Quantum of Solace Review

Goldeneye is widely regarded as one of the greatest First Person Shooter of all time. Since then, everyone has held high hopes for every new Bond game and every time they have been disappointed. After a wealth of sub-par editions to the franchise, Quantum of Solace, running on the Call of Duty 4 game engine and developed by Treyarch (the devs of COD3) has the best chance yet of coming close to the benchmark set all those years ago. Let's see how it holds up.

I Love:

The Bond License: QoS is the first game in a while to be linked with an actual movie (in this game two; Casino Royale and QoS) and it really helps the game along. Daniel Craig looks excellent and his presence in the game gives it some real authenticity and style.

The Multiplayer: There's a nice selection of maps online, quite a few game modes, a busy community and a neat weapon purchase/upgrade system. Lag is rarely an issue and it's quick and easy to find matches.

The Boss Fights: Rather than present the player with an unstoppable powerhouse which can soak up countless bullets and grenades, Treyarch instead present the boss encounters as neat little Quick-Time Events. QTEs are present in almost every game these days, but here at least they are used in a reasonable and welcome fashion.

I Hate:

The Lifespan: The single player campaign on offer is very short and easy, even on the hardest difficulty. There are undoubtedly some frustrating parts, but this seems to be the fault of the game rather than yourself and helps to expose flaws in the gameplay.

The Graphics: Although Bond himself looks good and there are some nice effects here and there, the majority of the game is bland and uninspired. The environments are relatively varied, but the cover-based gameplay soon becomes repetitive.

The Perspective: Because of the massive amount of time you will spend in cover, in third person, the thought occurs to me that perhaps this game would be better suited to a general TP perspective along the lines of Gears of War. It would make sense to show more of Bond seeing as he is the focal point of the game.

Regardless of the fact that this is clearly another generic FPS, I like it and would recommend it. It has some nice features and decent multiplayer, and the achievements are easy. It's no Call of Duty, but it's definately worth trying out in between the bigger titles.

6.5/10

Achievement Difficulty: 4/10