"Welcome to my lair Mr Cord/Bond/Snake. Prepare to Die!"

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fantastic graphics, nice SFX, some good voice acting, tense gameplay.

Cons: Occasionally too difficult, awkward use of camera angles

The Bottom Line: 
It's no Metal Gear Solid but I was engaged until the credits rolled. If you like puzzle and stealth games I recommend you give this title a chance.

Author's Review
And die you will. Often.

Not many reviewers begin their Epinions with the game's main criticism but I've always enjoyed shaking things up a bit. What a rebel. Plus I really want to get the short comings of this title out the way so I can concentrate on the good stuff. Of which there is a surprising large amount.

But where was I......oh yes, riddled with bullets having failed to creep up on a guard. Or sliced to pieces by a Giant Mech. Or capped by bulletproof robots. The list goes on.

This game has the capacity to be extremely unforgiving, and I've been killed by my fair share of games! This problem is caused, to a large extent by ICB's desire to be both the next Bond Film AND a challenging Metal Gear clone. That's an awful lot of ambition for a new title. But where the game gets muddy is also where it gets interesting so let's get down to business.

Story -
In essence you play John Cord a British spy who begins the adventure imprisoned in a cell, in the process of being tortured and interrogated. Nice. The playable missions that expand from this point are all lived out in the mind of Cord as he attempts to work out who betrayed him. Intriguing stuff. I loved the concept. It has that 'start in the middle and work backward' feel that can flip a plot upside down. But from this point onwards the twists and turns become a little bit predictable, in a bond/B-movie way.

Characters/ voice-overs -
I've never really been a fan of voice in games; for the most part it has almost without exception been poorly employed and has detracted from the action (Metal Gear Solid standing as my only exception - the review will come guys and girls, have no fear!). ICB harbours both a great lead and some tiresome support acting. John Cord's dry British tone works well, enhancing the tense feel of the game and fleshing out his character. But his Chinese counterpart almost forced me to turn the sound off!!! Overall the parts are played out well, and although it's hard to muster a connection with any individual, they work well in the environment. Which brings me to the high point of ICB.........

GRAPHICS/ FMV's -
Yes. I unashamedly buy the occasional game purely on its look and ICB is no exception. I'd read a handful of reviews before purchasing, most of which attacked the difficulty and gameplay (more later) but all of which said ICB looked great. They were spot on.
The backgrounds are sumptuous and the character sprites merge well with the environment. From a snow covered mountain base at sunset to low-lit subterranean scenes of devastation, the game delivers beautiful eye candy. The FMV's are also great, especially the tension building appearance of the killer Mech. My only problem here is that, at times, the playing areas are so big and the camera's perspective so far from Cord that it can be a bit of an eye-strain. It's a minor concern though.

SFX/Music -
One of the nice aspects of ICB, although not groundbreaking, is the absence of scene music. In a Resident Evil-fashion my adrenaline was largely pumping through the fact that the majority of in-game atmosphere comes from the whirling motors, echoing footsteps, rushing water etc. But the joy here is definitely the sound of pistol dispensing some justice and your shell casings hitting the floor.

Gameplay -
Some reviewers, as I mentioned earlier, were unnecessarily hard on ICB, because of its sporadic trickiness. I appreciate a challenge and having played a fair number of pre-PSX point-and-click PC games I found myself enjoying the taxing puzzle solving elements of ICB. But there were moments when I was stumbling around, looking for something to open a door and nothing could be found. As far as the stealth play works, the controls are fairly simple to pick up. And with the use of your Remora (a fancy wristwatch that also doubles as a powerful computer) you can keep a track of game details, pull up maps of the area you are in, hack into almost anything and, occasionally contact allies. It is an aspect of the game that could have been better used, (the 'communication' aspect being virtually pointless) and at times becomes quite irritating. Never being able to upgrade your weapon, or get new gear was both a pro and a con. It kept the game on a basic 'raw tools' path but didn't allow that sense of customisation that other games deliver.

ICB is a linear adventure. It pushes through the story, at times frustrating you but more often than not with pace and excitement. I loved it for all its quirks. It's not ground-breaking but it'll give you an enjoyable play and if any gamer can honestly tell me they don't get a rush when they burst into a foyer and despatch 4 guards, then they're lying.