Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

The news that developer Treyarch was to handle the latest Bond movie game was welcome. With experience working on heavyweight first person shooters such as the Call of Duty series, fans have been hoping that the developer could bring some much-needed expertise to everyone’s favourite secret service agent. Since Bond’s definitive outing in Rare’s Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64, 007 has struggled in videogames, developers only too eager to lean on the merits of the mythology rather than work to make a compelling experience.

The good news is that Quantum of Solace, a game which is based on both the new Bond movie and his previous outing, Casino Royale, is solid and robust right from the off. Visually, the game is disappointing, looking more like a PlayStation 2 game than something created for a next generation machine. But underneath the graphics the excellent Call of Duty 4 engine hums meaning that that game’s legions of fans will settle into the game’s systems and controls seamlessly.

The game switches elegantly between first and third person perspectives, first for when you’re running around taking down enemies with PP7 shots to the head and third person for when you’re ducking behind cover and fighting enemies in hand to hand combat. Run up to an enemy and the view switches automatically, a button indicator appearing on screen which, if pressed in time, causes Bond to choke the hostile out.

The levels are tight and corridored but the scripting is excellent, lending the game a cinematic feel. Early in the game, just as Bond is trying to download some incriminating evidence for a computer system, a bomb goes off in the room. You then run through the mansion as it burns to the ground, still taking out enemies who pop their heads around marble pillars, but desperately trying to escape before the roof comes crashing down. It’s a filmic scene but also one that has translated well to the game.

The game employs what Treyarch is calling ‘mousetraps’ - shootable objects that trigger environmental effects, similar to the ‘Bond Moments’ concept seen in the EA Bond titles. These can vary from giant gas canisters that explode with screen shaking violence through to more simple interactions such as an enemy on a balcony who, if shot, will tumble down to the ground breaking open a cellar door. The idea works well, lending levels the hint of a puzzle element that helps to keep the formula fresh.

There’s no denying that Quantum of Solace is being aimed at the mass market. There are no gory blood splats in this world and the corridored levels mean you’ll never get lost, while, on the default difficulty the game will be too easy for FPS veterans. But it’s a Bond game through and through, a big, slick, Saturday matinee sort of a game. Thanks to its solid core engine and a few neat flourishes, it emerges as one of the best Bond games of recent times.

4 out of 5