I'm sure we've all felt like Jason Bourne at some point. No, not so much the part about being an amnesiac killing machine. I'm referring, of course, to the feeling of being pursued by a past you'd like to forget and cornered by responsibilities you wish to avoid. In Jason's case, he just happens to be cornered by deadly assassins and pursued by high-powered rifle bullets. So I'd like to think it's easy to appreciate Mr. Bourne's desire to disappear off ‘the grid' and be left alone.

It's just not to be though, when he is a box-office grossing goldmine. After a trilogy of films, and just when he thought he'd finally done it, the folks at Sierra and High Moon Studios have come along to embroil Bourne in yet another game of cat-and-mouse for our entertainment! At least this time Jason's done it all before, as his new adventure, titled ‘Conspiracy', retraces the events of the first film with the addition of several flashback missions to flesh out, well, the running time at least.

This tightly wound action-adventure starts off with the iconic scene of Jason's near-drowning at sea and subsequent rescue. For those not familiar with the films, why are you even reading this? No, ok, the story follows a rescued and very amnesiac Bourne piecing his past together while running from every government agency on Earth. Instead of hitting the ground running as you'd expect from a retelling of the film though, you'll first get to play through the mission that landed Jason in deep water in the first place.

The game establishes itself almost immediately as a combination of a brawler, a third-person shooter, and a quick-time-event (QTE) dispenser. As Bourne, you will progress through each of the game's missions and use a mix of hand-to-hand combat and firearms to take down your foes. Occasionally, you will encounter scripted sequences that call for you to press a short sequence of buttons to avoid capture or death. And while your mission objectives are never complex or compelling, the game functions very much like a ball-dispenser at a batting cage and keeps you too occupied with swinging the bat to care.

If there is one thing The Bourne Conspiracy is likely to be remembered for, it's the hand-to-hand combat. Even though the game claims to have drawn inspiration from Ludlum's novels, it's the influences from the films that will be most evident in the end product (absence of Matt Damon's likeness notwithstanding). Conspiracy does a great job of mimicking the same no-nonsense brawls that appeared in the films. When you approach an enemy, the camera will swing around from behind you to frame you and your opponent in profile. You can then either block incoming blows with (A) or execute 3-button combos with your light (X) and heavy (Y) attack button to perform a variety of lethal moves.

It's a simplistic system that works largely thanks to a variety of impressive animation that strives to make combat as seamless and impressive as possible. For example, depending on how you approach your opponent, you will see Bourne efficiently disarm him before commencing to pound on his face. Successful hits will also build up an adrenaline meter that translates to takedown (and better yet, environmental takedown) moves that feel oddly satisfying even if they're executed with a simple button press. Even battles against multiple opponents are handled well, as whoever you're not fighting will frequently remind you of his presence with a sneaky jab that can only be deflected by following a prompt to press a button. Your opponent may also try to perform his own takedown move on you that you can similarly rebuff with a timed button press.

Therefore, while the combat will be much too simplistic for fans of fighting games, it is more than serviceable in the context of Bourne's multi-disciplined adventure. As basic as it is, victory is far from guaranteed since your opponents can be as proficient as you are and it takes but a few solid kicks for you to be minced. That said, if you are playing on the easier two of three difficulty levels, spamming those takedown moves will probably get you through most of the game's brawls.

As I said, Conspiracy isn't just confined to close-quarter combat and when you're not breaking bones and punching faces, you'll mostly be engaging in gunplay from an over-the-shoulder perspective. This fairly significant part of the game sadly did not receive the same tender loving care evident in the fisticuffs. Jason can carry a small and a large firearm at once and easily pick up ammo or swap weapons from downed enemies. He can also sprint as well as press up against most surfaces for cover, many of which are destructible. The takedown moves will even work in this context and provide an almost sure-fire way to score a kill. So, at least on paper, this seems like as robust a system as any.

The problem with the gun battles however, is the fact that they're just not very interesting encounters. With the use of a spider-sense equivalent, Bourne can always tell where to go next with a press of a button and then looking at the onscreen radar. And as Jason, you will move into the next room littered with objects that provide convenient cover, and shoot a handful of enemies before moving on. Opponents that stand near railings above you will helpfully (and awkwardly) throw themselves over for dramatic effect when shot, and everyone you engage in combat will move, duck and take cover in exactly the same way, making it a very predictable experience. There is also something amiss with the damage model in Bourne where sometimes you will find yourself emptying an entire clip of assault rifle ammo into an opponent's chest and he'd barely even wince.

As for the QTEs, it's hard to say one way or the other about them. Some people like them, while others despise them with every fibre of their beings. Conspiracy takes a mild approach by throwing them at you consistently, but dialling down the difficulty level so much that it's unlikely anyone will have trouble with them. Furthermore, you can always resume from the moment prior to a failed QTE. With these sequences, Conspiracy is able to convey some truly stylish (and very scripted) action sequences that would have been otherwise difficult to deliver through normal gameplay. So to that end, their frequent appearance in the game is justified.

There is one sequence from the movie in particular that the developers did try to translate into gameplay despite it having nothing to do with shooting or punching people in the face. And it isn't really a surprise, as the car chase sequence from The Bourne Identity easily ranks as one of the most memorable ever committed to film. The end result, even with the soundtrack doing its best to evoke the acclaimed scene, is a driving mini-game where the only sense of dread you will feel is for whether your co-driver will scream the same three lines of dialogue at you again. Thankfully, you come to a crashing halt before too long and move on, never to look back again.

The Bourne Conspiracy looks and sounds respectable as a whole. Detailed characters models will run through a variety of appropriately detailed environments and it's easy to come away with a positive first impression. However, once you start trying to interact with the environment, you will get an eerie feeling like you're on a film set, as every object is glued in place and for display only, and all doors and passageways locked or blocked (sometimes by simple impregnable rope lines) unless you are meant to interact with it to progress through the game. Also, during close-quarter combat, the camera tries its hardest to frame the fight properly, but can sometimes get stuck behind objects or be obstructed by objects in the environment.

The often intense action in Bourne is aptly accentuated with a very fitting score that changes as stakes are raised and conflicts intensify. Also, part of what makes the fist fights in the game so visceral is the sound of impact as bones are broken and flesh is bruised. Several story sequences punctuate the game, and all the voice actors do a good if not memorable job with their roles. However, like all games based on films (even though this one purports not to be), plot sequences barely sketches out a rough outline of what transpires and prior knowledge of the film is highly recommended.