The Bourne Conspiracy is a 2008 video game based off of the first film in The Bourne Series.
It is a third-person cover-based shooter with Fighting Game elements when Bourne gets into melee combat with enemies. The game covers the entire movie and also adds additional content by way of flashbacks Bourne has as a Treadstone agent asssassinating targets around the world.
This game provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: The leadup to the Wombosi assassination takes up the first 3 missions, and involves Bourne getting in scuffles with a mercenary Irish bomb-maker, Wombosi's right-hand man, Solomon, and a battalion of Corsican mercenaries. This is in addition to three flashback missions, an extended escape from the U.S. Embassy in Zurich, a much-longer battle against the Professor, and a last battle against Mannheim, who was The Unfought in the movie.
- Adapted Out: At the same time, several scenes are cut out entirely or shortened. The Professor dies without a word without the heavy conversation he has with Bourne in the movie, and Bourne's confrontation with Conklin in the end is much shorter (since the game implies through the flashback missions that he has already recovered the majority of his memory). Also, Nicky is completely absent from the Treadstone safehouse.
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Wombosi would have had much better proof of the CIA assassination attempt if sixty of his State Security Service officers suddenly ended up shot, blown up, bludgeoned to death, or drowned that same night. And that was before mention Bourne shot down a helicopter and blew up half the tanks in a propane explosion. The original plan was to pin Wombosi's death on one of his generals, but the several beaten-up dockworkers testifying to the presence of an English-speaking Caucasian assassin kinda blows that excuse out of the water.
- Adaptational Villainy: The film series focuses very heavily on the unjustified killings Bourne committed when he was active as a Treadstone agent, and unambiguously condemns his actions. However, in this game, two of the three flashback chapters have targets that are definitely very bad guys who needed to be taken out: (a Turkish war criminal captured in Yugoslavia, a French Arms Dealer, and a Moroccan terrorist), indicating that Treadstone, at least at one point, had a legitimate purpose. At the same time, the assassination of Professor Rurik at Vilnius University lacks context.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: The final phase of the fight against the Professor takes place in a burning barn where both men have been disarmed and are engaged in a melee battle. You have a very limited time to defeat him before the barn will collapse and kill you both.
- Call-Forward: The special weapon you can use to fight O'Connor in the first level is a hardcover book, and Bourne beats up O'Connor with it the same way he does Desh.
- Concealment Equals Cover: Averted depending on the cover. Wooden boxes, for example, are easily shot through and will shatter after only a few hits.
- Faceless Goons: A lot of the enemies are this, although it is averted for "good guys" (mostly police officers) and Wombosi's army-in-exile.
- Final Boss: Unlike the film, in this game, Bourne witnesses Mannheim killing Conklin and follows him into a cathedral. What follows after that is an epic gun battle in the cathedral, followed by a brutal fistfight in the cathedral graveyard.
- Great Escape: The Zurich flashback mission revolves around the CIA assigning Bourne to assassinate Divandelen, a war criminal during the Yugoslav Wars who is implied to know too much about the CIA's dirty actions during that conflict. However, before Bourne can pull off the hit, a private army loyal to Divandelen breaks him out of Swiss police custody. What follows after that is a chase after Divandelen to ensure he doesn't escape.
- Hand Cannon: The plan to kill Wombosi revolves around Bourne making it look like the Corsican mercenaries betrayed him. To that end, Bourne gets their leader's pistol to use in the assassination. Said pistol kills any enemy in one shot. Shame you only get to use it on two enemies.
- High-Altitude Battle: The Zurich chapter culminates in Bourne boarding a cargo jet that Divandelen is escaping on and fighting his way through the plane as it soars through the skies.
- Hollywood Silencer: Played straight with the silenced pistols and rifles you can use in gameplay. Averted in the cutscene before the final battle, where Mannheim's silenced pistol makes an audible crack that echoes down the whole street, which Bourne hears and prompts him to follow Mannheim into the cathedral.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: The shooting takedowns are some good examples of this; a full Adrenaline meter allows Bourne to pop out 3 headshots in a rapid succession.
- Throughout the course of the game, Bourne shoots down not one, but two helicopters using only small arms. The second chopper is taken out with a handgun when he successfully shoots the pilot just before the chopper can gain much altitude.
- Improvised Weapon: A staple of the franchise. Some examples include a screwdriver, a fire extinguisher, and a shovel.
- Mêlée à Trois: The mission in Paris to assassinate Renard gets unexpectedly fulfilled when the deal goes bad and Azar shoots him in the face. For the rest of the mission, Bourne must chase after Azar while fighting off both Renard's museum security guards and Azar's terrorists, who are also shooting at each other.
- Mook Horror Show: The final mission in the Treadstone safehouse. It finally dawns on the CIA operatives just how outmatched they are by Bourne."He's halfway down the stairwell! He's unstoppable!""We're getting killed here!""We're coming up in the elevator." "Are you nuts?! You're sitting ducks in the elevator!"
- Offhand Backhand: When engaged in melee combat with multiple enemies, some of them will occasionally attempt to avert Mook Chivalry and hit Bourne from behind. A swift backhand or kick to the gut via QTE normally culls this desire.
- One-Hit KO: Takedowns allow Bourne to instantly knock out an enemy while in a fistfight. A takedown done while shooting allows him to fire an Instant Death Bullet with perfect accuracy.
- One-Man Army: Bourne tears through hundreds of forces, including several private armies and an ACTUAL national army! In the Wombosi-focused prologue alone, he just needs a handgun and his fists to take down over 100 State Security Service officers and Corsican mercenaries.
- Press X to Not Die: The game makes heavy use of quick time events in cutscenes and also when performing both shooting & melee takedowns.
- Private Military Contractors: O'Connor, and the Corsican mercenaries on board Wombosi's ship.
- Recurring Boss: Solomon is fought a whopping three times.
- Rolling Pin of Doom: One of the enemies on Wombosi's ship uses a rolling pin as a melee weapon when fighting him in the ship's kitchen.
- Short-Range Shotgun: The shotgun is literally useless past ten feet. As in, it does close to zero damage to even an unarmored enemy.
- Shown Their Work: The game's hand-to-hand takedowns are surprisingly detailed and accurate. In addition, while drawing from a variety of martial arts, they most heavily feature Filipino Martial Arts such as Eskrima, which Film!Bourne was supposed to be an expert in.
- Would Not Shoot a Good Guy: Zigzagged. Bourne has no problem beating up cops and other law enforcement if they get in his way, but the guns don't come out unless he's fighting illegitimate forces like Wombosi's army-in-exile or Divandelen's private forces. On the other hand, Bourne also had no problem killing dozens of members of the Lithuanian military after assassinating a professor at Vilnius University, men who are certainly only doing their job and defending their country against an unknown threat.
