James Bond is in Good Hands (we think?) ► Ludology Now!

Christopher J. Teuton, the normal author of Ludology Now!, has not been seen since leaving the Bonus Action offices last week, screaming loudly about “idea thieves” and clutching his script for Recapture The Matrix tightly against his chest with both arms.

At 11:59 PM on Sunday, July 6, a brick was thrown through the window of our Editor-in-Chief’s office. Wrapped around that brick, secured tightly with what appeared to be telephone cable, was the following message:

I wish we knew more about 007: First Light at this point. It’s still too soon to tell what that game will actually be like. I trust IO Interactive, more than most companies, but only to a point. They have excelled with Hitman: World of Assassination, but this is the same developer who brought us the Kane and Lynch series. IOI published Mindseye. The track record is not spotless.

Even with those reservations, Hitman: World of Assassination (which is the full title that encompasses Hitman (2016), Hitman 2 (2018), Hitman 3 (2021), and Hitman: Freelancer (2023), along with Elusive Targets and a bunch of DLC ranging from excellent to unnecessary) is one of my favorite releases of the past decade. I can’t think of a single game from 2016 that I’m still excited to see new content in.

Let’s see if I’m forgetting something. What games came out in 2016 that I actually played? Google says…

DOOM (2016)

Haven’t played that since Eternal came out.

Dark Souls III

My least favorite Dark Souls game. Only beat it three times.

The Last Guardian

Haven’t played it since.

Firewatch

Last played in 2017 for a YouTube video.

No Man’s Sky

I’ve tried to get into this here and there over the years. Might be my most “Install, play, uninstall, repeat in one year” game ever. Doesn’t count here.

Superhot

Good, replayable, but they made a sequel with different levels. Also doesn’t count.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

This game is fine. Hbomberguy told you why, I don’t need to reiterate it.

Mafia III

Love the Mafia series. Love the story of this game. Love Lincoln Clay. Hate the repetitive base takeovers with all my heart. Have not replayed.

Pokémon GO

To the polls.

Street Fighter V

There’s a Street Fighter VI now and it’s excellent, no need for this.

I’m sure there’s more, this is just what Google shows for the most notable game releases of 2016, and I think it proves my point well enough. Let’s move on.

I like what IO Interactive did with Hitman’s Le Chiffre Elusive Target, but really all of Hitman: World of Assassination has been a job application for the James Bond franchise.

Lately, I’ve been going back and playing through all the Mission Stories I skipped in each level. On my first playthrough (and second, and usually third) I tended to avoid the Mission Stories, which are basically guided walkthroughs on how to set up the more meticulous and involved assassinations. To me, as someone who started playing with the original Hitman and Silent Assassin, this felt too hand-holdy.

Now that I’m so familiar with the levels, and so used to the way that I personally like doing things, the Mission Stories are great. It’s fun to see which of them I already discovered organically, and which I had no idea even existed. In Hitman 2’s Miami level, I discovered the way to make everyone explode on the winner’s platform on my second-ever playthrough with no guidance. However, I had no idea I could get Robert shot accidentally by using a picture of him on the robot. Genius.

I’ve spent hundreds of hours in Hitman: Freelancer alone. I am not an unbiased opinion here. I am fully biased in favor of IOI. But, honestly, I can’t think of another developer that I would want James Bond to be associated with. This is the best option. Plus, they gave Bond his scar, which I think is the first time I’ve seen anyone – live action or video game – get that detail right from the books.

For what it’s worth, I also think Denis Villeneuve is a great choice for the next Bond movie. That man got me to care about Dune enough to watch two movies, and I’ve never cared for Dune at all. I can’t wait to see what he does with an IP I actually know about.

And then put a YouTube embed for the song In The Summertime by Shaggy & Rayvon.

All of us on the Bonus Action editorial team would like Chris to know that he is welcome to use the door during business hours, and that his pay (which he has yet to collect from last week) will be reduced to account for the cost of our EiC’s window.

Chris, if you are reading this, you really need to come back to work.