''James Pond: Underwater Agent'' is a 1990

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

that was developed by British video game developer

Millennium Interactive Guerrilla Cambridge (formerly SCE Studio Cambridge) was a British video game developer based in Cambridge, England. The studio was founded under Sony Computer Entertainment in July 1997 through the buyout of the game development division of Cyb ...

and published by Millennium Interactive and

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Acorn Archimedes Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, Cambridge, England. The systems are based on Acorn's own ARM architecture processors and the proprietary operating systems Arthur and RISC OS. The fi ...

, and

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

. It was the first in the James Pond series of games.

Gameplay

Amiga screenshot James Pond has to solve puzzles to defeat the enemy and the gameplay revolves around finding objects to perform specific tasks, such as keys to rescue captured lobsters, or sponges to bung up the holes in leaking oil tankers. James must also fire bubbles at his enemies to trap them, before popping them to finish them off.

Plot

A nefarious

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

named "Doctor Maybe" (a play on '' Dr. No'') has overtaken the ruthless megacorporation Acme Oil Company, and is not only filling the oceans with radiation and toxic waste but even threatening all the world from his underwater lair. The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the story and

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

of the game is an intelligent,

mutated In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitos ...

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

mudskipper Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and ...

who is given the name "James Pond" (after the legendary spy

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

) and hired by the

British Secret Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...

to protect the seas and take out the bad guys in underwater areas. He is also suave enough to seduce numerous attractive

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

s, some of whom act as double agents as is common with James Bond's love interests. The game spoofs

James Bond movies James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niven ...

with levels mimicking their titles, with level names like "License to Bubble" (after ''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...

''), "A View to a Spill" (after ''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

''), "Leak and Let Die" (after '' Live and Let Die'') and "From

Three Mile Island 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

with Love" (after '' From Russia with Love'').

Reception

''James Pond'' received mixed but mostly positive reviews. ''

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' (abbreviated as ''VG&CE'') was an American magazine dedicated to covering video games on computers, home consoles and arcades. It was published by LFP, Inc. from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Offe ...

'' gave the game seven out of ten, calling it "an entertaining and challenging undersea caper that should please just about anyone". ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' gave it a four, four, three, and six, out of ten, calling it "not exciting or fun", but "a nice kids icgame". Mega Action gave James Pond a score of 82% writing: "James Pond does for fish as Sonic does for hedgehogs. It features some really cute baddies, making this game a real joy to play." Console XS gave a review score of 70%, they felt it was not a good conversion from the computer version and wrote that "Everything is far too bland and boring to excite Pond fans." Megatech gave the genesis version an overall score of 77% writing: "A cute and entertaining twelve-level aquatic platform game which provides plenty of fun."

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...

magazine however suggested that the Genesis port of the game, was “Better than Sonic” on the front page of their then latest issue.

Legacy

''James Pond'' was followed by two sequels: '' James Pond 2: Codename Robocod'' and '' James Pond 3: Operation Starfish''. There was also a spin-off sports-themed game '' The Aquatic Games'' and a cameo in '' Rolo to the Rescue''. James Pond returned in '' James Pond in the Deathly Shallows'' for the iPhone and the iPad on June 30, 2011."He's back: James Pond in the Deathly Shallows set for a June 30th iPhone splashdown"
Pocket Gamer. In September 2013, Gameware Europe, who acquired the ''James Pond'' license in 2003, launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

for a new game in the series, ''James Pond: Pond is Back!'', featuring the game's original designer, Chris Sorrell. The Kickstarter was canceled on October 7 as the funding target looked unlikely to be achieved.

References

External links

*
Game reviewArticle on James Pond
fro
Sega-16.comEnvironment Agency 'Licence to Fish' film
{{James Pond series 1990 video games Acorn Archimedes games Amiga games Atari ST games Pond, James Game Boy games Millennium Interactive games Parody video games Platform games Sega Genesis games Video games scored by Richard Joseph Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games with underwater settings