Enemies themselves can take quite a few shots and still thrive, though a single headshot will still instantly bring them down as is they were nimble zombies. . Taking cover and trading fire is a lot of fun, though choice of cover is important as things like wooden boxes and railings splinter and break away under gunfire and will force you to either find new cover…or die. Of course this also goes for the enemy and woe to the mook that takes cover behind a bookcase with Jason holding a shotgun. Takedowns can also be executed while in a firefight as long as Jason has enough adrenaline. By pressing B and then pressing the corresponding button that appears on screen will cause Jason to spin around and unload a perfect shot that drops the enemy.

The game uses quick events quite often, from reacting to events in the game to having Jason defend himself against incoming enemy melee hits. Failing these events however often has major consequences in the form of dying instantly, losing all of your adrenaline, or taking a large amount of damage. It can be incredibly frustrating when you accidentally hit the wrong button and automatically fail the mission and get sent back to the last checkpoint, which usually happens when you are not expecting a quick event to appear. It is even more frustrating once you realize that checkpoints do not save adrenaline or weapon information, and so even though you had a shotgun and a full bar of adrenaline at that point in the game you suddenly find yourself without either upon load.

The game delivers an intensity that practically forces not only the player but anyone who happens to wander by your display to drag over a chair and watch. Strategic players will trade fire with a group of enemies, and when one remains and takes cover to reload you can bum rush him and engage him in melee. In the embassy level Jason will run down hallways as gunfire absolutely wrecks everything around him which makes for a breathless experience. The game never really loses this intensity, which is for the better as this quality is one of the game’s strongest qualities.

Through the game there is a lot of attention to detail. The environments are filled with their own objects and sound effects, the former of which usually break apart under gunfire causing more of the latter. As both Jason and the enemies take damage they get bloodied up and generally look like they have been in a knock down, drag out fist fight. The music is atmospheric and moody when there isn’t combat, quickly turning to a high-action orchestral score when Jason is trading fire and blows in a target-rich environment. The pre-rendered cutscenes feature much more detailed character models that are unfortunately much more robotic in nature, but not to the point that they look completely animatronic.

Take any thoughts of how the game is based on a movie out of your head, as The Bourne Conspiracy is a compelling action game built on mostly solid gameplay ideas. It’s not an easy game but it is definitely a rewarding one, and what flaws it does have are overcame by how often you can do things like stabbing a guy with a screwdriver.

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