James Bond games have had a tough time of things on consoles ever since Rare’s Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 cemented itself as the number one Bond licensed game for the generation at the time, and many more after it. Even now, despite the graphics not ageing very well, the game is still held in high regard despite numerous attempts from other developers on newer platforms trying to capture the essence of what made Goldeneye the distinct movie tie in classic it is.
With EA and others taking the helm and license to produce James Bond games for a while, we’ve had a number of contenders, with some being quite worthy in their own right, but none truly capturing the spirit of the N64 game. Perhaps it’s the fact that Rare’s game defined what it was to be a movie tie in game that actually fulfilled its promise and a lot more. Well Goldeneye is pretty much dated nowadays and when compared to the shooters on Xbox 360, is a pretty basic affair no matter how much nostalgia you place upon it. It’s easy to have a fuzzy memory of times past, like a boozy night spent in a smoke filled hotel room downing Champaign from lipstick stained glasses with a couple of girls named Cassandra and Louise. However, it’s always welcome to move on and think about the future and what that holds, rather than clinging on to distorted memories that are as foggy as a car windscreen on a cold winter’s morning. Perhaps Cassandra and Louise weren't as great as you remember?
Friends Reunited
So here we are in 2008 and like old friends meeting for the first time in years, we have another James Bond game on the horizon, namely Quantum of Solace, which… and wait for it, is based on the forthcoming movie of the same name. Now before you put your coats on, down the last dregs of your now warm beverages and make a hasty beeline towards the exit, let me fill you in on what Quantum of Solace, the video game has to offer. Yes, it’s a movie tie in game, but it’s also the first Bond game of this generation and I think it’s well worth noting that the developers are keen to shake off the stigma attached to movie tie in games and the overshadowing of Rare’s now ancient classic.
Having spent some time playing Quantum of Solace, in both single and multiplayer, I personally feel that there is good reason, to actually get a little warm inside and somewhat excited over this latest James Bond title. To begin, the game is divided into a reasonably lengthy single player and an impressive multiplayer for the online or system link masses. Taking a look at the single player game for a moment, this spans 16 levels which meander around the story of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, featuring characters, locations and other elements that will be instantly recognizable from both movies. I was informed that the single player game should last the average gamer between 8 -12 hours, but with a huge level of replay value.
Quantum of Solace is being developed by Activision’s Treyarch and as you are probably familiar with their other games, namely the Call of Duty series means that the team are using an updated game engine used in the Call of Duty games. The Call of Duty games offer a very scripted gameplay narrative, with the action determined by a series of checkpoints and ongoing AI that is based around those same checkpoints. It certainly has served the series well enough, and in the context of a war game is pretty much acceptable and engaging enough to place the player into the heart of the combat soldier. However James Bond as a character is completely different to your average war hero, and with Daniel Craig’s interpretation of the Ian Fleming character, that delves into a more grittier and darker OO agent, Treyarch are keen to maintain Daniel’s more hands on approach and rugged no nonsense delivery by encapsulating a solid combat experience. In game you’ll be able to have your classic sneaking around, and as I discovered, when the time is right you can really go to town on the goons that you face, by sneaking up on them and entering a hand to hand moment. This is activated by pressing the right thumbstick in when close. You then enter a very short QTE moment where you need to press a button sequence to neutralize the threat, in 007’s own distinct manner. You can actually initiate this against any enemy if you can get close to them but I found that on the harder setting you’re not really going to be able to abuse this move unless you really are stealthy. The game will offer four difficulty levels which will obviously add to the replay value, and I think it’s worth noting that the AI is what is different as opposed to the story. You’re going to have to adopt different tactics on the harder settings, because Treyarch are proud of their AI routines they’ve built from the ground up for this game. So you can forget Call of Duty’s re-spawning enemies and be prepared to face guys that will flank, call in back up, dart in and out of cover and throw explosives at you. The game features a neat cover system where you can sit behind solid objects and time your moments as to when you’re going to pop out and shoot. A simple press of the A button initiates this. You can even hop over low objects by pressing the Y button when prompted.
The shooting mechanics are spot on as far as I’m concerned and with 26 weapons to mess around with, there’s certainly something for everyone here from the usual assortment of scoped rifles, shotguns, sub machine guns, sniper rifles and pistols etc. Using the Call of Duty mechanics has meant that combat is as fluid and engaging as you are used to if you’ve become accustomed to the COD gameplay style. The left trigger brings up your irons sights or scope, LB changes weapons, B to crouch and RB tosses grenades, and clicking in the left stick allows you to sprint. You can certainly “feel” the Call of Duty influence here and it works wonders. There are also some additional elements mapped to the d-pad which allows for adding silencers to weapons for those of you looking to proceed a little more covertly.
A Royal blast in the Casino
I played four of the levels which saw me on the Montenegro train ride from Casino Royale, a science centre infiltration and tutorial opening level which is the ending of the Casino Royale movie and follows Bond’s escape; a rooftop sniper battle followed by a downing of an attack helicopter boss battle (of which the game will have a few of these boss encounters as you’d expect). The levels were not overly long but offered enough variety to keep things interesting at all times, and I must confess that it is really the combat that offers the most gratification. Things like shooting explosive barrels which send opponents flying through the air is very satisfying indeed and naturally is optional depending on how you play. You can sit back, use the cover and time your shots, or if you’re feeling a little more brave, you can wade in guns a blazing a tear up your opponents, well at least on the normal difficulty setting. There is going be less emphasis on using gadgets, which is not to say that Bond isn’t a hi-tech guy, it’s just that he is more hands on with dealing with the opposition. There were several moments on one level where locked doors needed to be hacked open, and rather than mess around with a menu to select the right tool, the game simply applies this for you and enters a mini game of sorts. It’s a pretty simple mechanic and was fitting for the level; I was told that there wouldn’t be too much of these moments because they would break up the combat.
