This review contains spoilers
With the Bond license now going to Activision, they gave Treyarch the task of creating a new film tie-in alongside making Call of Duty: World at War. Naturally, this involved using the Call of Duty game engine, focusing on shooting with very little in the way of gadgets – that said, Daniel Craig’s Bond was less about gadgets anyway.
Starting out at the end of Casino Royale, with Bond trying to kidnap Mr. White and you get thrown straigt into the action. It’s a first person shooter that feels a lot like Call of Duty 4, but also has a cover system that turns into a third person perspective. It’s a surprisingly intuitive system, and the core shooting mechanics are enjoyable.
In this level, you have to get around the gardens to find another way into Mr. White’s house, gathering intel and then having to escape as a bomb sets the building on fire – this game has some good set pieces.
After kidnapping Mr. White, the car chase that follows is unfortunately not a mission – it’s all shooting in this game. However, instead of using the opening credits from the film, the game has its own really good opening using that car chase – and it has a much better song than the film, too.
When questioning Mr. White, M’s bodyguard betrays MI6 and you need to chase him through some ancient sewers and then above rooftops. If you didn’t figure it out yourself in the first level, this introduces the melee mechanic – run up to them, hit and then perform a quick time event to knock them out. This involves moving over a reticule and hitting the fire button, so it’s not as annoying as the random button kind. The boss fights, unfortunately, just use this mechanic.
Tracking down Mr. White to the very impressive looking Bregenz Opera House. This is a fantastic level that has a wonderful atmosphere throughout due to the opera music accompanying the soundtrack. This level encourages you to be stealthy, making headshots, knocking out enemies and disabling cameras. There’s no game over for failing – but you will have to deal with armoured guards if you get spotted.
In one section, you have to climb across part of the moving stage as you get a camera view from the point of the snipers, it looks very snazzy and these parts are stylish, even if they’re simple. After spying in on the meeting (finding out about a man called Greene and a British advisor called Haines), you have to do a bit of sniping (which is very satisfying) before escaping. This is a great level.
From the best level to the worst – the game skips forward to a sinkhole, with Bond already teamed up with Camille (who has previously not been mentioned). It’s a very drab looking level, shooting enemies and helicopters then an extended stationary turret section. At the end of the level, Camille explains that she wants revenge on a general, and asks Bond why he’s invested, this brings us to the main part of the game. You see, this isn’t just a Quantum of Solace game – in fact, the Quantum of Solace parts make up less than a third of the game.
This is mainly a Casino Royale game in disguise, the flashback starts off with the opening scene of Casino Royale with two levels of Bond chasing a bombmaker. The first level has the bomber being protected by waves of henchmen to fight through, but is still a lot of fun, while the second is a parkour chase through the construction site, which works surprisingly well for a game like this.
After disposing of the bomber (off screen), Bond discovers a contact in Miami and tracks him down to the science centre. If you turn around here, you’ll see a massive billboard for some gum – this game has plenty of product placement (mainly Sony Ericsson phones and VAIO laptops). You have to take out some snipers before sneaking around the building.
Once you get in, you have to make your way down from the roof before a large fight in the main hall, destroying the exhibits inside, including a replica of Da Vinci’s flying machine
Bond discovers a bomb threat intended for Miami Airport, and when he gets there finds out that it has been taken over by hostiles. This is another fun mission where you can be stealthy, or just go in all guns blazing if you prefer. There are plenty of objects that you can shoot to kill, blind or stun enemies, all highlighted with a slight glimmer.
A train level – it’s always oddly satisfying to fight on a train. In this mission, a drug deal is happening as you need to take the dealer out, creating a great set piece with you jumping between trains – it’s not quite Uncharted 2’s train level, but that game wasn’t out yet. This is another really fun level.
Unfortunately, you don’t get to play poker at Casino Royale (even a few rounds and an optional mini game would have been nice), so it skips forward to mid-game where Le Chiffre gets taken by Obanno. Bond chases them through the hotels – including through the stunning looking spa.
