Summary
It’s no surprise that an action movie series featuring a charismatic British secret service agent has resulted in numerous video games. Much like the films, theJames Bondgames have spanned multiple decades. In fact, industry giants EA produced nine 007 games before the reins were passed to Activision. The latter has since published four games, starting with007: Quantum of Solacein 2008.
Like most series with a plethora of entries, there have been some instant classics and quite a few absolute stinkers. Let’s take a look at thebest games thatBond, James Bondhas to offer, according to Metacritic.
Updated June 03, 2025:This article has been updated with eachBond game’s specifications.
When EA announced its nextJames BondgameGoldenEye: Rogue Agent, not many players would’ve predicted that they wouldn’t be playing asJames Bondat all.Rouge Agentinstead has players taking the role of a villain named GoldenEye, who has left the MI6 to work for Goldfinger. A decision likely made due to the next James Bond actor being unknown, following Pierce Brosnan leaving the series in 2002 afterDie Another Day.
Although the title suggests that it may be a sequel to Rare’s classic 1997 gameGoldenEye 007,the two games have no connection. In this game, GoldenEye is the codename of the playable character who is given a literal golden eye after he is shot by Dr. No. This eye isn’t just for show though, it has multiple abilities. From being able to see enemies through walls, to forming a bullet-deflecting shield.
With no famous Bond villains and minimal gadgets at the player’s disposal,Blood Stonefocuses less on fan service and more on simply being an impressive cover-based shooter. The game is short, with most players seeing the credits roll after just 5 hours. Though it does manage to cram a lot of content into this time. From multiple locations, including Istanbul and Bangkok, to visually stunning and action-packed driving sections featuring Bond’s iconic Aston Martin.
Blood Stonealso features an impressive cast of voice actors, with Daniel Craig and Judi Dench playing their corresponding characters. While Joss Stone not only performs the game’s theme song but also voices a key character, Nicole Hunter.
Whereas mostBond gamesare in first-person,From Russia With Love separates itself from the crowd by being third-person. Similar toBlood Stone,From Russia With Lovehas an impressive cast of voice actors. With Natasha Bedingfield joining Sean Connery who reprises his iconic role.
From Russia With Love’smain strength is its bonus content. With a split-screenmultiplayer modethat the franchise is famous for and 4 unlockable bonus missions to add to the main stories 14.
Players wanting a Bond game in the style ofCall of Dutywere in luck with 2008’sQuantum of Solace. The movie tie-in was developed by Treyarch, who releasedCall of Duty: World at Warthe same year.
Treyarch did throw one interesting feature into the mix though. With athird-person cover systembeing added to the primarily first-person game. Along with allowing players to see the impressive Daniel Craig character model, the cover system ensured that the game didn’t feel like aJames BondDLC forWorld at War.Something that it was always in danger of.
Agent Under Firedoes an excellent job of doing what all games in the series should. It makes players feel likethey areJames Bondthrough its multitude of gadgets, driving sections featuring 007’s Aston Martin, and the iconic Golden Gun that is used for the action-packed gunfights.
Unfortunately, the game is held back by its short campaign, whichcan be completed in just 4 hours. Along with a fiddly aiming mechanic that dampens the otherwise solid gameplay.
Nightfirefeatures the most ambitious campaign in the series, with the over-the-top action that the Bond movies are famous for. Missions include a gunfight in space and an underwater driving section that sees Bond’s Aston Martin transforming into a rocket-firing submarine.
Similar to the series' iconicGoldenEye 007,Nightfire’smain strength is themultiplayer mode. With well-designed maps and an excellent cast of characters to play as. Including Jaws, Oddjob, and Nick Nack.
After 13 years, Activision excited fans in 2010 with a Nintendo Wii reimagining of the classic 1997 game. If that wasn’t enough to have fans reaching for their wallets, the game also took the classic multiplayer mode online, allowing players to not only annoy their friends but also strangers from all around the world by playing as Oddjob.
