Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy takes its storyline from outside of the three films' plots and actors, setting itself as a companion piece that portrays a Damon-less Jason Bourne on a familiar search for the government plot that made him into the perfect weapon. You'll be a battle-ready fighting machine from the game's start, taking on bigger and increasingly more shadowy figures as you climb the intel ranks of Treadstone to get some answers. The game doesn't directly follow any of the movies, though it seems like there'll be at least a few recognizable scenes within the overall gameplay (such as the escape from the Embassy).

The game's combat mechanics work very hard to give a third-person experience of the film's frenetic approach, offering seamless maneuvering between shooting, hand-to-hand and escape-and-evade tactics. Gunplay utilizes a cover-fire system with destroyable environments, allowing beams to chip away from gunfire just as cars can explode against an enemy's back. The rest of the environment appears to be equally interactive, with Bourne using various elements to beat the undeniable hell out of people while also throwing them through various surfaces (windows, server stacks, etc).

Since this is the world's perfect weapon and all, The Bourne Conspiracy also works with an adrenaline meter that allows for speedy concentrated attacks that follow successful button commands flashing onscreen. This will allow Bourne to escape the seemingly inescapable through a very cinematic and smooth feel - surrounded by five soldiers, pinned down by enemy gunfire, what have you. The game's developers have also called upon the talents of Jeff Imada (the film series' fight coordinator) and extensive motion-capture work to match the intensity of the series' close combat.

The Bourne Conspiracy keeps the same modern-day-secret-agent feel of the films with a soundtrack by renowned trance DJ Paul Oakenfold, which looks to keep the game's pace pumping with an up-tempo and driving score. Much like an action film, the game will look to rely on the strength of some visceral sound effects to give a bone-crunching feel to the game's action.

Though I'm usually (read: always) wary when it comes to movies-turned-video-games, The Bourne Conspiracy looks to have a fresh approach to the third-person action genre that takes the lessons of past gaming innovations (Gears of War, Max Payne) to heart in creating the experience of being Jason Bourne. There's still more to know about the game before a call can be made, to be sure, but these videos and screens are certainly promising for fans of the films and action gaming in general.

By Patrick Kennedy
LWG Core Contributor / News Director