Quantum of Solace

ESRB: Teen
Reviewed on: Xbox 360

Quantum of Solace is Activision's first 007 game released since gaining the license from EA in 2006. It also marks the first Bond game released on 7th generation consoles (it is also released on 6th gen too). Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikklesen, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, and Judi Dench all lend their voice and likeness to the game, which does give make it seem like you indeed are playing the movie, however, this time, that's a bad thing.

Quantum of Solace doesn't fail so much due to the fact that it's not a great game to play, it fails in the regard that it's based on a movie, which while containing some over-the-top action, was largely a drama-love story that couldn't hold a candle to the action found in Goldeneye, From Russia With Love, Everything or Nothing, or even Nightfire. When producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson decided to take Bond in a different direction I was pleased with what came out on the big screen but was disappointed in the fact that the toned down, more realistic action wouldn't translate well to a video game, where over-the-top is the standard.

Some of the best, most action filled scenes from both movies, are presented to us through cutscenes instead of playable missions and while I don't want to spoil the movie at all I would've loved to have driven the car during the car chase that starts the movie, Quantum of Solace, with a bang. Instead, however, it is presented to us via an opening credits scene. You shouldn't play this game without seeing the movie as the game either assumes you have seen the movie or the developers just thought you were psychic and didn't think you needed to be provided with any sort of back story on why you are where you are during the game.

The game does do a fairly good job switching between the 2 movies and I can only guess that the Casino Royale portions of the game had been worked on during the development of the canceled Casino Royale video game. Instead of switching back and forth you start out with Quantum of Solace then cut into all of Casino Royale then finish Quantum of Solace. You begin right at the end of Casino Royale, and play a part unseen in either movie, in which you storm Mr. White's mansion. The game ends on a cliffhanger note unseen in the movie (Quantum of Solace ends where the previous Bond's started, the gun barrel sequence which I can only assume means that the next film may take off after Die Another Day, however don't quote me on that as I am probably going to be horribly wrong)

The game does translate well from screen to game graphically and the set pieces and landscapes are gorgeous. It does a good job of making you feel as if you are in Venice, or Sienna, or Bregenz or wherever the game happens to be. I was disappointed in the linear map construction as I only encountered 3 areas in which I could choose different paths. While common for a first person shooter of this nature, Everything or Nothing did have several ways to get to the end.

I did feel that the shooting was spot on. You have to keep in mind that you play as James Bond, he kills for a living and he's good at it. I did get the sense that I was Bond not only due to the soundtrack but due to the fact that I could pull of fairly ridiculous, borderline redonculous, moves. Being able to run into a room while shooting a guy off a balcony, dash into cover, wipe out an entire room of bad guys, then jump out of cover and punch a guy into submission did give me an adrenaline rush. Shooting was fairly simple and is the same as in Call of Duty 4. The cover mechanism was very nice and switched you into a third person view in which you could blind-fire from. Melee moves were accomplished with a quick action system and were fairly good, however they did get repetitive after awhile.

Multiplayer, as in Goldneye 007, is Quantum of Solace's standout. Several game modes were present including a Bond Evasion mode in which you play as Bond and must escape from everybody else trying to kill you. The golden gun mode is back and is the same as it is in the other Bond game. One shot kills and whoever wield the golden gun should be feared. The traditional deathmatch modes exist and the game does do a good job of translating the single player maps into multiplayer. While the multiplayer is good, I am concerned about how many people will actually play it, though, due in part to the fact that there are so many other good games coming out.

The action packed movies of the Pierce Brosnan Bond we all came to know and love as video games is gone as a more realistic, toned down Daniel Craig Bond is in. While I would love to see another Everything or Nothing I do understand that by doing so, it would deviate from the character that it emulates on the big screen. Treyarch did the best they could with what was presented to them and even though the story is lacking, the game is a solid, well-made first person shooter, that is the best FPS 007 game since Goldeneye. My advice is this, if you prefer the more realistic action in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace then you will like Quantum of Solace, however if you are more into the action that is found in Die Another Day and the other Pierce Brosnan films, you may prefer the older Everything or Nothing.

Graphics: 7/10 While the graphics of the surrounding area and landscapes looked gorgeous, the character animations and models fell far short. I understand that rag-doll physics were taken out to avoid an M rating however I felt that there wasn't enough variety in the scripted animations and it felt like I killed the same guy hundreds of times since the model variety was low. The few cutscenes that involve full 3d models instead of the 2D computer layout were horrid and the characters were stiffer than that time I saw Adrianne Curry in a bikini on a beach in SoCal.

Audio: 8/10 While the gunfire sounds do get repetitive, the soundtrack, as in every other single Bond, is outstanding. It's just another blah FPS action game until the Bond theme starts playing. You get excited and you do feel you are Bond when it kicks in.

Length: 6/10 The game is short. Don't blame Treyarch though, it was short due to the fact that the movies it is based on are short on action in comparison to other Bond games. It took as much action as it could and made it as long as they could.

Replayability: 5/10 This is the kind of game that when you beat it, you beat it. Unlike Everything or Nothing which rewards you for playing missions again, Quantum of Solace offers you nothing more. This is especially evident due to the linear construction of the maps, as alternate routes are few and far between. The multiplayer is just as good as Call of Duty 4 (it is the same engine), but I still have doubts on the amount of people that will play this game when so many other games are coming out (more on this below)

Gameplay: 8/10 When you forget about the shortness of the games length and you forget about the character models and animations you do get a very solid shooter with a great first person mode and a good third person cover mechanism. Treyarch has a good thing going here and hopefully it can build on this and make a game that is only partially or not at all based on the next movie.

Overall: 7/10 While it is a good game, it's being released at the same time as other action games such as Fallout 3, Gears of War 2, Saints Row 2, Dead Space, Far Cry 2, Legendary, Call of Duty: World At War, Left 4 Dead, Mirrors Edge, and Tomb Raider: Underworld. While it is a good game, it's not great and anything short of great will fall short in both sales and hype because of all the other holiday-season releases.