Bond games. James Bond games. Agent 007 has had twenty-four feature films over the multiple decades with a twenty-fifth coming in the future; all featuring different actors in the role and adventures of many different styles and tones. It was the same with video games.
With a series as successful and massive as the James Bond franchise, videogame tie-ins were only an inevitability, and just like the movies, the games went on to spawn their own expansive history and roster. Some were direct adaptations of the films while others created their own unique stories, allowing the developers to spread their wings.
25 James Bond 007 (1983)
Developed by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and the Commodore 64, the first James Bond game ever made was based somewhat on the Diamonds Are Forever novel by Ian Fleming.
However, the game itself is nowhere near as complex or action-packed as the book or the movie it's based on. It's simply you controlling James Bond in his trusty car with a sidescrolling shooter game, destroying enemies, avoiding hazards, and with impressive graphics for an Atari game. Simple yet effective.
24 A View To A Kill (1985)
Adding more diversity to the gameplay, this game released two years later featured three different missions that had platforming, driving, and elements of puzzle-solving. Sounds perfect for a James Bond game, right?
Unfortunately, while this game for the MSX, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64 sports some impressive music and concepts, was plagued by some of the most awful, unintuitive, and broken controls that likely will make any new players turn it off after five minutes.
23 James Bond 007: A View To A Kill (1985)
Another game based on the Roger Moore film, this one embraces a Zork-styled interactive story game for the Apple II, MS-DOS, and the Macintosh that starts the player off in the Siberian mountains trying to find Agent 003.
Basically, the game features the same addictive qualities of games like Zork but it also features everything that can make that game frustrating. Objectives are not always 100% clear and it requires vast amounts of trial and error with many restarts. A fun game but newer gamer discretion is definitely advised.
22 James Bond 007: Goldfinger (1986)
From the same developers as A View To A Kill, it's the same exact kind of interactive story adventure game based on the Sean Connery film of the same name with all the same qualities and frustrations as the previous game.
So if someone really enjoys these kinds of games and wants another game to play after beating A View To A Kill, Goldfinger is the next game to boot up and enjoy.
21 James Bond: The Living Daylights (1987)
This game comes from Domark, the team behind the A View To A Kill platforming game mentioned previously. The Living Daylights swaps up the gameplay and controls to a simpler sidescrolling shooter rather than copying what they did before.
This change makes the game much better with controls that are easier to understand, the gameplay itself is fun yet challenging, and everything overall feels like an upgrade from the developers' previous attempt at a Bond game.
20 James Bond: Live And Let Die (1988)
Domark strikes again, only this time the game was originally intended as a game called Aquablast that had nothing to do with the James Bond franchise; one thing led to another, and Aquablast somehow was rebranded into Live And Let Die.
That history lesson is to explain why this game seems to have nothing Bond-like about it. It's just an average speed boat game with the player speeding down the river, avoiding hazards, and shooting things. It's a forgettable title.
19 007: Licence To Kill (1989)
It would seem that Domark were the go-to developers for James Bond games and it would also seem that they weren't given the best amount of time to finish a project. Licence To Kill is a fun game but it suffers from being criminally short.
Swapping to yet another style of gameplay, Domark made this game an overview shooter. It features some nice graphics but the lack of music makes the already repetitive gameplay feel dull, and the four levels can be beaten in minutes.
18 James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me (1990)
Shocking, Domark made this next entry which once again changes up the gameplay to an overhead vertical racing/shooter. Domark did not seem to learn from the past mistakes or were yet again under a time constraint to put out a Bond game once a year.
The graphics are adequate, the music is decent, but poor controls return once again leading to many frustrations in the gameplay. While not awful, everything about the game just feels so mediocre and less Bond-ish than previous games; it is not worth checking out.
17 James Bond 007: The Stealth Affair (1990)
A new developer finally gets in on the James Bond craze with a point and click adventure game in the same vein as Monkey Island or King's Quest games. It also decides to do something original instead of just basing itself on one of the movies or books.
The Stealth Affair by Interplay has appealing graphics, an intriguing set of puzzles and mysteries, along with fun gameplay. However, Bond fans might be confused since the character works for the CIA in this story and if one does not care for point and click games, this game does nothing different to change that.
16 James Bond Jr. (1992)
Based on an animated spin-off of the character about his nephew, James Bond Jr. is technically two different games on two different consoles that follow the same story.
The version on NES mixes platforming and puzzle elements in a much better way than previous games attempted while the SNES counterpart is more of a shooter game. The SNES version is often considered the superior version for having less than original gameplay but fun nonetheless.
