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James Bond 007 Action Pack is a 1990 compilation of three James Bond video games developed and published by Amstrad, bundled with the ZX Spectrum +2 personal home computer and "Magnum Light Phaser" light gun accessory. The set included the light gun shooter games Lord Bromley's Estate and Q's Armoury, along with a slightly re-branded version of The Living Daylights, titled Mission Zero[1].

Also enclosed was a typed memo from M (with handwritten addition by Miss Moneypenny) and James Bond's passport (featuring actor Timothy Dalton's likeness); which served as the game's instruction manual.

Plot[]

The game begins with James Bond clay pidgeon shooting at Lord Bromley's Estate. Q briefs him via a transmitter hidden in his shotgun's stock and warns him that 002's corpse has been discovered washed up in the south of France, after uncovering a plot by a suspicious group of foreign nationals meeting in Turkey. The conspirators mentioned a helicopter. Given that Lord Bromley is entertaining a trio of cabinet ministers and several ambassadors, Bond was invited to his estate to provide protection for the guests. The estate is subsequently attacked by a helicopter of mercenaries; but they are forced to flee due to 007's intervention. It is revealed that they were members of the counterespionage organisation "SPIDER"[2] and had been dispatched to humiliatingly assassinate the dignitaries on British soil, just prior to peace talks the following month.

Bond is sent to Q's underground shooting range in Brentwood where he undergoes a crash training course in a new weapon - a signature gun with three modes of fire (semi/full-automatic and miniature explosive shells). Having reached a suitable level of competence, Bond reports to M's office for instructions on "Mission Zero". He is sent to eliminate the SPIDER threat before they can mount an all-out assault on the peace talks and use the distraction to seize power in three of the world's most unstable regions. 007 subsequently infiltrates their headquarters and executes their leader; effectively ending SPIDER's plot to become a major political power.

Gameplay[]

Main articles: The Living Daylights (video game)

The games were contained on two cassette tapes - the first of which had Lord Bromley's Estate on one side and Q's Armoury on its reverse. Mission Zero was on the second tape. Both tapes contained short audio briefings by Q (portrayed by actor Desmond Llewelyn). Lord Bromley's Estate takes place over ten levels featuring three different backdrops, where players must use the included light gun to shoot varying numbers and patterns of clay pigeons on the screen. On the game's final level the player must shoot SPECTRE's helicopter ten times and is awarded a "well done" message with their score. Q's Armoury features a similar system set over three levels. Players have to shoot three different firing range targets by selecting from three modes of fire (pistol, machine-gun and bazooka). Mission Zero was Design Design's version of The Living Daylights tailored to work with the light-gun. Its story and references were not altered to match the compilation's story.

Critical reception[]

Audio briefings[]

Lord Bromley's Estate
Q's Armoury
Mission Zero

Trivia[]

  • In the game's audio briefings, actor Desmond Llewelyn calls the estate, "Lord Broccoli's Estate" - seemingly indicating that the developers had originally intended the location to be a reference to Bond producer, Albert R. Broccoli. Its name was subsequently changed after recording to "Lord Bromley's Estate", for unknown reasons.
  • Similarly, Llewelyn calls the games' chief enemy "SPIDER" - despite explicit references in Lord Bromley's Estate to "SPECTRE".[2] Oblique references to shadowy SPECTRE-like organisations were not unusual during this time period due to a long-standing legal dispute over the film rights to Thunderball and its contents. However, the game's explicit reference to "SPECTRE" is unusual - and likely went under the proverbial radar.

Images[]

References[]

  1. Leigh, Peter. (2020). That Time Amstrad Casually Rewrote James Bond | Nostalgia Nerd. YouTube.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Note: The helicopter sequence in Lord Bromley's Estate instead states that "You hear a Helicopter approach.. SPECTRE agents are attacking!!" It is notable as the only explicit reference to SPECTRE during this litigious period.

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