Finding the Humor in 007 First Light’s Patch Notes
As I delved into the launch patch notes for Io Interactive’s 007 First Light, I had high hopes of uncovering some prime material for James Bond-worthy quips. You know, the kind where Bond dispatches a villain with a skillet and delivers a pun like “I always suspected you were… small fry.” Or perhaps when Bond eliminates an adversary during an egg-and-spoon race and quips, “You’re cracking me up, my dear sir.”
Unfortunately, my expectations were not met. Io Interactive’s first hotfix primarily addresses routine yet crucial crash bugs. Fixes include preventing a crash during a cutscene involving Bond and Moneypenny entering an elevator. “Elevator crash bug” – really? Do elevators crash too? Perhaps I should reconsider my mode of transportation.
For the complete patch notes, click here. Developers have also rectified an issue where guards in chapter 6 skipped initial dialogue and immediately started shooting Bond in the head, robbing him of the chance to unleash his witticisms. Additionally, the game no longer crashes when leaving M’s office in chapter 2, and Bond won’t inadvertently send NPCs through walls or make them vanish while obstructing their path. Maybe there’s a good quip to be made about that last one. But it’s late on a Friday afternoon, and my creativity is waning.
Io Interactive has also published a list of Known Issues, some of which are quite serious. A startup failure problem linked to the game defaulting to your integrated graphics card has players seeking workarounds. HDR may deactivate upon exiting the game, requiring manual reactivation. Some players are encountering issues with autosave, receiving repeated “Save Failed” notifications even before starting a game.
“Agent Edwin, what’s the RPS verdict on the stealthy action rollercoaster lurking beneath these bugs?” you demand eagerly, akin to an impatient Judi Dench. Regrettably, our 007 First Light review is still in progress, with Mark’s tuxedo bearing witness to the intensity of the gameplay. The consensus seems to lean towards this being a solid Bond game, though not quite as captivating as Io’s Hitman series. While awaiting Mark’s assessment, feel free to peruse his musings on watches.
