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Quantum of Solace Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Bond Points system is cool, solid voice work by members of the film's cast, some events from Casino Royale are also included.
Shooting controls are sluggish and not fun, melee combat controls are even worse, the graphics are bland, the audio is painfully muffled.
James Bond fans are no doubt getting their fill of high-octane action from the super spy in his latest flick, Quantum of Solace. Following suit, Activision has released video games based on the film, including a handheld adventure for the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, this version ends up shooting blanks.
Instead of going with a first-person perspective, Quantum of Solace is a third person adventure. The stages are mixed together, with events that unfold in both the new film and Daniel Craig's previous Bond endeavor, 2006's Casino Royale. You'll spend most of your time going from room to room, shooting enemy agents, finding a crucial item and then going to the next area. To shoot enemies, you tap them on the touch screen. It sounds easy enough, but the hit detection is so off that bullets sometimes pass right through them. The melee combat isn't any better. You hold down a button on the DS while drawing lines on the screen to perform certain moves. Half the time, the game doesn't even recognize the lines you've drawn, resulting in a cheap shot from the enemy. Activision probably would've been better off going with a touch-the-dots sort of game or, better yet, giving us direct control over Bond's movements. This system sucks.
Quantum's presentation is equally disappointing. Cast members from the film, including Judi Dench and Bond himself, Daniel Craig, provide excellent voiceovers, detailing you on each mission. Unfortunately, the rest of the audio, including the overdone Bond music cues and the sound effects, are muffled. You're better off turning the volume way down and playing a Bond soundtrack CD instead. Sadly, the graphics are also bad. The characters feature unattractive jagged edges and the levels all look the same.
That said, we're fans of the Bond Points distribution. As you complete each stage, you'll earn these precious points, which you can then divide into certain areas to make him perform better. Beefing up his Brawler meter makes him deadlier in Melee, while boosting Rough and Tumble makes his health last longer. There are also hidden poker chips strewn throughout the game, which you can also turn in for Points. We just wish it did something more long-lasting than add little strengths to an overall weak product.
Quantum of Solace leaves us neither shaken nor stirred. Instead, we're just yawning. Do yourself a favor and go see the flick instead. It's cheaper and will give you bigger bang for your buck than this misfire.
