IO Interactive has finally let James Bond drive the Aston Martin Valhalla, and the fix is free. The studio behind 007: First Light released a DLC pack called Extended Operations earlier this week, and one of its missions, Valhalla Protocol, puts Bond behind the wheel of the sleek sports car in a mountain rampage.
The game launched in May to warm reviews, but critics noted a notable gap: the Valhalla, which appears on a pedestal in Q-Lab throughout the campaign, barely gets a proper drive. Players got a short turret sequence and little else. Now they get the full tour.
The Mission That Finally Delivers
Valhalla Protocol sits inside First Light’s TacSim mode, which the piece compares to Metal Gear Solid’s VR missions with a lavish budget. In it, Bond cuts through the mountains of Slovakia, blasting drones and other vehicles with the car’s rockets and twin machine guns. It is the kind of spectacle that the game teased for hours but never delivered in the main story.
The mission is not alone. Extended Operations bundles a new TacSim Operation called Jungle Heist, which turns the game’s Vietnamese hotel into a randomised affair where Bond has to steal documents from a villa’s safe. There is also a Photo Mode, a New Game + that lets players replay the campaign in different suits and tweak their gadget loadouts, and a new “00” difficulty level that unlocks after finishing the campaign.
There is also a bulldog you can pet. IO’s way of thanking players for putting the game on 7 million wishlists.
“Obviously, I’d have preferred to see a mission like this in the campaign, but it’s still nice to see the Valhalla liberated from that tiny garage adjacent to Q-Lab.”
The Campaign’s Car Problem
The DLC does not fully repair the original complaint. The piece notes that it would have preferred to see the Valhalla in the campaign proper, where it could have anchored a chase sequence instead of a brief turret ride. But the standalone mission is better than nothing, and it gives the car the road time it deserved.
| Mission | Setting | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Valhalla Protocol | Mountains of Slovakia | Blowing up drones and vehicles |
| Jungle Heist | Vietnamese hotel | Stealing documents from a villa’s safe |
The table shows the range of what the DLC delivers: one mission is a wild drive, the other a stealthy theft, and both sit outside the main story.
The Sequel’s Uncertain Future
007: First Light was a big hit for IO Interactive, selling 1.5 million copies within 24 hours and becoming the studio’s fastest-selling game. Whether there is a sequel depends on who controls it.
Back in July, Amazon Gaming’s general manager said the company would “probably want IOI developing it.” Amazon also did not rule out buying IO outright, which would bring the Danish developer under its wing. The piece notes that, given the choice between a sequel and an independent IO Interactive, it would take the latter — “if only for Hitman’s sake.”
The DLC is available now, and it is free. For anyone who bought the game and wanted to drive that car, the wait is over.
Key Facts Box
– Game: 007: First Light
– DLC: Extended Operations
– New mission: Valhalla Protocol (TacSim)
– Other modes: Jungle Heist, Photo Mode, New Game +
– Sales: 1.5 million copies in 24 hours
– Studio: IO Interactive
– Amazon Gaming’s position: Would “probably want IOI developing it”
– Wishlists: 7 million
The DLC is a small victory for fans who wanted more of what the game teased. It is not the campaign fix everyone asked for, but it is a gleaming car, a mountain road, and rockets aimed at drones. That is enough to justify the download.
Source material: “007: First Light gets free DLC that will finally let you drive James Bond's Aston Martin properly,” PC Gamer.
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