It was inevitable that 95% of the reviews out there would bitch and whine about The Bourne Conspiracy not living up to Matt Damon’s chiseled and handsome interpretation. The inherent mistake here is the ridiculous assumption that Matt Damon actually had anything at all to do with what made Jason Bourne great.

Don’t get me wrong – as a big screen representation, Damon did a great job. He kicked ass and took names in precisely the right manner while avoiding the machismo that flattens out too many movie-based hard men. But this isn’t The Matt Damon Conspiracy that so many boorish reviewers seem to have been expecting – it’s a complimentary translation of Robert Ludlum’s character; not a movie tie-in.

It’s important to bear this in mind when approaching The Bourne Conspiracy. At no point does High Moon claim this to be ‘the game of the movie’, and while it obviously doesn’t absolve any shortcomings the game might have, it’s unfair and uneducated to criticize it for that reason. The only fair comparisons are to be found in the original novels, naturally, and in that respect there’s a great many more similarities than there are to the movies. So I’d encourage any gamers to do their best to shed any preconceptions regarding the videogame portrayal of Jason Bourne before starting play – it’ll open up the game to more enjoyment if you’ve not got one eye constantly searching for movie references.

Quick-time gameplay is a prevalent feature these days, and one that polarizes gamers significantly. It features heavily in The Bourne Conspiracy, but this shouldn’t immediately turn objectors off – its integration into the core mechanics of play works far better than the typical ‘bolt-on’ uses quick-time normally sees. Jason’s fighting action makes cursory use of a couple of attack and defense buttons, but the real show is in the takedowns, which are activated by well-timed combinations of block and reaction.

This method of enacting the malfunctioning ex-CIA weapon’s signature bone-crunching abilities bridges the gap between button mashing and quick-time, and relieves the grating nature of the directed button presses when they do occur. And the cinematic show that occurs during a throat-mashing, knee-crushing, head-smashing, elbow-breaking takedown is genuinely magnificent. In this circumstance, The Bourne Conspiracy does lean more toward the film spectaculars and adopts a similar camera direction and equally impressive Aikido display as Matt Damon ever performed.

The constant, exhausting chase is also a theme the developers have clearly attempted to lace throughout the Bourne game. Following the duck-and-run action of The Bourne Identity through the embassy teaches players the majority of Jason’s abilities; from hiding behind desks, dodging in and out of the labyrinthine corridors and rooms, finding escape points and using the Bourne Instinct system to its fullest.

This Bourne Instinct system substitutes the intangible awareness Robert Ludlum’s highly trained character exhibits in the stories – something that a user controlled character obviously wouldn’t be able to do. Although it does feel to telegraph the plot points and plaster over a few cracks in the translation, this ‘telepathic radar’ function at least elevates Jason Bourne above the typical enemy drone – something that’s necessary to identify him as the hero.

When it comes to shooting, Bourne is just as capable with a weapon as he is with an elbow, and many of the same control attributes spill over into gun fights. These don’t work quite so smoothly, as the aiming system is rather rough around the edges and fails to easily maintain the momentum felt during chase and fight scenes. A semi-automatic aiming system helps put Jason’s sights on the enemy, but doesn’t lock-on; allowing for a little more realism despite the clumsiness of the shooting matches. Quick-time controls come into play often enough during shooting scenes, and in this case really save the day – trading bullets soon becomes wearisome, and a well-timed gun-based takedown can clear the path for the grounded story to continue.

Spending most of his time on the run, it’s only natural that Bourne’s car chases are included and, like the gun-play elements, adds gameplay variety while falling short of the high standards set by dedicated games of the genre. And, once again, it’s the quick-time systems that keep these mildly lackluster elements up to temperature. Swerving a Mini through some desperately daring maneuvers would be quite possible without any quick-time play, but the addition of this control mechanic to the racing portions of the game open it up for the trademark cinematics. Ultimately, however, the car chases come across as something of a between level mini-game, though it’s not so curt as to become a deal breaker.

The level designs are superbly varied and although the illusion soon dissipates and Jason feels to be railroaded down very specific and linear paths, the sense of disorientation is rife and perfectly suited to the tense and dramatic situations indicative of a good espionage thriller. Fans of both the books and movies will find themselves quite satiated with the settings they fight and sprint through in The Bourne Conspiracy, and will enjoy the winding panic of the routes even if they are rather forced.

What don’t really seem to fit the game style are the bosses. Jason Bourne fought his share of difficult one-on-one bouts with other members of Tread Stone and Black Friar, but the constant exchange of attempted takedowns feels considerably less slick than it does when he’s taking on a few generic drones. Frustration builds quite quickly during these grating battles, but they eventually pass with only mild perseverance and allow the more enjoyable chase elements to continue.

The Bourne Conspiracy isn’t the spectacular it could have been – often trying to fit so many gameplay styles and expectations into one game, but it’s pretty much an equal realization of Ludlum’s character that the movies are. Anyone interested in taking on the role of Jason Bourne should first and foremost ignore any critiques that involve references to Matt Damon, and remember this isn’t a movie adaptation. Once those misconceptions are out of the way there’s a healthy amount of fighting and fleeing fun to be had, though whether you’ll see it through to the end more than once is debatable.