007: Quantum of Solace

The length of the game is probably its biggest weakness, but the robust multi-player makes up for the short campaign.

If you love the James Bond franchise this is a great game to play single player wise. But it is a rental in the end as the only real replay value is if you want to get the achievements.

There are certainly moments where you’ll feel as if you actually are Bond but for the majority of time, you’ll be wondering where all the fun is.

Quantum of Solace is a solid, above-average game that does the two new films justice without really pushing the envelope.

Unfortunate for Quantum of Solace, had it not been for a slightly confusing “story” and a slightly annoying cover system it could have been a great competitor.

If you’re looking for a game to reveal the plot of Quantum of Solace before the movie’s release, this is not it. If you’re looking for the answer to GoldenEye, this is not it. Instead Quantum of Solace is a respectable shooter with little that sets it apart from the rest of the field.

As a whole package, Quantum of Solace doesn’t quite cut it. It’s a decent game held back by the constraints of its license, which should be the thing that elevates the product. Treyarch did their best with what they had, but it’s not enough to elevate this game to superspy status.

Relentlessly unoriginal but well turned out.

Relentlessly packed full of gunfire as well as requiring duck-and-cover defensive play Quantum of Solace blends a balls-out shooter with modern sensibilities to create a game that’s refreshingly fast paced and therefore swift to complete. If played on its highest settings you’d be better served by Rainbow Six and if played on lower you’re paying for just a few hours of entertainment. Thankfully multiplayer promises much, and we’ll tell you how it delivers once we’re all online and you’ve seen Mr Bond die several times.

Its playable, its easy, its simple, its entertaining, and its got a bit of good multiplayer; but it wouldn't challenge an amateur gamer and it'll most likely be back in the box and filed away as "done with" faster than a day in the office.

Quantum of Solace will leave you shaken and stirred, but not entirely satisfied.

Multiplayer isn't bad, but it lacks depth, so while Quantum provides some exciting moments, its developers failed to catapult it to greatness.

This is the best Bond game to hit shelves in a long time.

Quantum of Solace is a good first-person shooter that, in my opinion, is the best Bond game since Goldeneye.

Quantum of Solace really feels like a Bond game, combining elements from both of the recent movies and using tried and tested gameplay mechanics to create a fun (if flawed) shooter experience. It's not going to win any awards and it isn't likely to attract new fans to either 007 or the FPS genre, but it's very likeable, entirely inoffensive and highly playable.

There’s little uniquely Bond about this experience. It’s simply an average shooter at a time when average doesn’t quite cut it.

However the final results is an underwhelming first person shooter that lacks clear direction and character.

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.

While it succeeds in nailing some key moments from the films, Quantum of Solace fails to place them within an organized package and ends up making the events utterly confusing.

Quantum of Solace is an FPS that could be just another one among many but it distinguishes itself with its third person action elements and in the way that it captures the essence of the secret agent. It should appeal to 007 fans and for them it becomes a source of entertainment that joins two passions, the taste of the films and videogames. If you are a James Bond fan and if you would like to relive the films then this game is for you.

My real problem with Quantum, though, is its lack of coherency. It tries to do so much, but everything slides into the ‘meh’ basket, right beside so many prior Bond games.

Quantum of Solace is definitely of interest to more than just Bond fans – anyone looking for a varied, somewhat light-hearted shooter will derive a good degree of enjoyment from it.

A true blockbuster of a game, Quantum of Solace is loud, dumb but sadly all-too-forgettable. The Bond licence goes a good way to hiding the game’s lack of ideas and for the four hours the single-player campaign lasts there’s no denying it’s a solid blast, but ultimately there’s better ways to spend your money this autumn.

Quantum of Solace isn’t a terrible game but it is certainly not the game I expected it to be. Treyarch spent too much time trying to convert a WWII engine into something viable for a secret agent game, and we end up with a gun-toting thug in a tux rather than the sophisticated secret agent we all love from the books and the movies.

Quantum of Solace is a solid action game with good graphics and great voice acting. Unfortunately it's also an extremely short experience that isn't very original.

