007: Quantum of Solace (video game)

Summary:

Running off Infinity Ward's modified engine of id Software 3 Engine, so right off the bat, Quantum of Solace has an engine, that works for First Person shooters, which this game gives the impression of. 90% of this game however, doesn't even play as an FPS. It's more of a cover based combat shooter where you take on hundreds of stupid henchmen and complete objectives. For singleplayer, the game mainly consists of Casino Royale levels. You have the Madagascar chase scene through a fishing village, then it transforms into a chase scene through the construction site, shortly after your in Miami airport, then all the way to the Venice scene. There are really only 4 levels that are actually based on the movie Quantum of Solace, and that's excluding the prelude scene which picks up deliberately after Bond shoots Mr. White in the foot at the end of Casino Royale.

Gameplay:

Running on an engine that's at it's prime, this game does not disappoint in terms of holding a solid 60FPS, and the game having the capability to awe you at times. However, considering this was on the back burner of Treyarch's plate, this game was a shot in the dark. It's not a bad experience, the gameplay takes some getting used too and the combat slows down thanks to the cover based combat. However the cover works well, it does ruin the experience at times. It takes you out of the picture like I felt the developers were confused whether they wanted to make a 3rd person or a 1st person. Not only that, but there is almost no point to using a melee attack. It makes you feel more like Daniel Craig's James Bond by doing the CQC take downs, however; it doesn't really serve a purpose in the game. Rather than even being to quickly melee someone, you basically slow the game down, press either 1 of the 4 take down buttons (depending on your console) and then you take them down. Going into Quick time events, they don't work well... at times, you either press the button and it doesn't work, or it acts like you pressed the button to slow, or the wrong one and your punished. The combat feels very bland too. Your either shooting people or shooting objects that shoot people. Nothing spectacular ever really happens unless you do a QTE, and when you do, it isn't all that appealing. Even on the hardest difficulty, there's not much of a real challenge so achievement hunting is actually a good idea for the achievement hunter, but for an other hardcore gamer, there's no real challenge. It's a decent Bond experience at best.

Multiplayer:

A disappointment. For a game that runs on the COD4 engine, this game is an epic failure. For starters, the gameplay is unbalanced. Shotguns almost have unlimited range, and completely out do the purpose of having another other form of weapon. The biggest and only tip you should give anyone about to play this game on Multiplayer, is use a shotgun, their almost guaranteed to win. The game allows you to, rather than earn experience, earn money which you use to buy weapons. The weapon choices you get aren't much, and there are even forms of perks so Call of Duty veterans have something familiar to work with. It is easy to pick up, just very unbalanced and thanks to Treyarch ditching all their previous projects for Black Ops there won't be any fixes anytime soon.

On a scale of 1 - 10:
6.5 out of 10 (Below Average)
This title really isn't worth the check out, except if you were hoping for a Casino Royale/Quantum of Solace video game. As soon as you've beaten it however, aside from collecting power weapons and getting the achievements there's little excuse to why you should go back and play this.

This is quite possibly the worst Bond game in the history of man. The controls are complicated, character movement is limited (no jumping), and the story is absolutely horrible! I bought this for the PC and XBox and wished I never would have even saw it in the store. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!!!