Another nice thing about this game is the damage to the environment – chunks fall off pillars and other objects break apart, some cover can also get destroyed. Some objects can be shot to take out enemies – a bit like “Bond moments” in previous games, but they feel more natural.
Next up is the shortest level in the game, but one that was a very nice inclusion and I would have liked to have seen some more non-combat moments. Bond gets poisoned and has to make his way to the car while dealing with the effects of it.
After being rescued, we get told that Bond wins the game, but Vesper is kidnapped, and Bond also gets kidnapped on route to rescue her.
As Bond frees himself, he heads to a barge and has to to a bit of sniping to protest Vesper, which is kind of annoying. After this, you assault the barge, setting off huge explosions along the way. I died a lot, but checkpoints are frequent and it’s quick to back in the action, so I didn’t mind much at all. The resolution with Le Chiffre pretty much happens off screen.
In Venice – which still looks really nice – Bond has to tail Vesper as she heads to a meeting. There’s a few nice quiet parts of this level, which are mixed with plenty of action in between. You have to make your way up a house as it sinks before finding a trapped Vesper and using a nail gun to fight off the final enemy of this section. After Vesper dies, it’s time to head back to Quantum of Solace.
We get a very brief rundown of the rest of the film before we start the final level – yes, there’s only one more level after the Casino Royale “flashback”. Fighting your way through the eco hotel, you end up saving Camille before a final confrontation with Greene and rushing out of the building before it collapses.
The game ends with Bond outside of the room containing Mr White and Haines, saying that he’s going in, to kill Mr. White and capture Haines for information. This was the original ending for the film, before they removed it (the deleted scene wasn’t even included on the DVDs).
I was really surprised by the Quantum of Solace game. It’s a lot of fun and the core gameplay is essentially the best era of Call of Duty, with third person cover that works really well. It would have been really nice to have some non-shooting parts, such as driving and poker segments. I also would have preferred a more linear story structure – having Casino Royale as a flashback when it’s so much of the game is just strange. Especially when, with the films, the end of Casino Royale flows straight into the start of Quantum of Solace (personally, I think the film works best as an “extended” version of Casino Royale).
Starting out at the end of Casino Royale, with Bond trying to kidnap Mr. White and you get thrown straigt into the action. It’s a first person shooter that feels a lot like Call of Duty 4, but also has a cover system that turns into a third person perspective. It’s a surprisingly intuitive system, and the core shooting mechanics are enjoyable.
In this level, you have to get around the gardens to find another way into Mr. White’s house, gathering intel and then having to escape as a bomb sets the building on fire – this game has some good set pieces.
After kidnapping Mr. White, the car chase that follows is unfortunately not a mission – it’s all shooting in this game. However, instead of using the opening credits from the film, the game has its own really good opening using that car chase – and it has a much better song than the film, too.
When questioning Mr. White, M’s bodyguard betrays MI6 and you need to chase him through some ancient sewers and then above rooftops. If you didn’t figure it out yourself in the first level, this introduces the melee mechanic – run up to them, hit and then perform a quick time event to knock them out. This involves moving over a reticule and hitting the fire button, so it’s not as annoying as the random button kind. The boss fights, unfortunately, just use this mechanic.
Tracking down Mr. White to the very impressive looking Bregenz Opera House. This is a fantastic level that has a wonderful atmosphere throughout due to the opera music accompanying the soundtrack. This level encourages you to be stealthy, making headshots, knocking out enemies and disabling cameras. There’s no game over for failing – but you will have to deal with armoured guards if you get spotted.
In one section, you have to climb across part of the moving stage as you get a camera view from the point of the snipers, it looks very snazzy and these parts are stylish, even if they’re simple. After spying in on the meeting (finding out about a man called Greene and a British advisor called Haines), you have to do a bit of sniping (which is very satisfying) before escaping. This is a great level.
