James Bond is a role model to men worldwide. He not only picks up any gorgeous women he wants, but he’s able to kick tail within any fight while maintaining his style – an attribute that any guy would die for. Men would also kill for the ability to drive his exotic cars, use high-tech gadgets, and get invited to the hottest and most elegant parties. So when Activision announced they secured the license of James Bond from MGM Interactive in 2006, hopes arose that a quality video game would be produced for the first time in a long time. Sure enough, Treyarch (creators of Spider-Man 2) has developed a title worthy of a fan’s time, Quantum of Solace; though, if only, in portions.
Using the Call of Duty 4 engine, Quantum of Solace places gamers into the first-person perspective with a few modifications. Players will enter into sequences where they are asked to press the correct order button combinations to take out their opposition with brute force. Whether it’s breaking an arm or a leg, Bond disposes of his enemies through these quick-time events in gruesome fashion but they become repetitive in a short time. The other large change was the addition a cover system so you can see the studly Daniel Craig scoping out the battlefield before he charges forward to eliminate the henchman.
The cover system is what holds back Quantum of Solace from being an outstanding title. Players will enter into cover by pressing A or dash to safety of cover by holding A. Practically any surface can be used, but there are times when entering or exiting cover is a hassle. Aiming within cover is too slow so it’s hard to switch between targets on the fly. It wouldn’t be such a problem if the game levels didn’t focus on pushing Bond into situations where he has to stop and fire behind cover against four to eight enemies every few minutes or so.
The story of Quantum of Solace follows the arc of the movie with a few changes for purposes of adding in action. In the beginning, you’ll be chasing a henchman who will have cohorts helping him to his escape route which differs from the movie where Bond never encounters a soul trying to halt him. In comparison, the video game suffers from a lack of tension that is built up throughout the scene in the movie. While the changes like this are logical, they don’t serve their purpose in the end of creating a better game. Fans of the movie will be disappointed from time to time on how Treyarch converted the scenes into the video game.
