Blood Stone: How All Games Should Start

I don't have a lot of time to play games for fun these days, so when I do sit down with a new game it's important that it grips me right away. I don't want long drawn out tutorials, hard-to-follow stories, or overly-complex controls – I want action. I want all of my games to start off as exciting as James Bond 007: Blood Stone.

Pay attention, developers, this is how a video game should begin:

The world's leaders are in Athens for the G-20 summit. Unbeknownst to them, there's a plot to set off a bomb during the group photo shoot. After a failed attempt to convince local authorities to intervene, “M” (played by Judi Dench) places a hurried call to James Bond (played by Daniel Craig). The plane's pilot quickly changes course, and moments later Bond jumps out of the airplane and lands on the deck of the bad guy's yacht.

By this point I'm itching for the game to put me in control. It's on.

As 007, I use my silenced pistol to take out a few foot soldiers as I make my way across the boat in search of a bomb. I stalk my targets from the safety of cover and deliver headshot after headshot, with an occasional close-quarters takedown thrown in for good measure. It's not long before I come face-to-face with the criminal mastermind, Greco, who calls in his guards to buy him time to make an escape. A helicopter peppers the lounge area with gunfire, and by the time I make it onto the deck Greco is on another boat. He fires a rocket in my direction and takes off.

He's not going to get away that easy.

A cutscene is triggered and Bond leaps off of the yacht, onto a speedboat. He casually shoves the now former-owner aside and takes off after Greco. In the blink of an eye, I'm back at the controls racing through the harbor. I navigate the choppy water as best I can as bullets, mist, and wood from splintered docks rain down. I squeeze off a few shots and buy myself a bit of breathing room – but not much. Seconds later I steer under a hydrofoil, dodge a falling lighthouse, take out a helicopter, and just when Greco thinks he's lost me, crash my boat right next to him.

The pursuit is now back on land at what appears to be a swanky hotel. Bikini-clad women scurry for cover as I make my way through the pool area with guns blazing. I pay them little attention – I'm on a mission. A brief skirmish results in a number of cars sustaining smalls amounts of bullet and fire damage, and then finally, I catch Greco and ask him where the bomb is. An SUV squeals away and Bond does what any self-respecting secret agent would do – he takes the nearest Aston Martin and hits the gas.

I weave through oncoming traffic, my eyes glued to the road and my mind focused solely on preventing the bomb from reaching its target. I marvel at how impressive the driving is, and then I remember that the game was developed by Bizarre Creations of Project Gotham Racing and Blur fame. Yep, they know what they're doing. Just as the SUV reaches a bridge, I seize an opening and ram the car. The vehicle flips multiple times and explodes.

Later, Bond shares a drink and some witty dialogue with M as they reflect on a job well done. Finally, it's time for the intro song and video. Joss Stone's “I'll Take it All” isn't my favorite Bond song ever, but, when combined with the stylish visuals it gets me pumped up for more action.

[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oykkoRHOUAc ]

The tune ends and the next scene begins. As expected, we're shown a beautiful woman lying in bed and an empty bottle of champagne on the night stand. Before I get the chance to wonder why I didn't get to play that part of the game, the phone rings. It's M, and it's time to get back to work.

This is how you start a video game.