Quantum of Solace offers environments that are varied and non imposing, so although navigation is of the linear approach which might annoy some players, its linearity does lend itself to providing gamers the opportunity to just get stuck into the combat without having to worry about getting lost, that’s not to say you can’t digress from the set route, because there are some minor alternate routes you can take. There are cell phones that are either dropped by the enemy or found off the beaten path, and these can be hacked to give you further insight into the game’s levels and may reveal hints as to where some of the game’s secrets are. That’s right because, like many games, Quantum of Solace features a wealth of objective based achievements that will reward the players who perform specific actions as opposed to just simply beating the story.
Looking at the game in motion and its graphics engine, it’s clear that a lot of attention to detail has been included in the design process to reflect the two movies the game is based around. What’s neat is being able to shoot inanimate objects and watch the debris fly. Ok it’s not a major factor of the gameplay, but does offer that little added layer of immersion to put you into the game and its locales. From my playtime, everything worked as it should, and I encountered no hic-ups what so ever, which is great, as the game runs at a silky smooth 30 frames per second at all times. I did find the default aiming to be a little over sensitive for my tastes, but luckily you can tweak these in the options menu to suit your individual needs. Daniel himself looks perfectly rendered, although you’re only really going to see him during the hand to hand moments and when taking cover, the rest of the time is spent in first person glory – which for me at least I’m pleased.
Two’s Company…
Quantum of Solace is just over two years in the making, and not only features the single player component to whet you up and place you into the size 12 shoes of James Bond, (actually don’t quote me on his real shoe size) but also allows for competitive multiplayer. Again like the single player game, the Call of Duty influence is a major factor here. I guess the way you have to look at things is, the Call of Duty games have placed themselves well and truly into the hearts and minds of gamers, and to this day Call of Duty 4 is the number one Xbox Live game, due to its easy pick up and play nature. Quantum of Solace is effectively Call of Duty 4 with James Bond. The formula works, and means that gamers can jump right in as MI6 or Quantum agents, and start shooting each other to imaginary hell and back. You’ve got the 26 weapons on offer, several character classes to choose from, which provide differing skills in combat, and of course you’re able to level up and choose different loadouts/attachments from the XP gained.
The game will ship with 12 maps, although the team are going to be supporting the game post release with some downloadable content. There are several game modes, including the usual modes such as team death match etc. However I got to play some interesting modes such as Golden Gun, where one player grabs the golden gun and tries to keep all the other players off – this scoring points for each kill. The player who can kill the Golden Gun carrier and then grab the gun for themselves becomes the target and can score points for each kill, and so on. It’s an interesting mode, although requires some self control from players, as the onus is on killing the gun holder rather than those not in possession of the weapon. Anyone familiar with the modes in Call of Duty 4 will be right at home with what’s on offer here, and that’s a good thing, although I did feel that some of the respawning was a little unfair at times. The game will support up to 16 players although this could be increased before release.
The maps themselves were pretty decent and what I played was a rooftops level which was filled with intricate hiding points to snipe and move from cover to cover, stairwells and tight corridors to move around in; and talking of cover, the same system from the single player is included here as well, although I think for the most part you’ll be able to get by without using it due to the fast paced nature of the game.
The other level I played was in a construction site and this again offered a mixture of open areas with places that offered a little more cover, and some elevated positions. It worked well with the team king of the hill type mode we played. The final map was a smaller locale and was based on a villa complete with central courtyard and intricate stairs and corridors surrounding this. The maps are very well designed and offer the right amount of space for the number of players available. Gamers are going to have a lot of fun tearing around these with their arsenal of bullets and explosives.
Call of Duty who?
In closing, I feel that Quantum of Solace is really going to propel itself as a game for the shooter and James Bond fan. Craig's Bond isn’t smarmy or so clean cut that he becomes dislikable, and this lends itself well to the game and the action contained within. Yes it’s a Bond game, but it’s also an action orientated shooter and if you really don’t care for secret agents so much, then there’s certainly a game here that you can simply appreciate on a basic level. The Call of Duty influence is heavy here, and perhaps will be paramount to the game’s success, because the familiarity it brings means there’s no real learning and you can just jump right in and start kicking ass.
My only real concern here is that during the coming weeks and months, there’s going to be a lot of games vying for gamers attention and money, and although I can confidently say that Quantum of Solace has the makings of being a great game, part of me feels that a number of gamers will over look it simply due to the sour taste James Bond games, and more importantly movie tie in games have left in the past. If you can overlook this and just accept Quantum of Solace as a new game and a new experience, I certainly feel that you’ll find the offering well worth the investment. I’m actually pretty excited for this game, and to be honest up until now, I’d not really shown much interest in it or the forthcoming movie. But having played the game, my interest has certainly peaked and I think once gamers get to sample a demo, they’ll see for themselves what a neat package is on offer here. Quantum of Solace is released on October 31st 2008, and is well worth keeping a golden eye on until then. Bond is most certainly back.
Preview By: Robert Cram
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