It's always the same. You wait for the game of the biggest film franchise you've ever seen, and then two come along at once on a single Blu-Ray. Just like with buses. Not that I'm complaining, of course. It's a Bond game, after all.

Quantum of Solace is based around the last two Bond movies, Casino Royale and the film of the same name, Quantum of Solace. Bond's quest to uncover Le Chiffre and his quest to hunt down the man who was responsible for the death of someone close to him make the plotline jam packed and fast-paced.

The storyline is, overall, good - but some niggling weaknesses stop Quantum from being what it should be. The game's focus is mainly on the storyline of Casino Royale; Quantum's story is rushed and leaves the player wondering why the things that happened did happen. However, the scenes taken from both stories are well ported into the game, with extra bits added into the scenes to beef it up a bit.

The gameplay is the game's real strong point. Based on the Call of Duty 4 game engine, Activision have worked hard to make sure gameplay is smooth. The cover system is excellent, and the controls are simple enough to master. Switching between the first-person and third-person view is quick and fluid, and clever little additions like being able to turn round corners whist remaining in cover mode make Quantum's gameplay something special.

Graphics are average. When running in 1080i, there's noticeable jagged edges and textures could do with some work. The quality of the graphics varies throughout the game, although they're noticably better in cover than they are in the first-person view. The P99 is also the only gun with an animation for screwing on a silencer, so not much work has gone in there.

There are some really clever features, though. The ability to play the major fistfights from both movies is a big thumbs-up - the Siena fight at the beginning of Quantum is playable, as well as the freight train fight and the Bond/guy-with-samurai-sword-who-tries-to-cut-Bond-in-half action sequence. All these set pieces are played using a series of in-time button presses, which ultimately decide Bond's fate.

Quantum's online features are poor. The game modes are unoriginal and the network features are plagued with the same tumours Call of Duty 4 suffered, for example host ended game, downloading game settings and poor connection due to a lack of dedicated servers. The gameplay online can also be glitchy and the speed of your broadband will make a huge difference on your score, as the game's speed tends to bias toward those with a better connection.

So, is Mr. Bond's latest outing going into the bargain basket or the record books. The honest answer is neither. It'll stay on the shelves, for the plain reason that it isn't amazing and it isn't terrible - Quantum is an okay effort at a Bond game. If you've got fifty quid lying about and like Bond, buy it - but if you aren't particularly keen on Bond, steer clear.

7/10

Linford

Labels: 007, Quantum of Solace, Review

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