It's not that I'm too disappointed, I just had more hope for an IP that had potential.
The Bourne Conspiracy for the Xbox 360 is essentially a run through of the 2002 movie The Bourne Identity. Why a different name, I'm not quite that sure. Whatever the motive, it seems that the game as a whole was an opportunity to cash in on the trilogy before everyone moves on to the next big thing.
The game takes liberties with the IP. Which is not that much of a surprise to those who've read the books. Once again there is no mention of Carlos, and little focus on the foundation/creation of Treadstone 71. While the movies don't follow the books at all there was an opportunity for Sierra to break some new ground with the IP, instead they played it safe and used most of the action sequences from the first movie as a foundation for the game and insight into the back story of Jason Bourne.
The real flaws in The Bourne Conspiracy rely within the decision not to invest heavily in the characters' assassin like approach to taking out targets. In this story Bourne has no devices and little to no intelligence. Instead of sneaking around enemies, you fight them head on; which for an assassin who's supposed to be "invisible" sounds...idiotic. Most if not all missions put you in the shoes of a run-and-gun suicidal hero, rather than a methodical, cold blooded assassin. This is a real disappointment, considering that Ubisoft has basically given out the blueprints on how to build a good stealth shooter with the Splinter Cell series.
Furthermore, the shooting mechanic is sub-par in comparison to todays FPS's. There's no way to focus for head shots, instead you have to eye it with the over the shoulder camera. Adding to the frustration, NPC's on the Assassin difficulty are not only marksman shots, but manage to hit you even when you're behind good cover.
The highlight of Conspiracy has to be the hand to hand combat. While it can get repetitive, Sierra did an excellent job of making the user feel like a bad ass while going toe to to with cronies and villains. With every landed punch and well timed shots you can increase you sense. Bank enough of this hyper sense ability and you can perform environmental takedowns on enemies. Some of these takedowns are straight out of the movies, others involve the environment and have a certain brutality about them that leaves the player satisfied.
Ultimately Conspiracy doesn't do enough well to merit a purchase. The lack of content straight from the literature that spawned the television movie in '88 and the three movies of late is a complete oversight. But if you're a fan of the Bourne books or movies and just can't get enough, then rent with a buyer beware like attitude. As The Bourne Conspiracy lacks the depth and feeling to keep you coming back for more.
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