The demo I played around with concentrated on some decent driving mechanics -- taking that gorgeous 60s silver Aston Martin for a spin was a dream come true -- along with third-person stealth and run 'n gun elements too. It's important to note that EoN never mixed these gameplay styles together. Each level of EoN was either driving, stealth or on-foot action -- but EA has seen fit this time around to blend all of these components in each level. It makes for a more dynamic and interesting experience in the long run.
My level started out with a cut scene depicting Bond and another gent finding themselves as scapegoats to an attempted hit on the Russians. The Russians didn't really like this, and start to pursue Bond on a lengthy car chase. Luckily, Q has decked out the car with front-facing machineguns, rocket launchers and those trusty tire-popping blades for close encounters.
The driving mechanics were pretty cool -- although having just got done with an extended demo of Burnout Revenge it took a few moments for me to slide into the groove with the car's handling, acceleration and cornering. All was good after a few donuts and crashes, and I was soon speeding along nailing baddies like a pro. I found the lock-on rockets to be the best method of disposal for the enemy cars, although the spinning wheel blades proved very handy more than once.
After some GTA-style navigation around a lovely rendered city, I wound up at a set of heavy locked gates behind which a large military tank sat. Jumping out of the car, the game switched pace to some great on-foot action where I was able to check out the excellent focus mode. Focus mode essentially allows Bond to zoom in and target key kill zones on an enemy soldier. It kind of represents the fact that he's a super-spy with mad skills, and therefore fits very well into the game.
Once in focus mode, you can move you little yellow crosshair over any part of the enemy's body to go for a quick kill. Using his trusty Walther PPK silenced pistol, I was able to command Bond to quickly rid the world of four or five henchmen in a minute or less. As I forged my way ahead in an attempt to take out the menacing tank, I used the cool grappling hook gadget which was triggered in a context sensitive manner after I approached a wall. Bond zipped up the line and was on a rooftop facing more bad guys.
