Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

Quantum of Solace

1. Official Site
2. Platform: DS
3. Publisher: Activision Blizzard
4. Developer: Vicarious Visions
5. Release Date: 11/04/08
6. Genre: Action/Adventure

by Mitch Youngblood

Editor’s note: This review assumes that you The Reader™ are in fact aware that Quantum of Solace the video game is the tie-in to the movie which is itself the sequel to the James Bond not-a-reboot film Casino Royale. If you were unaware of this information, you have now been informed and may continue reading.

I gave up on Quantum of Solace right at the end, but oh man was I close to finishing it. This close in fact. Right there at the goal line and I had it. Threw in the towel, switched off the DS, and voluntarily watched some football with the in-laws – two things which guarantee my friends will assume I’ve been replaced by a Pod Person.

Out of sheer spite, I soldiered on looking for a quality thrill ride, or even a solid espionage thriller, yet all this reviewer came away with was an increased disdain for movie tie-in video games. Not all of them are bad either. But they should be handled with care and while Quantum of Solace was a solid film (acting as the back half to Casino Royale) the game is a let-down.

Mr. Bond has met his match and was regrettably undone by a serious lack of thrills and a serious amount of pain. Playing Quantum of Solace ultimately recalls the torture scene in Casino Royale in that the player feels like their cajones have been pounded into submission. Unfortunately for this reviewer, the need to soldier on was paramount in finding out whether there was anything worth salvaging.

The DS is such a mixed bag in terms of graphics for me. When artists surrender to the muse of whimsy, wonderful compositions result from lavish attention to detail. When developers go for realism, they tend to miss by such a wide margin the characters are little more than large blocks. It appears Vicarious Visions has their engine for these games down (it looks like the same one used in last year’s Transformers title) but this is one that needs some updating. It’s not bad per se but it barely does get the job done.

Maybe it’s me being snarky but I want something more than merely functional.

Bond and all other NPCs are pretty solid blocks with the majority of the detail going into the backgrounds. I respect how Bond’s clothes are changed to reflect his look at a certain point in the movies, and bonus points for nailing those same moments in the Casino Royale flashback, but the surrounding environment was something I enjoyed a lot more. Walking through the Opera House environment was particularly neat, as was the level set in Venice. The grungy streets of Bolivia also look particularly filthy, so if our Bolivian readership wishes to comment on the accuracy of this depiction my email is always open.

Hearing Daniel Craig as James Bond and Dame Judi Dench as M bring a much needed gravitas to a pretty weak game. Their banter isn’t as well acted as in the movies (natch) but it remains a solid back and forth between a brutal amateur and his superior who sees exactly how great he could be were he to focus his strengths in a more constructive manner. Preferably with fewer bodies left behind. The dialog isn’t the greatest and frequently dissolves into cliché when it should soar.

Slight digression – I recognize fully that James Bond is, by default, a cliché. But the way Casino Royale played out elevated it so high that anything short of it comes off as a crushing disappointment. But that’s me. We now return to your regularly scheduled review.

The environmental and weapons sound effects are actually pretty good. The effects work for each of the different guns is solid and blasting bad guys with that giant machine gun you see pictured on the box art at right feels like you’re delivering a resounding assbeating. Bond sounds different when he runs on pavement versus the wooded floors of the opera house as well. This may come off as an odd point to make but several times I’ve played games where the character just sounds like they’re running regardless of surface. This type of attention to detail is always a good thing.

The controls are easily the worst part of Quantum of Solace... actually that’s not true. The gameplay is. But since we’re not in that section yet let’s focus on the second worst aspect of Quantum of Solace and that would be the cumbersome control scheme. Allow me to first illustrate the pattern laid out before you then point out what exactly happens in-game that will bring players to the verge of stabbing their DS to death.

Players hold the DS like a book, i.e. vertical, with the left hand side displaying either a map or Bond’s inventory. Bond is controlled by dragging the stylus on the touch screen and it is important to note how easy it is for Bond to charge when you don’t want him to. If he’s not moving when you drag the stylus, then understand he’ll take off like a bull the second you do let it go. At this point his stealth will be lost, and you have to start over from the last checkpoint. Not that I’ve done that many many many many many times or anything.

