007 First Light Tech Review: Ray-traced James Bond tested with 25 GPUs and 18 CPUs
With 007 First Light, Hitman developer IO Interactive delivers an entertaining mix of stealth, smart gadgets and explosive action. The foundation is their modernized Glacier Engine—time to examine the game's ray tracing implementation and both CPU and GPU performance.
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James Bond is back. After a long licensing-related hiatus, the MI6 agent returns to duty on PC and consoles. IO Interactive, the Danish studio behind the successful Hitman series, secured the rights to the franchise. In addition, the developers have extensively modernized their in-house graphics technology, the Glacier Engine, for the charismatic secret agent and equipped it with a range of new technical features.
The owners of the James Bond franchise, Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, had reportedly been dissatisfied with the often very action-heavy and linear video game adaptations. After 007 Legends was released in 2012, Activision, the previous sole license holder, lost its exclusive rights. IO Interactive, however, had its own take on the MI6 agent and began pitching its own gameplay concept in 2021. The effort proved successful: With a focus on the character created by author Ian Fleming and made famous by numerous films, carefully reimagined for First Light, along with believable espionage work and various gameplay-driven approaches to problem solving, IO Interactive was granted the rights to develop its own adaptation.
For IO Interactive, 007 First Light marks the beginning of a new game series. It is therefore fitting that the studio starts at the very beginning and tells the origin story of MI6 agent 007. At the start of the game, James Bond is 26 years old and is portrayed and voiced by Patrick Gibson. The opening sequence throws him into a mission that has gone badly wrong. As the only survivor, Bond has to face a heavily armed terrorist group and bring the operation back under control. This tutorial mission introduces the basic controls as well as several gameplay mechanics added for First Light, which help distinguish it from the Hitman series. Bond can climb ledges, leap across gaps and vault over obstacles, giving the game light parkour elements. In that respect, 007 First Light is reminiscent of the Uncharted series.
The opening mission also introduces us to its protagonist, and with the way IO Interactive places the character and his development at the center. You are not a special agent, not an infallible spy, not an assassin already equipped with the official license to kill. At the start of the game, you are a simple air force soldier of the Royal Navy, a trainee aboard the crashed transport helicopter that was supposed to bring an SAS team into action. But you are the only survivor, the only hope of still bringing the botched mission to a successful conclusion. And so, under the guidance of your MI6 handler Moneypenny, portrayed and voiced in the game by Kiera Lester, you must first prove yourself and earn your spurs. The growth, the character development of the young James Bond, including a modern, contemporary touch, is therefore one of the narrative focal points of 007 First Light.
Source: PCGH
Young, charming, loyal and driven by a certain anarchic idealism. IO Interactive's James Bond is modern yet familiar. The game also takes the time to develop the character and make the protagonist grow on you.
The game also relies on a mix of mission areas in which, and this is where its Hitman DNA becomes apparent, various solution paths are open to you, from sneaking to clever gadget use, disguises and making use of the environment, up to full-blown shootouts. This type of mission structure alternates with linear set pieces, explosive scripted sequences and chases involving various vehicles, which are intended to inject pace, spectacle and urgency into the campaign.
Source: PCGH
007 First Light is considerably deeper than many earlier James Bond games. However, flashy action sequences, fiery explosions and a spectacular finale are, of course, still part of the agent's line of work.
As befits a prospective Double-O agent, your mission takes you to locations across the globe. In addition to Iceland and the UK, as well as the headquarters of MI6 leader M, played by Pryanga Burford, and the test laboratory of the eccentric Q, played by Alistair Mackenzie, the adventure takes you to Slovakia, Antarctica, Mauritania and Vietnam, among other places. Along the way, you encounter a large number of other popular James Bond personalities as well as new characters, all of whom are portrayed by well-known actors, including Lenny Kravitz, Gemma Chan, Noémi Nakai and Lenny James. The digitized actors deliver convincing performances throughout and give the characters personality. The voice-over, however, is available exclusively in English; multilingual audio tracks are not available. Only the menu language and subtitles can be selected.
Source: PCGH
Well-known actors and first-class voice acting, although the only available audio track is British English. Seen here is Lennie James, known among other roles from the streaming series The Walking Dead, as the digitized MI6 instructor John Greenway.
For the reboot of James Bond, for the newly interpreted origin story of the Double-O agent with the license to kill, IO Interactive has not only focused on the strengths of the Hitman series, along with new and expanded gameplay mechanics and a retold story. The Danish developers have also extensively revised the Glacier Engine used for the game and, in particular, changed the entire lighting pipeline. In the following, we take a closer look at the game's technical features of 007 First Light, the upgraded Glacier Engine.
