[REVIEW] Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360) - A pretty good movie game..

Matt Damon's Jason Bourne films are entertaining thrill rides that any action movie fan should enjoy. As a spy with amnesia, Jason Bourne is on a mission to find out who he was what he did before he's killed by the people who made him.

The folks at Vivendi Games and High Moon Studios are trying to bring that same energy to the video game, Bourne Conspiracy. The game is based on the first Bourne film, The Bourne Identity, and no, Matt Damon did not contribute to the game. While the game does follow the story of the first film, there are missions and story lines that take place before Bourne lost his memory that are interspersed throughout the game to give it some filling.

The controls are pretty simple. When running and moving around you use the analog sticks and the RB to sprint. In regards to fighting, which is the biggest element of the game, you use two buttons, X and Y to attack, and A to block, but the way you use those buttons make the difference.  There are different combos that you can pull off, which is easy having only to worry about just two buttons to use. After several successful combos, your adrenaline meter will go up, and once you get to a certain threshold, you can pull off a "takedown" by pressing B. Takedowns a small cut scenes that show Bourne breaking a dudes arm or ramming him into a wall or grabbing a pen and stabbing the enemy all over the place. It's a pretty cool feature because most of the time, depending on the environment, there are a variety of different takedowns which keeps it entertaining.

The other aspect of the game is the third-person shooting. Bourne can carry two weapons, a one-handed weapons (a pistol) or a two-handed weapon (AK-47, Shotgun), and you can switch between the two using RB. The cover system is pretty decent and Gear of War-ish, where when you approach a spot you can hide behind, you're prompted to press A. Then you use the left trigger to pop out of hiding and the right trigger to fire your weapon. You can also sprint towards the enemies firing shots at you and start fighting them. There is also Bourne Instinct, where by pushing Y, you're able to see where enemies are located; where you need to go next and where you can load up on ammo.

Overall, the developers did a pretty good job of capturing the energy and spirit of the films; even though core mechanics of the game could use some tinkering (the aiming system needs some help). The game was also a bit short and really doesn't offer much replay value. But still, that first play through is worth a look.

Q's Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Video Gamer: 7 out of 10

Game Shark: B+

Check out the trailer:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TT7Gn5bGnkk