James Bond is easily one of the most iconic and prolific pop culture icons of all time. The British Secret Service agent made his debut in Ian Fleming's 1953 novel, Casino Royale. Decades later, the character has appeared in dozens of books, movies, comics, and video games.
Not surprisingly, several of those video games have been based on James Bond movies, such as the legendary N65 adaptation of Goldeneye. But there have also been multiple games that have their own story, created solely for gamers to enjoy. And they are some of the best Bond gaming experiences around.
10 Shaken But Not Stirred Is A Forgotten Text-Only Game
Going way back into the early days of James Bond games is Shaken but Not Stirred. This text adventure game was released in 1982 but only in the United Kingdom. It was produced for the ZX Spectrum, an 8-bit personal home computer, by Richard Shepherd Software.
The story followed Bond as he took on the villainous Doctor Death. His plan was to extort a ransom by holding London hostage with the threat of a nuclear explosion. Naturally, Bond saved the day in a narrative that felt like playing through one of his novels.
9 Operation Stealth Deviated From The Traditions
Also known as James Bond 007: The Stealth Affair, this single-player adventure game was released in 1990. It was playable on Atari-ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS systems, which is probably why few people ever played the game.
In the European Union release of Operation Stealth, the main character was called John Glames. But he was James Bond in the version released in the United States. It was a little confusing, particularly since the character was taking his orders from the CIA in both editions.
8 There Was Actually A Game Called James Bond Jr.
It would take a pretty hardcore James Bond fan to know about this. There's a universe of books, comics, animated series, and video games based on James Bond Jr, who was not Bond's son. He was the nephew of Bond and first appeared in the 1967 novel The Adventures of James Bond Junior 003½.
In 1991, versions of the James Bond Jr. game were released for both the NES and the Super NES. They were essentially the same game but the SNES version had a lot more meat to it. The games were their own story but were loosely based on the animated series about the character.
7 James Bond 007: The Duel Featured Timothy Dalton
In the 1980s, James Bond was played by Timothy Dalton in two movies. It was supposed to be Pierce Brosnan by he was stuck in a TV contract so Dalton was brought in. Four years after Dalton finished his tour of duty as the world's greatest spy, James Bond 007: The Duel was released.
This 1993 game for all relevant Sega systems sent Bond out to rescue damsels in distress and blow things up. While the story had nothing to do with any of Dalton's movies, it did use his likeness in the game.
6 Game Boy Got In On The Action With James Bond 007
Commander Bond's foray onto the Nintendo Game Boy in 1998 was an interesting one, to say the least. It was a top-down action-adventure game that put players in control of the titular character and incorporated minigames like baccarat.
The story was unique to this specific game and included characters from the movies such as Oddjob and Jaws. It received reasonable reviews from critics who generally like the gameplay and the story but thought it was way too short.
5 James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire Was The Beginning Of An Era
This 2001 game was a major turn for James Bond games. It was the first one in recent history not to use the likeness of Pierce Brosnan and also used a unique story. The vast majority of the previous games had featured Brosnan as he was Bond at that time.
A first-person shooter for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire was the beginning of a story that would continue in the next game. Oddly enough, this game actually started its development cycle as the PC and PS2 versions of The World is Not Enough adaptation.
4 James Bond 007: Nightfire Continued The Story
In 2002, the story arc from Agent Under Fire continued in Nightfire. One big change was this game went back to using Pierce Brosnan's likeness, though he did not voice the character at all. Another interesting feature was the Spy Hunter-esque driving levels.
The game was released for the same systems as its predecessor as well as Game Boy Advance, Windows, and macOS. Reviews for the console versions of the title were generally positive though PC versions were not as well received.
3 James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Was A Fan Favorite
Then in 2003, another entry in the James Bond franchise was released. Not only did Everything or Nothing used Brosnan's likeness, this time he actually voiced his character, as well. Additionally, Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, and Richard Kiel all voiced their respective characters.
Everything or Nothing got great reviews and was definitely a fan favorite. Its combination of a unique story that hit all the night Bond notes with fantastic gameplay won over almost everyone. It was certainly a win on that generation of consoles.
2 GoldenEye: Rogue Agent Has Nothing To Do With GoldenEye
This game had a unique story but it's also distinct from the rest of the franchise. In a confusing twist, this game had nothing to do with the movie GoldenEye, despite its name. The main character of the game was given the name GoldenEye after receiving a cybernetic implant to replace his lost eye.
Rogue Agent was a first-person shooter released in 2004. The player was a disgraced MI6 agent who interacted with a variety of Bond film villains like Goldfinger, Dr. No, Sacramanga, and Blofeld. The story is considered to be non-canon as related to EA's other Bond games from the era.
1 James Bond 007: Blood Stone Was The Last Decent Game
James Bond 007: Blood Stone was the only Bond game with a unique story that featured Daniel Craig's version of the character. Both he and Dame Judy Dench contributed both their likenesses and voicing talents to the game.
This 2010 release for PS3, Xbox 306, Nintendo DS, and PC was one of the last Bond games to come out. It was poorly received and a follow-up was canceled. Only one other Bond game, 007 Legacies, was released in 2012 but it was terrible. Bond has not been seen since in a video game.
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