Years ago it was all so simple. A movie came out and then someone (usually Ocean) released a game that apart from the name, cover art and a vague resemblance to the hero of the piece had very little to do with the actual movie and more often than not was a carbon copy of every other film tie in. Now things have changed though, and the line between game and film has drawn even smaller with characters, voices and plots lifted directly from the film.

The latest Bond game goes one better - it uses the character we all know and places him in a brand new adventure that would easily be at home on a DVD player as opposed to a console. From the very beginning it's noticeable that no expense has been spared putting this together as a real extension of the Bond universe. Bond is Bond with the likeness to Pierce being helped by the fact that he voices the character. Judi Dench and John Cleese voice M and Q respectively, Willem Dafoe, Heidi Klum, Shannon Elizabeth, Mya and Richard (Jaws) Kiel add their vocal talent to create what has to be the biggest, best and most expensive cast in a game yet.

   

EA have taken Bond away from the First Person Shooter of his past couple of outings and instead placed him in what is best described as third person action. This firstly allows for the likeness of Pierce to always be present and secondly opens up for a much more film-like pace and feel to the whole thing. The style of play is much different to the other Bond games. You can run around and fire your guns like a loon but that's just not how Bond does things. Using a rather clever and easy to use control layout you spend your time running from cover to cover. Be it hugging the wall or crouching behind crates your progression through the levels is not as fast paced as you may be expecting. Once in cover you can target your opponent and pop out and take your shots when you have said target in your sites. It may not sound great on paper but it plays exquisitely and once you get the hang of the controls the gun battles really do seem to be straight from a Hollywood action blockbuster.

The controls however do take some getting used to. Right trigger fires your equipped weapon, left selects (and cycles through) your chosen target. There is a button to duck and a button to wall hug - others are for throwing punches (for when the bullets run out) or changing gadgets and guns. To start with it's all rather cumbersome but after awhile you do get the hang of it. Soon you will be running from pillar to post (literally) and picking off the bad guys one by one. You can even use the right thumb stick to tweak your aim and go for a handy (but difficult to achieve) head shot. These come in handy as ammo is rather limited.

   

Other than the tricky to learn controls there is also a slightly fiddly targeting system. The left thumb stick is supposed to cycle and choose targets and for most of the time it works fine - however one problem we are familiar with in third-person games is the camera and with Bond it's no different. Mostly it's fine with clever level design negating the need for the camera being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but on occasion you find yourself being shot at by an enemy who is behind or off camera - and it's here that the targeting becomes a nightmare with the game failing to target those enemies you cannot see, vital seconds and a fair amount of health is lost whilst you fight to bring them into view. As I said this does not happen too often, which is probably why it's so frustrating when it does.

Bond being Bond though, it's not just about guns. As in the films you have a wide array of clever gadgets to use as you go about your mission. There are of course the ubiquitous night vision goggles, but Bond also has toys such as the grapple which allows you to run up and down walls and the 'Q spider', a small remote controlled gadget that allows access to small and hidden locations. Your use of these gadgets add up to how much like Bond you are and the more like him you are the more you score. Why waste 100 bullets on a room of bad guys when one shot on an explosive canister will take them all out so much quicker? It's all about style and playing in a manner becoming of a 00 agent - going all guns blazing will soon see you dead as the AI seems to be very well tuned and uses the cover very well.

   

Another great feature of the third person view is how it enables you to do so much more. The grapple is a perfect example. Run yourself of a steep drop and instead of plummeting to your doom you will find yourself rappelling down - as you go you can still attack and are able to move sideways as you go. Not only can you do this but so can the enemies - the first gunfight you have going down the side of a building really is a "wow" moment. One thing that makes this so good is just how well it looks and feels. Just wait until you experience the sections where you have to freefall after a falling girl or face countless bad guys abseiling down at you in the mines to see what I'm on about.

One final piece of the game is the driving section and here it looks better than ever. Using what seems to be the same engine used in the recent Need for Speed: Underground the vehicle levels no longer just feel bolted on. They are smooth and they are fast with all the vehicles having just as many guns and gadgets as in the on foot levels. There is also a good selection of vehicles (including a very nice Motorbike) to speed around on.

   

Everything or Nothing really is a great little package. Each level can be played in a number of different ways with them all having numerous paths through them, this along with the scoring system and the rewards given for bigger and better scores really gives incentive for replay. The levels are brilliantly designed and look gorgeous. The graphics are very, very good, moving fast and having a great amount of detail - this being Bond there are explosions, shattering glass and numerous fires along with some very fancy lighting effects. The sound is just the icing on the cake. It's not just the brilliant voice acting which adds so much to the whole experience. Those with a full 5.1 system will get that "being there" feeling once the volume is cranked up, and the huge amount of bass present in the explosions gives probably the best I have experienced in a game. Everything about this game oozes quality and presence of Hollywood is ever present.

One final touch is the multi-player mode. Here you and a friend take the role of agents and play co-operatively through different missions than in the single player game. Due to the way the game plays and the controls you do get a real sense that you are helping each other out. You are able to provide cover as your team mate progresses and then leap from position as he returns the favour. Anyone wanting to be a part of the recent SAS TV shows will be over the moon here.

Anyone who wants a great action blast with all the trappings of the big screen could do far worse than pick this up.