Hot on the heels of fulfilling many old-school gamers' dreams with a new Wii-exclusive Goldeneye title, Activision has announced James Bond 007: Blood Stone, a wholly new game for 360, PS3 and PC based on the classic British spy. A third-person action adventure, which, in typical 007 style, will span an international conspiracy across many exotic locales. The game will feature a script written by Bond veteran Bruce Feirstein, who has previously penned the scripts for GoldenEye, The World is Not Enough, and Tomorrow Never Dies, to name a few. It will also have new original music written by Grammy Award winner Joss Stone. In keeping with the model set out by the rebooted GoldenEye, Blood Stone will include character models and voice work from current Bond Daniel Craig, as well as Dame Judi Dench and Joss Stone.

David Pokress, Activision's Head of Marketing for Licensed Properties (his parents must be so proud), had this to say about the new game:

"James Bond 007: Blood Stone captures the cinematic intensity of a Bond film by immersing players in an intriguing conspiracy that will require them to think and act like James Bond. In addition, the game will feature a diverse array of multi-player modes and debut strategic objective-based gameplay that will allow Xbox 360, PS3 and PC players to battle as teams of spies and mercenaries through authentic Bond locales."

With settings as far-flung as Athens, Istanbul, Monaco, and Bangkok, the game will attempt to capture the feeling of being as the world's best-known secret agent. Of course this might be the point where I could point out that many other sub-par games have attempted this in the past (Agent Under Fire and NightFire come right to mind), but that might be counter-productive. Suffice it to say that Activision, a company known for its willingness to milk a franchise to bone-dryness, is hoping that gamers will accept another Bond game not based on a movie. Hell, with the future of the Bond movies in limbo due to MGM being a nearly-bankrupt studio, fans of James will have to take what they can get.