007: Quantum of Solace

With Quantum of Solace, Beenox had the tough task of porting over one of the most technically demanding engines over to the less powerful Wii. The result is a game that shines at its core thanks to an impressive Bond feel but is held back by technical issues.

A James Bond movie tie-in that unfortunately lacks any of the gadgets and fun aspects we expect from 007. Treyarch have created an enjoyable shooter that fails to live up to expectations, and is far too short to be considered anything special.

Something like Metroid Prime 3 offers a better single-player experience (with far better visual appeal), and there are better online Wii games. Quantum of Solace is ultimately a passable shooter that, as a package, has been done better elsewhere.

Quantum of Solace feels like a real missed opportunity. With a little more time and effort, the Call of Duty 4 engine could have been optimized for the system, eliminating much of the jaggedness and slowdown you’ll experience while playing the game.

The most damning issue is over the game's presentation, which ranges from sloppy in some places to downright awful in others.

Quantum of Solace contains a number of exciting moments straight from the new 007 film but on the Nintendo Wii the controls are just far too sluggish to make this a fun alternative version.

This first-person shooter plays fine a lot of the time, but the frame rate can get extremely choppy and the graphics go from so-so to downright ugly. [Jan 2009, p.90]

A linear snooze fest that suffers from overwhelming plainness. [Jan 2009, p.62]

We've played and reviewed lots of "bad" games on Wii, but unlike those before it Quantum of Solace feels like a title that has a real soul to it, and somewhere in the mess of unprecedented frame issues, visual bugs, and sloppy port code is a game that really could have been a blast to play. Instead, it's one you want to avoid at all costs.