The JAMES BOND 007 game is a masterpiece of design, serving its subject perfectly, but it is long out of print. CLASSIFIED takes that system, tweaks it where it needs adjustment, and gifts it to you. It could come in a glitzier package, but here system is the point.

To my mind, the James Bond rpg is the best high-action, pure espionage ruleset there is, and Classified would be the best way to play it in the 2020s even if the original were somehow still in print. It is to JB 007 what Old School Essentials is to Moldvay D&D (cleaned up, more concise, more neatly organized) but also more than that because it subtlly streamlines a number of rules and tackles the not-insignificant task of updating the original's large catalogue of 1980s tech to the present day (or at least the 2010s), all while maintaining complete backwards compatibility. Also, the author's not-SPECTRE antagonist org and villains are pitch-perfect and show real creativity and love of the source material. The author clearly "gets" the tone and details of Bond media and espionage fiction in general in a way that frankly makes most other contemporary spy-themed rpgs look kind of half-assed by comparison (Night's Black Agents and Delta Green excepted, naturally). While the chart-hunting and numerous special procedures might be a turn-off for some, I find said procedures are well worth the trouble for the spot-on genre emulation they provide (and can be modfied or skipped over easily enough as the GM prefers), modifiers and difficulty ratings can be eyeballed, and the main resolution table can be easily internalized once you spot the formula it's derived from. In other words, it plays fast and seamlessly once you get the basics down. TLDR: This game rips, and it's a shame it doesn't get more attention.

I love espionage RPGs and am always looking for different systems to try. When I heard about Classified it was labeled a Victory Games James Bond RPG clone, and basically it is. I played thee original many times in the 80s and 90s, so I have a bit of experience with similiar game mechanics. That said, it does a much better job of explaining rules and presenting game concepts. This game compared to other espionage RPGs is better run with one or two players maximum. The different levels of success is a great mechanic, something that 7th edition Call of Chtulhu is doing. Skills are a bit clunky, but once you play a couple sessions you get accustomed to it.

Is it great? No, but its good and playable.

I did not play the original game. I was getting impatient waiting for a new edition of another spy game to be released and I thought, while I’m all excited about playing a spy game why don’t I give this a try? I’m glad I did. This game has some really interesting concepts and I found it to be a really capable game system. It was not too hard to pick up even though I have never played it before. Here are some things about the game that stuck out to me.

Mechanically, everything seems to be decided using a d% roll. So you just need two ten sided dice to play. You calculate your skill level plus attribute bonus for a particular check then consult a table concerning the difficulty and then roll the d% to determine if you succeeded and if so, how well. In combat both hitting and damaging all happen with the same roll. The two tables at the core of this system are pretty wacky looking at first sight but once you “get it” it’s really flexible and brings a powerful sense of possibility and chance to the game. You will want those two tables tattooed on your arm though, you will consult them a lot.

The game has a really good chase system. That’s a big deal to me. Spy games need to have a good chase system. This one rivals the best of them. It’s like playing a game of chess and chicken all at the same time. I love it.

The game system is not flexible in the characters it creates. Stats and skills are really only concerned with things James Bond would do and I think there are some pretty apparent holes in the skills a character can learn. For example, one of my players wanted wilderness survival skills. James Bond does not do camping so don’t look for it on the character sheet. No such skill exists.

I love guns and was underwhelmed by the list of available guns. There were several 9mm handguns available but not one 45. No 1911, no USP, no MK21, even though these are very popular spec ops handguns often fitted with suppressors. I also found it strange that the old Browning Hi Power in 9mm did more damage than the Beretta M9 9mm. Someone help me understand that.

I think the formula that maps skills to characterizes is a little awkward too. Stealth gets a bonus from Willpower not Dex? Local Customs linked to Perception? Charisma linked to Willpower? I’m sure this is all translated from the old game and has to stay intact to keep these rules compatible with the old game but it’s still awkward.

To sum things up though, there are some awkward artifacts from the game this one was probably patterned from and I would have liked seeing them cleaned up a bit, however, this is still a uniquely cool game. I would like to see a revised skill system down the road someday. I really think that would bring this game to the next level.