Moving on.

In the top left hand corner of the touch screen is a case. This would be your inventory. Clicking the case below it changes the screen at left between inventory and map. You have X number of cases at the bottom of the screen for Quick Draw. Now, here’s where things get cumbersome. I’m right handed so you south paws just reverse what I’m about to tell you. In order to engage an opponent in either melee combat or with firearms, you have to hit the up button on the directional pad. If Bond has a gun and is some distance away from his target, he will stand and then you rapidly tap the touch screen to fire your weapon. If Bond is right up against his foe, then he will engage in melee combat.

This is all well and good mano-a-mano but frequently the game throws multiple foes at you (especially in the back half of the game). This is where the cracks in the developers’ logic begin to show. Hitting the bad guys is something else, and while clicking on the screen during melee is easy enough to do it quickly becomes a pattern of block punch, stun opponent, whoop ass, rinse, repeat, hope they don’t block your punch at the last possible second. The game appears to not be well adjusted for combat with multiple foes, especially since the cover mechanic is less than convincing. It frequently appears that Bond can be hit from every direction. When he stands up to shoot over a table, however, all he shoots is the table. It’s enough to drive someone to drink one dry vodka martini after another.

Waiter!

The game is all about the combat, but after awhile that grows tiresome. Instead of raging gun battles, Bond can stand up and shoot at one guy at a time or run up to one guy at a time and start punching him. This is great for the early game but terrible for the end where multiple villains are on screen at all times. A way around this is to use stealth which lets players sneak up behind enemies and one-shot them with a blow to the head.

But then the controls assume you want to run and away Bond goes in a flash when you just wanted him to sneak somewhere. It is very frustrating. After a few hours of this, you will get the nuance behind the controls down and this issue becomes less frequent. Still, it takes several hours to get the feel of it down when you could have been playing, oh, anything else.

In addition to taking out bad guys, the game follows the pattern of the movie up to a key point then jumps into flashback. Since no game developer had the foresight to build a tie-in game to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace allows gamers to play through the events of the first film halfway through the game. It feels like two games in one in that regard, and as such this is a positive. The downside is it still isn’t a lot of fun. Bond talks to a few people, shoots/beats some others, then has to sneak past guards without alerting anyone.

Then Bond dies when the player screws up. Which you will. Constantly. Then you’ll find yourself starting back at the last check point which was way further back than you expected. At this point, you will ask yourself whether continuing is worth while. I assure you it is not. I’ll describe now the mission I stopped at because it’s right near the end.

Once Bond returns to the timeline of Quantum of Solace, he eventually finds himself in Bolivia. Special forces are after him, and he needs to get past them through either stealth or bigger weapons. You start out and go through the level taking out one bad guy after another until you reach a locked gate. A man next to it says you need to go back and get the crowbar. The crowbar, for the record, is all the way back at the start of the level. So you run back there and pick up the crowbar.

This instantly respawns all the bad guys in the level you just took out.

When you get back to the door and open it with the crowbar, you’re expected to take out another wave of bad guys then run from a whole mess more. If you’re killed at this point, you start all the way at the beginning of the level.

If you can find the fun in that then you’re a better man than I, because the only thing I didn’t try was calling in the cast of CSI to see what they could do.

Sheer curiosity would be the only reason to play Quantum of Solace. It’s ultimately not a horrible game, just a weak one. With so many other stronger titles jockeying for your limited dollars this season, a weak movie tie-in game shouldn’t be high on your list. That’s disappointing considering the gaming world is long overdue for a rock solid James Bond game.

Regrettably, the wait continues.

Quantum of Solace ultimately fails to provide a satisfying experience but not for lack of trying. It’s a classic "almost" game because there are a few things the game does right. As maddening as several levels are, one gets the sense that with a little bit of tweaking and play balancing the final result would have been a great deal more fun. As it stands, this title is one best left on the shelf at your local retailer.

Especially when the DVD of Casino Royale is available for roughly the same price.

Gaming Trend Score

67

1. Graphics: 78
2. Audio: 85
3. Controls: 65
4. Gameplay: 60
5. Value/Replay: 55
6. OVERALL:67