- Title: Quantum of Solace
- Publisher: Activision
- Developer: Treyarch
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: FPS
- Pros: Solid shooter gameplay; fun set pieces; good multiplayer; good graphics and sound
- Cons: Very, very short single-player; Quick Time Events; disjointed story
Quantum of Solace’s single-player game takes you through not only the QoS story but revisits the Casino Royale story as well on the form of a lengthy flashback in the middle of the game. The way the story is told in general is, honestly, kind of hard to follow and when you take your little trip down memory lane for a couple of hours before coming back to Quantum of Solace, it is easy to forget what the story was to begin with. So, storytelling isn’t the strong point here. Unfortunately, despite having two movies worth of content to draw from, Quantum of Solace the game only lasts about 5 hours, which is just ridiculously short.
So what do you do after you run through the whole single-player campaign in one sitting? Multiplayer, of course! Quantum of Solace offers a full suite of multiplayer modes that can be a lot of fun. The maps are generally pretty good, and the gameplay is solid, so there is a lot to like here. I’m not going to say it will draw people away from the big Xbox 360 multiplayer shooters, but if you do give it a try you aren’t going to be disappointed.
Gameplay
The game generally does a good job of giving you some variety so the missions don’t all feel the same. Stealth and sniping missions are woven in between chases and normal action sequences to always keep you on your toes. There are some great set pieces as well that really make you feel like James Bond, which really is the point of a game like this. My only real complaint here is that the game relies on Quick-Time-Events a bit too much, and they almost always catch you off guard so you fail the first time you see them. I can understand that you want to give players some interactivity in complicated action sequences they couldn’t play through, but QTEs suck. I’d be happy just sitting back and watching cool stuff happen, thank you very much.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, Quantum of Solace is a nice looking game. The environments are very nice, and the main characters look just like their real world counterparts. The menus and briefings between missions are also very stylish and good looking.The sound is a definite high point as well thanks to great music (and the classic Bond theme, natch) and good sound effects. Having Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and some other main characters lend their voices to the game certainly helps as well.
Bottom Line
