'Donnell told me during a recent preview event for the game. Most of Blood Stone is devoted to cover-based shooting and stealthy takedowns.

"This is the Bond event, if you will, of the year," O'Donnell proclaimed, perhaps as a friendly challenge to his Activision colleagues developing the GoldenEye remake (also due out this year). O'Donnell's words were backed up by the highly polished build of the game on hand at the event. I wasn't permitted to play the first area of the demo -- a jungle infiltration mission where Bond must gain entry to a massive base on the side of a steep cliff -- but I was almost grateful because, damn, there was a lot to just see.

With veteran racing game developer Bizarre Creations at the helm of James Bond 007: Blood Stone, you might think there would be a heavy emphasis on driving in the next Bond adventure. Not so -- only about 20 percent of the game is played behind a steering wheel, Activision associate producer Michael O'Donnell told me during a recent preview event for the game. Most of Blood Stone is devoted to cover-based shooting and stealthy takedowns.

"This is the Bond event, if you will, of the year," O'Donnell proclaimed, perhaps as a friendly challenge to his Activision colleagues developing the GoldenEye remake (also due out this year). O'Donnell's words were backed up by the highly polished build of the game on hand at the event. I wasn't permitted to play the first area of the demo -- a jungle infiltration mission where Bond must gain entry to a massive base on the side of a steep cliff -- but I was almost grateful because, damn, there was a lot to just see.

#clips Bizarre Creations' take on seminal super spy James Bond is looking better, bigger and just more Bond-like. Or so my recent hands-off time with the cinematic action game, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, at Gamescom made me think. More »

Your task isn't nearly as daunting as the one facing Bizarre's Bond in Blood Stone. The iconic spy is sent to Istanbul to intercept the sale of "mission-critical biotechnology," and is granted inevitably catastrophic permission to do so "by any means necessary." The only thing in Istanbul we don't feel sorry for is the drill on loan from Total Recall.

#clips When McWhertor got a second look at James Bond 007: Blood Stone last week in Germany he said the game may have won him over. More »

You know how you've always wanted to drive an Aston Martin on ice? Well, now you can.

Bizarre's Bond impresses on its latest outing.