From the best level to the worst – the game skips forward to a sinkhole, with Bond already teamed up with Camille (who has previously not been mentioned). It’s a very drab looking level, shooting enemies and helicopters then an extended stationary turret section. At the end of the level, Camille explains that she wants revenge on a general, and asks Bond why he’s invested, this brings us to the main part of the game. You see, this isn’t just a Quantum of Solace game – in fact, the Quantum of Solace parts make up less than a third of the game.
This is mainly a Casino Royale game in disguise, the flashback starts off with the opening scene of Casino Royale with two levels of Bond chasing a bombmaker. The first level has the bomber being protected by waves of henchmen to fight through, but is still a lot of fun, while the second is a parkour chase through the construction site, which works surprisingly well for a game like this.
After disposing of the bomber (off screen), Bond discovers a contact in Miami and tracks him down to the science centre. If you turn around here, you’ll see a massive billboard for some gum – this game has plenty of product placement (mainly Sony Ericsson phones and VAIO laptops). You have to take out some snipers before sneaking around the building.
Once you get in, you have to make your way down from the roof before a large fight in the main hall, destroying the exhibits inside, including a replica of Da Vinci’s flying machine
Bond discovers a bomb threat intended for Miami Airport, and when he gets there finds out that it has been taken over by hostiles. This is another fun mission where you can be stealthy, or just go in all guns blazing if you prefer. There are plenty of objects that you can shoot to kill, blind or stun enemies, all highlighted with a slight glimmer.
A train level – it’s always oddly satisfying to fight on a train. In this mission, a drug deal is happening as you need to take the dealer out, creating a great set piece with you jumping between trains – it’s not quite Uncharted 2’s train level, but that game wasn’t out yet. This is another really fun level.
Unfortunately, you don’t get to play poker at Casino Royale (even a few rounds and an optional mini game would have been nice), so it skips forward to mid-game where Le Chiffre gets taken by Obanno. Bond chases them through the hotels – including through the stunning looking spa.
Another nice thing about this game is the damage to the environment – chunks fall off pillars and other objects break apart, some cover can also get destroyed. Some objects can be shot to take out enemies – a bit like “Bond moments” in previous games, but they feel more natural.
Next up is the shortest level in the game, but one that was a very nice inclusion and I would have liked to have seen some more non-combat moments. Bond gets poisoned and has to make his way to the car while dealing with the effects of it.
After being rescued, we get told that Bond wins the game, but Vesper is kidnapped, and Bond also gets kidnapped on route to rescue her.
As Bond frees himself, he heads to a barge and has to to a bit of sniping to protest Vesper, which is kind of annoying. After this, you assault the barge, setting off huge explosions along the way. I died a lot, but checkpoints are frequent and it’s quick to back in the action, so I didn’t mind much at all. The resolution with Le Chiffre pretty much happens off screen.
In Venice – which still looks really nice – Bond has to tail Vesper as she heads to a meeting. There’s a few nice quiet parts of this level, which are mixed with plenty of action in between. You have to make your way up a house as it sinks before finding a trapped Vesper and using a nail gun to fight off the final enemy of this section. After Vesper dies, it’s time to head back to Quantum of Solace.
We get a very brief rundown of the rest of the film before we start the final level – yes, there’s only one more level after the Casino Royale “flashback”. Fighting your way through the eco hotel, you end up saving Camille before a final confrontation with Greene and rushing out of the building before it collapses.
The game ends with Bond outside of the room containing Mr White and Haines, saying that he’s going in, to kill Mr. White and capture Haines for information. This was the original ending for the film, before they removed it (the deleted scene wasn’t even included on the DVDs).
I was really surprised by the Quantum of Solace game. It’s a lot of fun and the core gameplay is essentially the best era of Call of Duty, with third person cover that works really well. It would have been really nice to have some non-shooting parts, such as driving and poker segments. I also would have preferred a more linear story structure – having Casino Royale as a flashback when it’s so much of the game is just strange. Especially when, with the films, the end of Casino Royale flows straight into the start of Quantum of Solace (personally, I think the film works best as an “extended” version of Casino Royale).