15 James Bond 007: The Duel (1993)
For every reader that is tired of seeing the name Domark appear, do not fret for this was their last attempt at making James Bond into a videogame, and unfortunately, other than the impressive graphics, they did not go out on a high note.
To give credit where it is due, it is impressive that Domark never once copied and pasted their own games with a new coat of paint to make a quick buck. Every game featured new gameplay and that concludes here with a very average platformer with mediocre levels and gameplay.
14 GoldenEye 007 (1997)
This is the entry everyone will be looking forward to and for good reason: GoldenEye is often ranked up by fans with the likes of Doom, Half-Life, and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare as one of the most revolutionary titles in the first-person shooter genre.
The smooth and nearly flawless shooter mechanics, the highly acclaimed multiplayer mode, and impressive graphics made for one of the successful Nintendo 64 titles ever made and what is often considered the best James Bond game ever made.
13 James Bond 007 (1998)
How do you follow up on the third highest-grossing game for the N64? Isn't it obvious? A Legend Of Zelda clone starring James Bond for the Nintendo GameBoy! And a surprisingly impressive one at that.
Though this game came very late into the GameBoy's lifespan, one might be shocked to hear that this puzzle adventure game in the nearly identical style of Link's Awakening is actually an underrated gem for the handheld device. If one likes Zelda games, this game is definitely worth checking out.
12 Tomorrow Never Dies (1999)
The true follow up to GoldenEye was EA Games' Tomorrow Never Dies which was based on the actual GoldenEye movie follow up. It, unfortunately, followed the same pattern as the movies with Tomorrow Never Dies ending up a disappointing sequel.
The fluid first-person controls were replaced with awkward third-person tank controls, repetitive gameplay, and the praised multiplayer mode was simply gone in this game. Also, despite the game coming out two years later, the graphics were not that impressive, even for a PlayStation title.
11 The World Is Not Enough (2000)
Continuing to follow the pattern of the movies, The World Is Not Enough for N64 is a much superior game to Tomorrow Never Dies since it features the return to a first-person perspective with fun gameplay that's not near the same level as GoldenEye but still entertaining as a whole.
However, what holds the game back is the lack of innovation to the controls, the returning multiplayer is nowhere near the same level as GoldenEye's, and a completely awful port for the PlayStation.
10 007 Racing (2000)
Yes, this happened because every famous franchise was attempting to cash in on the racing craze that Mario Kart 64 had started which resulted in easily one of the worst James Bond games ever made.
Ugly graphics, slow and sluggish gameplay, shooting enemies feels like a chore that quickly becomes boring, and everything just feels like a poor man's version of better games out at the time like Destruction Derby 2 and Need For Speed. It's better to just pass this one by.
9 James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001)
Bond made the jump to PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube with this original game by EA not based on any movie. Learning from their mistakes, EA added more variety to the gameplay, new gadgets to the arsenal, and driving missions.
The multiplayer returned once again and with all the new mechanics and gameplay, it nearly reached the same level as GoldenEye. This shows that EA is indeed capable of listening to what fans want and that would continue with this game's sequel.
8 James Bond 007: Nightfire (2002)
When it comes to the fans, there are three games that usually compete for what fans consider the best of the series: GoldenEye, Everything Or Nothing, and Nightfire. Both are excellent games in the eyes of fans and it's easy to see why some might consider Nightfire to be the ultimate Bond game.
This game was the first to actually make the player feel like they are experiencing an interactive Bond movie: it features the iconic gun-barrel sequence, a pre-title action level, an intro with a song straight out of the movies, and combine this with even better gameplay than Agent Under Fire, it's definitely deserving of its praise.
7 James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing (2004)
Since EA had done everything they could to perfect the first person angle for Bond games, they decided to change things up for their next title: Everything Or Nothing. This time, the game puts focus on intense and fun cover-based third-person shooting and driving missions.
Though fans had become accustomed to the GoldenEye formula, this game was reviewed very well and is one of EA's highest-rated James Bond game. The likes of Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, and Judi Dench are just icing on a delicious cake.
6 GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004)
With each game, EA seemed to be taking one step forward but with Rogue Agent, they took several giant leaps backward by having no James Bond in the game but instead, the main character is an ex-MI6 agent who betrays the organization to work for the iconic Goldfinger.
Combine the overuse of fan service with boring gameplay and the result is a confusing mess that feels like it should have been a new game but instead got 007 plastered on the cover to make more money off the IP.