James Bond: The Duel

Dashing, debonair, dangerous...no, not me, it's James Bond. 007's infiltrated the Game Gear in this average translation of the Genesis cart.

Bond Voyage

You start off the action aboard a research vessel funded by the evil Dr. Creypen, who wants to send a shuttle into space and destroy the world. Bond must find the Doctor, which isn't easy since he has to get past the ship, fight through a power station in the jungle, and finally weave his way through the inside of an artificial volcano.

Each mission has multiple levels, and at the end of each mission you'll face great villains like Jaws, Bones, and Oddjob (the hat-wielding maniac introduced in Goldfmger). Bond has his trademark pistol, and you can switch weapons to utilize missiles, grenades and rapid-shots. There are even midlevel markers to help you through the game.

Shaken and Stirred

The graphics, although reduced to Game Gear proportions, are still very sharp. Bond moves with fluid, lifelike movements, but you'll find some of the moves very slow (or at least slower than in the Genesis version). The enemies are creative and well-defined, and the backgrounds are well done for a Game Gear title.

The sounds and music unfortunately don't live up to 007's movie reputation. The familiar theme music is only played during the opening credits, leaving you with only dull shots and thuds during game play.

Same James

Although this cart is challenging because of its vastness, its game play is standard run-n-gun. Most intermediate gamers will breeze past Bond in no time. The bosses are too easy, so getting to them is most of the fun. Still, if you've always wanted to live life in Her Majesty's Secret Service, you may want to go undercover as James Bond.

007 is back in action and ready to save the world once again. Play the wily Bond in a deadly game of cat and mouse that has world security as the stakes!

Bonds Have More Fun

James Bond 007: The Duel is a one- player, side-scrolling, action/adventure game that teams Rolling Thunder-style run-and-gun action with impressively smooth character animation. As Her Majesty's Number One Secret Service- man, you must free a professor and his beautiful daughter (of course), who are being held hostage by a mad scientist.

If you think the James Bond movies always end too quickly, you'll be right at home here. Basically, you gunfight through only four Missions that take you to a Super Tanker, a jungle Hideout, Volcanic Caverns, and the Space Shuttle. In these sprawling stages, you see more bullets fly than at a shooting range.

Saving Bond

You're equipped with a Walther PPK pistol, an awesome somersault jump, and a tuxedo. You supply the famous Bond attitude. On each Mission you must rescue a certain number of female hostages and disarm a bomb or two. You shoot it out with an army of fast-moving, coldblooded killers in uniforms. Thanks to the mad scientist's cloning machine, you also encounter some famous old foes, such as Oddjob, Bones, Jaws, the Voodoo Doctor, and Yoyo.

Bond Bombshell

Sean Connery? Roger Moore? Timothy Dalton? George Lazenby? It doesn't matter which Bond you prefer because the sprites in this game are so small you can imagine you're playing any one of them. However, your Bond's animation' is absolutely graceful as he leaps, climbs hand-over-hand, and flounders wildly as he's eaten by sharks. Little touches, like moving his gun from one hand to the other when he turns or reloads should be well received.

Although other Bond songs may have received Academy Awards, the music in this game won't. The shooting, bombing, and other sound effects, however, are clear winners.

Gentlemen Prefer Bond

All in all, James Bond 007: The Duel is a good action game, although you won't need a Gold Finger to finish it off. You only get three lives and one continue. If you can take that kind of heat and return it, this game is an easy target. Play on the Manic difficulty setting (there are three settings in all) to earn your license to kill.

Licensed from United Artists Co., this scrolling action/adven|ure features the gun-wielding, tuxedo-wearing secret agent in all his glory. On a mission to foil the dastardly plans of a mad professor on a remote Caribbean island. Bond must also rescue dozens of hostages and pick up special weapons and power-ups.

One interesting feature of the early levels we've seen is Bond's ability to avoid gunfire by stepping into the background to hide in doorways and behind obstacles. Developed by Eon Productions Ltd. in the U.K., Domark's James Bond 007--The Duel will be marketed and sold in America by Tengen.