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Following impressive sales, the game was re-released in HD on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011 asGoldenEye 007: Reloaded.
The World Is Not Enoughhad a lot of expectations on its shoulders, being the first Bond game sinceGoldenEye 007to feature on the N64. Developers Eurocom made the wise choice of not trying to fix what wasn’t broken. Keeping the gameplay similar to Rare’s iconic shooter.
AlthoughThe World Is Not Enoughtook a step forward fromGoldenEyewith its smooth frame rates. It took many steps back with incompetent AI that harmed the linear gameplay, with some AI blankly staring at players as they gun down enemies standing next to them.
As well as being the best third-person Bond game, Everything or Nothingis also the franchise’s most AAA-feeling entry. With impressive graphics accompanying a star-studded cast of voice actors. Including Pierce Brosnan, Judi Dench, Heidi Klum, John Cleese, and Willem Dafoe playing key roles.
Along with an excellent campaign is a cooperative mode that lets players take on a separate set of levels with a friend. The game holds itself back fromGoldenEye’shigh standards though by having a multiplayer mode that disappointingly felt like an after-thought.
As the score suggests,GoldenEye 007is not only the bestJames Bondgame but one of the greatest shooters ever. Although the game has an excellent main campaign that still has a thriving speed-running community to this day, it’s the multiplayer mode that the game is known for.
Thesplit-screen multiplayerrevolutionized gaming, which at the time was predominantly viewed as a hobby played in solitude. WithIGN famously declaring it the N64’s best multiplayer gameahead ofMario Kart 64, it’s no surprise that the originalGoldenEye007 tops this list.
Classic James Bond Games That Predate Metacritic
007 existed long before video games become a thing, be it in book form or classic movies such asGoldfinger. As Metacritic launched in 1999, quite a number of old Bond titles are not represented on the site. While a culturally significant release such as 1997’sGoldenEye 007still managed to find its way onto the platform, the vast majority of the franchise’s pre-1999 games were not so lucky.
That raises the question – are any of Bond’s old gaming escapades worth remembering? Most of them are not, but there are a handful of exceptions.
James Bond 007: A View To A Kill (1985)
A product of a bygone era,James Bond 007: A View to a Killis a text-based adventure game that mimics the campy goodness of theRoger Moore movies. Raymond Benson worked on the story, and he would go on to pen quite a few James Bond novels, starting with 1997’sZero Minus Ten.
James Bond 007: A View to a Killis rough around the edges and not all that enjoyable to play today; however, it is an interesting museum piece from another age in gaming.
007: Licence To Kill (1989)
Based on one of the more polarizing James Bond films,007: License to Killholds up better than any other ’80s game released by the franchise. A top-down shoot-‘em-up,007: License to Killkeeps things simple with six quick and largely entertaining levels based on sequences from Timothy Dalton’s movie.
Vibrant and sporadically thrilling,007: License to Killis a short and sweet adventure. Although far from brilliant, this was one of the first games based on the license to be truly worth something.
James Bond 007: The Duel (1993)
Released on the Genesis, Game Gear, and Master System,James Bond 007: The Duelis at its best on the latter system. A side-scrolling action game with five levels that each have three parts,The Duel’s greatest asset is the fact it utilizes an original story.
While the narrative itself is nothing special, it provides the game with the freedom to really diversify its locations. Throughout the campaign, Bond ends up in a volcano, jungle, and even a rocket ship. It is silly, colorful, and pretty fun.
James Bond 007 (1998)
Debuting a year afterGoldenEye 007,James Bond 007is surprisingly effective. Released for the Game Boy, this title offers puzzles, combat, a respectable arsenal of weapons, and an impressive roster of locations worthy of an epic globe-trotting adventure game.
Even on a handheld system that is hardly lacking in good adventure games,James Bond 007still succeeds in justifying its existence. Bond fans will probably enjoy this one, as will people who are just looking to dust off their old Game Boy and try something different.
