This morning, we learned that actor Sean Connery had passed away at the age of 90. Before his retirement back in 2003, he had given us a number of classics to cherish, including Outland, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Man Who Would Be King and several others. But, as expected, many remember him for his debut as James Bond 007 in Dr. No, way back in the 60s.
But one film that’s a particular standout to many is From Russia With Love, which many consider to be one of his best performances. And to think, so many years after its release, that Electronic Arts would give it a second life as a video game.
Today, out of tribute to Mr. Connery, we’re taking a look back at the video game adaptation of From Russia With Love – a game that, ironically enough, brought Connery out of retirement, replaying the role 22 years later.
From EA with love
Produced by EA Redwood Shores, the From Russia With Love game loosely follows both the 1957 novel and the 1963 film, but with some minor changes to the villain and a few additional action sequences. It also features the return of some iconic 007 favorites, like the classic Aston Martin DB5 that made its debut in the 1964 film Goldfinger. (It fits into the game quite well, actually.)
But it’s Connery’s return that’s most noteworthy here. Along with rendering his character pretty well (based on 2003 game tech, anyway), the actor provided the voice for Bond without missing a beat. In fact, he found some joy in EA asking him to reprise the role, something he hasn’t done since the 1983 release of Never Say Never Again.
One interesting factor is that SPECTRE is no longer present in the story, thanks to legal issues.
Instead, they’re replaced by a group called Octopus, but still pose just as dangerous a threat as the previous group. It’s up to Bond to uncover their plot and stop them before it’s too late.
The game was written by Bruce Feirstein, who previously worked on scripts for movies like GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, so he was quite familiar with Bond territory.
But obviously the big element was Connery, who, again, was thrilled to take part. He said in an interview with IGN, “As an artist, I see this as another way to explore the creative process. Video games are an extremely popular form of entertainment today, and I am looking forward to seeing how it all fits together.” Shortly after, the game was complete.
Reception, and history
Though the game wasn’t as boffo a hit as GoldenEye, From Russia With Love received its fair share of praise, mainly due to the well-balanced difficulty and, at the time, enhanced visuals. (Again, keep in mind that this was back in the mid-2000’s, well before the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.) And it managed to sell fairly well for EA, with over 277,000 copies sold across platforms in its first three months of release.
Alas, EA was unable to continue with another Bond adventure of this kind. The rights to 007 were given to Activision in 2006, who would go on to produce games such as GoldenEye Reloaded and 007: Blood Stone. Since then, we haven’t seen too many new Bond games, despite new films coming out over the years. That has forced fans to revisit older games they might have missed – and it’s a perfect opportunity to give From Russia With Love another look.
Connery may be gone, but the legacy lives on
Even with the death of Connery, his film legacy will continue to live on for generations. Even Zardoz and Highlander II: The Quickening are sure to find their fair share of fans. But if you’re a gamer, it’s worth hunting down a copy of From Russia With Love for consoles or PlayStation Portable, if only to see him contribute to a game in only the best way he can. We’ve included the trailer below so you can give it a good look. Tracking down a copy shouldn’t be hard, just check your favorite game store or eBay.
Rest in peace, Mr. Connery.
