James Bond is back in the Video Game community... but this doesn't feel like a 007 Video Game...
Since Nightfire the James Bond games have been alright. However when they made a short dissapearance I was dissapointed. Then at e3 2008 this was announced. This looked like it could be the second Nightfire or even Goldeneye.
I'm sad to admit though that it isn't. 007: Quantum of Solace isn't that 007 game you've been seeking.
To be frank this doesn't feel like a 007 game. Unfortunately this game has fallen victim to the overrated standards of 1rst person shooters today. In attempt to fit in with the crowd, 007 lost the James Bond feel.
I'll start with the single player. I'll have to say that the single player did a great job of bringing Casino Royal to life. With all of the intense moments and stealth moments thrown together this does feel just like the movie. For the single player, it mingles a bunch of missions in to fit scenes from the movie. Of course you'll see a fair share of stealth and sneaking around, however James isn't one to keep his hands clean. You get plenty of shooting action as you fight collections of enemies all scheming to stop you. The shooting action did prove to stay somewhat fun, however this game heavily relies on the cover mechanic. Unless your feeling lucky and your on easy, there is absolutely no way that you can go freestyle it in the middle of a room. Almost every battle will include cover (I found like 1 battle in the whole game where you were actually forced to stay in the open). Now that is the gameplay. You'll have your fair portion of gadgets however not the collection that you might expect.For the Quantum of Solace section, there is hardly any to feed on. Unfortunately the title Quantum of Solace isn't nearly as fitting as I would've expected.
The graphics are alright. I put everything on high and didn't get anything impressive. The characters look pretty good and the enviroments weren't too shabby either. Some levels clearly had more effort piled into them then others, particualarly the action levels. The worst aspect of the graphics overall is the special effects. The fire water and bullets really give shame to the game. So this is no super graphiced game, but it does all right.
The multiplayer is still the best of the 007 game. It relies heavily on internet, and the account crud just makes everything harder. Unless you're already signed up for live, there could be a tremendous hassle just to shoot some people up online. As for the online itself, the gameplay isn't much diffrent from the actual thing. However cover is a little less heavily emphasized, and your weapon choice is better. You get to customize your own sets of weapons, from the grenades right down to your big guns. You even get gadgets, but I haven't looked into that. Well if you can get into a game you should be good. However... that may be tougher then it sounds. Finding an opponet might be much easier had it been in rooms or something, but no the computer has to find a match for you. Of course it fails at this, so then you need to find a match yourself by hunting through the leaderboards or hoping that your friend has had more luck then you have. Even worse you can't even play most of the expansive modes because the only place you can even get somebody is on team conflict. Everywhere else, there is nobody. Never played a game that wasn't team conflict.
My biggest complaint about this game is that it didn't keep the gameplay that Nightfire or Goldeneye had. I still don't have that crazy fun 007 feeling that I used to have while grappling from point to point, or having a jetpack and bouncing around like a maniac. That feeling just isn't there anymore which brings me to the main point: This just isn't a James Bond game anymore.