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Quantum of Solace
Platform: Playstation 3
Release Date: November 4, 2008
By: CapnMattBossy

There have been a lot of different James Bond games that have come out in the past 15+ years, but the one that stands out the most is by far Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. The latest Bond installment is Quantum of Solace. A lot of the Bond super fans were hoping that Quantum can be on that same level as Goldeneye once was. Is Quantum worthy for 00 status or does it need to go back to basic training?

Quantum of Solace might have the same name as the newest film, but the game doesn’t have the pacing as the movie does. In the game (and in the movie), you start minutes after the ending of Casino Royale. The first few levels in the game are directly from the latest film, but then you go through flashbacks that take you back to Casino Royale. Three quarters of the game are from Casino Royale. You will go through the famous construction site scene and eventually go to the casino itself and see what actually happens. The Casino Royale segments are very well thought out and it pushes the story forward but the Quantum segments to the game feel very out of place. You start playing Quantum then switches to Casino Royale very fast then the last two levels are from Quantum. Treyarch really should have just made two separate games.

Quantum of Solace
Have any last words?

Quantum of Solace runs on the Call of Duty 4 engine and by god it shows it for the most part. The gameplay to the game is really top notch. Every level of the game keeps the intensity up. Treyarch was really trying to push the cover mechanic and for the most part it works really well. There are a few spots here and there that I couldn’t get into cover, but nothing to serious. The cover mechanic works almost identical to Rainbow Six Vegas. You head into cover and the camera pulls away from first person view to third person view. The cover mechanic works too well sometimes. Sometimes the enemy doesn’t know what to do when you’re in cover and they just stand there for an easy headshot. The gunplay feels exactly like Call of Duty 4. You can run and gun or you can shoot down the sights for more precision aiming. Quantum has a pretty decent amount of weapons spanning from SMGs, assault rifles, sniper rifles, heavy machine guns, handguns, rockets, and grenades. Every weapon you get in the game really feels like a James Bond weapon. Just about every shooter game has stuff you can blow up and Quantum is no different. In fact you can pinpoint in every section what you can blow up because they flash colors. Why did Treyarch do that? I do not know but it does feel like you are playing an arcade game and it does bring down the serious of the game.

Since this is a James Bond game, you expect there would be a fair amount of gadgets to choose from. Well there isn’t. From time to time there is this extremely dumb hacking mini game which basically is hitting the D-Pad in the right direction when it goes up on screen. There isn’t even any driving sequences. You would think Treyarch would have put in the awesome driving scene as playable from the beginning of the movie but all you can do is just watch the CG scene go by…

All of the sound to the game is very top notch. All of the actors came back to their respected role in the game. Although the Jack White and Alicia Keyes “Another Way To Die” song is missing in the title cut scene, the replacement song is very good and it fits perfectly in the game. The gun noises can be very good and they can be very bad. Most of the lower powered guns such as the SMGs and handguns sound like they should sound but the more powerful weapons don’t sound what like they should sound. The James Bond theme plays throughout the game and it kicks in at the perfect time.

Quantum of Solace
Someone should call the fire department!

Like I previously stated, Quantum of Solace runs on the Call of Duty 4 engine, but the graphics can be a hit or miss in some areas. The CG cut scenes are very well done, but the in-game cut scenes are very pixilated and sluggish looking. The gameplay graphics are spot on and it looks beautiful. Daniel Craig really looks life like. You can perfectly see his bright blue eyes when you go into cover.

The multiplayer can be really addictive at times but since it is missing the perks from Call of Duty 4, there really isn’t any reason to play it for too long. There is your basic deathmatch, team deathmatch, and a few Bond exclusive modes such as golden gun mode and Bond vs mode. The fan favorite is by far classic mode which is basically you start out with a handgun and there are random weapons scattered all over the map.

So does Quantum of Solace stand on that same level as Goldeneye? Treyarch has something going, but Quantum of Solace isn’t it. What Quantum does right, it exceeds on, but the little issues here and there will leave James Bond fans stuck in Q Branch.


Gameplay- 8… Call of Duty 4 stuck in a James Bond universe. Framerate can chug from time to time, but nothing to serious.

Sound- 8… Terrific voice acting. Bond theme is well done. Some gun noises sound like little kid toys.

Graphics- 8... Again, looks like Call of Duty 4. In-game cut scenes are downright awful.

Replay- 7… Short singleplayer campaign. Decent online multiplayer. No splitscreen or LAN play.

Overall (Not Average)- 7.5/10