on frames from the film. The game's use of physical combat was inspired by Connery's portrayal of Bond in the films, with Schofield describing him as "more of a brawler" compared to later actors who played the character. The likenesses of several deceased actors from the film were used as well, including Desmond Llewelyn as Q, Robert Shaw as Red Grant, and Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb. The game also introduces two new characters: Natasha Bedingfield as Elizabeth Stark, and Maria Menounos as Eva. Bedingfield had previously performed a song for the Bond spin-off game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004). The development team had full access to MGM's collection of reference material for the film, which helped to recapture its 1960s setting. The game uses washed-out sepia tones to match the look of the film, and level designs were based on Bond film sets created by production designer Ken Adam. The game's art director, Dave Carson, said it was challenging to match the film's time period: "The movie takes place primarily in Istanbul, which offers few '60s-specific images. We used '60s clothing and hairstyles wherever possible". The team visited the game's real-life locations, such as Big Ben, to take reference photos. The game's soundtrack was composed by Christopher Lennertz and recorded at Abbey Road Studios. The game was completed on October 20, 2005. In North America, it was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on 1 November 2005, followed by a GameCube release two weeks later. The PlayStation Portable version was announced that month, and was released in North America in April 2006. From Russia with Love was the final Bond game by EA, which lost the rights to Activision in 2006. It would also mark Connery's final appearance as Bond before his death in 2020. Reception From Russia with Love received "mixed or average" reviews according to aggregating review website Metacritic. Many points were given to the enhanced graphics and play difficulty. The Times gave it a score of four stars out of five and stated that "It's enough to make you toss your trilby on to a hat-rack in delight." However, Maxim gave it a score of six out of ten and stated that though the game was challenging, "it's also sometimes pedestrian, with a host of uninspired levels and dim bad guys ruining what could have been the triumphant return of 007." Within three months of its