Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace's development must have felt like one of those inspirational sports movies - like Rocky or Champions - where the odds are stacked against them from the very beginning. First off, QoS is a movie to video game crossover directly tied in to the launch of the movie it's pimping. Next up there's the whole "Goldeneye" factor, where any game featuring James Bond will always be compared to one of the most famously championed video games ever. Then there's the fact that the game is made by Treyarch - a competent development team commonly known in gaming circles as "Not Infinity Ward".

So the game definitely has the odds stacked against it in terms of getting a fair go from the hardcore sector - especially with the last factor. Nevertheless, QoS gives it its all - and the end result is more like Rocky than it is The Mighty Ducks. It loses, but you get the feeling it did its best.

You'll see the effort that went into the game - and the subsequent failure to reach its goal - within the first 15 minutes of the game. Straight up you'll see how much detail has gone into making James Bond look like Daniel Craig. They put a lot of effort into putting Daniel Craig into the game - far beyond just getting him to do some voice acting. It's astounding how good the whole thing looks - and then the rest of the game rears its head.

While the character models are fantastic, the rest of the game is not so great. The car animations, environmental effects and the gunfire - all the other elements in the game look really average. The cover system is a great addition - because it shows off the work put into Daniel Craig - but the rest of the action is quite poor. Leaping out of cover can be very hit and miss - sometimes you'll run to another piece of cover, other times you'll stand in the crossfire, wondering what went wrong.

One area you'd think QoS would be safe is the storyline - you've already got a story set out in the movie, right? Unfortunately the game flits between Casino Royale (the previous Bond film) and Quantum of Solace so often you get confused as to who you need to kill. It's also somewhat short - but that's a curse inherent with the movie tie-in genre really.



The bulk of the game is really in the multiplayer then - and Quantum of Solace is actually quite cool in this regard. You don't have to worry about poor car animations here - it's pure kill or be killed in the game's more than adequate multiplayer. The Call of Duty 4 engine provides QoS with a solid multiplayer foundation - although things do work a bit different.

You have your average deathmatch stuff plus three other modes - a FFA style Golden Gun mode, a mode reminiscent of the old VIP_ maps on Counter-Strike - one player is Bond while everyone else either protects him or kills him and my favourite - a Bond versus the world mode. One player is Bond and everyone else is a guard - if you're Bond you want to avoid other people at all costs while you find bombs littered around the map, and if you're a guard... Find Bond and kill him!

Multiplayer makes up for the short singleplayer experience, but we're forced to wonder if it's enough to get people buying the game. With decent support from Treyarch - new maps and regular DLC - QoS's online community might be worthwhile for some time, but Treyarch are involved with so many projects right now we're not sure that will happen. If you can find a core group of players to get your game on with you're at least guaranteed some fun in MP.

Using the Call of Duty 4 engine was a slick move from Treyarch, and the cover system is a fantastic addition - if a little rough around the edges. Quantum of Solace directly suffers at the hands of a strict movie release schedule - with more time the game could have been the Goldeneye replacement everyone has been dreaming of. If you're a diehard Bond fan you'll enjoy the game - you still play as James Bond - but with so many A grade titles out right now it might be worthwhile holding off on this purchase for now. Oh, and see the new movie first if you want to have some semblance of a clue as to what's going on.