The Bourne Conspiracy

Wow, Jason Bourne can kick some serious ass! Capturing the spirit of the movies, Bourne Conspiracy makes you gape in astonishment as everyone’s favorite assassin slams skulls off walls, jams screwdrivers through body parts, and generally busts out the kind of clobberin’ time that’d put a Marvel superhero to shame. You won’t even care that he’s not Matt Damon, but you will eventually care that the thrill of it all fades as the game marches on.

Still, Bourne Conspiracy is that rarest of feats — a movie-based game that’s genuinely worth playing. And unlike the films, which sometimes have contemplative “hush, we’re telling a story” moments, this game is an all-out action assault. It does two things superbly — dramatic, cinematic camerawork and visceral, vicious combat. The brawls are super-intense, and we dare you not to wince the first time you charge up a take-down move, which prompts Bourne to slam his foe into the nearest object — microwave, neon light, coffee table, you name it. The variety and brutality of these moves makes for awesome spectacle.

The game does a wonderful job of framing it all with a well-crafted camera that adeptly mimics the movies’ signature style. We wish, though, that Bourne Conspiracy backed up these strong points with more depth. There are two attack buttons and a block button…and that’s it. Inevitably, the combat, even the combos you can string together, grows rote after a while — only the take-downs stay consistently fresh and fun throughout. The shooting sequences and lone driving level (red Mini Cooper!) are similarly uninspired — they’re far from bad, but they’re the kind of vanilla “stop, pop, and drop” we’ve all plowed through before.

The boss fights, though, are the aggravating salt in the wound. These sequences are incessantly interrupted with useless quick-time events that make them drag on too long, and the later bosses fire off rapid moves that, frustratingly, you can’t match. Since they take damage way more slowly than you do, your pleas for mercy — or at least a reasonably quick resolution — will not be answered.

Here’s what it all boils down to: Bourne Conspiracy screams weekend rental. It isn’t a one-trick pony, but it has three or four moves at best — enough to truly impress you for a while, but not enough to compel most of you to punch, kick, and shoot all the way to the end of the game.