Who else dreamed of following in the footsteps of their childhood heroes and heroines? I know I certainly did! I always wanted to be James Bond (007); battling against villains who always seemed intent on world domination. And this persona would not be complete without guns, gadgets, fast cars and, of course, a refined Scottish accent. Fortunately, I’m pleased to report that I Expect You To Die places you almost directly into this role, forcing you to solve ingenious puzzles and tackle complex challenges, all of which will kill you if you make a mistake.
I Expect You To Die begins with you navigating through the intro sequence, which is pleasantly simple and is just the first step down memory lane for any James Bond fan. Silhouettes of dancing figures in flames, bullets ricocheting all around and axes swinging from side-to-side really made me feel like I was in a film rather than a game. And when you combine all this with a beautiful music score, you seriously begin to think that the game could easily be a missing link within the James Bond franchise.
Commencing with the action-packed first mission, you are tasked with driving a car out of a plane. Sounds simple enough, but when you are also shielding yourself from toxic poison gas, dodging lasers, avoiding scorpions and disarming ticking time-bombs, you can’t help but feel it is going to be ‘one-of-those-days’! By rummaging around in the various compartments inside the car, you can find a whole host of items at your disposal; all assist you in dealing with all these ‘on-board’ problems. The PlayStation Move controllers do an excellent job with keeping up with the very fast movements which are crucial to your survival. Precision tracking is also superb; from cutting wires when diffusing a bomb to adjusting computer knobs and dials, the tracking is very precise. The key to advancing in I Expect You To Die is to utilise objects found scattered around each level. Just because something doesn’t look like it will fit, try it anyway and you might discover one of the many secrets found throughout the game.
Having previously played the I Expect You To Die demo on the Oculus Rift many years ago, it is great to see that more levels have been included in the final product. There are a total of four missions, each very different from the previous mission, and all of which are great fun. The puzzles within each level are logic-based and can be solved quite easily, but when you are disarming a ticking time bomb whilst simultaneously trying to prevent yourself from drowning, you do tend to get hot under the collar!
I Expect You To Die is one of best puzzle games I have played all year. With its stylish 60s vibe and clever puzzles, it really is a pleasure to play. Unfortunately, the main problem is longevity; the game only consists of four levels and upon completing each one, there is very little to go back to. This is another purely technical demo for the PlayStation VR; although one that has a lot of promise.
Overall rating 7 out of 10
Pros:
- Clever puzzles
- Be James Bond!
- Amazing opening sequence
Cons:
- Only lasts a few hours
Original article on PSU.com