The gameplay shows potential, but the rest of the game isn’t strong enough to lift it up into an experience that any gamer needs to see.

For double-agent wannabes, we suggest renting a copy. Playing through Casino Royale is worth the thrill despite the game’s many flaws. But if you wanted an interactive version of the newest Bond fl ick or a game to replace the Call of Duty experience, Quantum just doesn’t make the cut.

For Bond fans, the complicated controls, lack of an original story, and mediocre graphics may cool the ardor for owning any and all Bond-related products.

Quantum of Solace is a new reason to not trust videogame adaptations from movies. Treyarch's title transmits a sensation of rushed development and not achieved goals. Short, quite repetitive and dreary.

This is an unexpected game. Everything points to the fact that by all accounts it should be awful. Licenses like this hardly ever work, but amazingly it comes off feeling like a fun, throwaway shooter with a workable shooting mechanic and some quite enjoyable moments that, while strictly not very Bond in nature, make the game well worth a look if you’re either a Bond fan or even just enjoy a good shooter.

A passable shooter in a world that's filled with much, much better ones.

Quantum of Solace is a pretty slick, well presented and polished product. The gameplay is rather simple, but the game is aimed at the simple end of the market. Yet I feel that James Bond deserves more than this, more than a cheap and very short punt into the cheap seats.

I feel bad for Bond game developers the same way I feel bad for Quantum of Solace. Not just because it’s a mediocre shooter that offers some quick thrills and a decent multiplayer experience, but because it has to compete with so many far superior, must-own titles that have either already been released or are going to be released soon.

There is a simple pleasure to be had if you leave all of your expectations at the door and, if you can overlook its painful neglect, the multiplayer may keep you occupied until the more prominent shooters arrive later in the month. But unfortunately, Quantum of Solace turned out to be a bit more George Lazenby than Sean Connery.

It’s too bad that once again, Bond fans are left with a game that’s more interested in cashing in on a movie license than presenting a complete gameplay experience. Quantum of Solace ends up feeling more like a mod of "Call of Duty 4" than it does its own game, and that’s a shame.

Quantum of Solace isn't a bad game, but certainly not a great one either. It doesn't really feel like a Bond-game either, but in the end the movies don't either. It's a fun game but there are certainly better shooters on the market right now.

This game can be seen as a hybrid between Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War 2, with tons of action but unfortunately also a lack of identity. Despite being a movie tie in the game actually has a greater focus on Casino Royale than Quantum of Solace, making the overall experience somewhat incoherent. A great multiplayer mode is the killer feature in a game that will have a hard time competing for our attention this fall.

This is the first James Bond game of the century in which we met the final credits regretting the unexplored potential. Bravo. [Christmas 2008, p.120]

Shops everlow with great stealth and shooting options. Bond fluffs both. [Christmas 2008, p.72]

With its almost complete lack of Bond flair past the voice acting and character models, the game just comes across as a Bond-themed run and gun shooter that lacks the suave sophistication of a secret agent.

GoldenEye's heyday is long gone, and Solace relies too much on nostalgia and imitation to be anything close to the next shooter milestone.

Quantum of Solace will give you enough of a Bond fix, but you’ll be jonesing for something better.

Quantum of Solace is pretty much what youýd expect from a movie-licensed shooter. It ticks all the boxes on a purely surface level, but fails to allow the player any kind of expression or creativity during actual gameplay.

The GoldenEye curse continues - just keep parying for a Rare XBLA release instead. [Jan 2009, p.76]

As a piece of interactive merchandise for the masses, it does its job: it's polished, intuitive to control, and approximates the Bond Experience, albeit with about as much subtlety as Vesper Lynd's neckline. For everyone else though, it's brainless, dull, and ridiculously easy. Rather than giving the Bond game its Casino Royale moment, Activision and Treyarch have simply carried on in the joyless tradition of dumbed-down shooters designed for thickos, and GoldenEye has never seemed so far away.

It's a decent action game, but doesn't remotely capture the spirit of its source material. Moreover, it falls well short of the year's best shooters, meaning it's unlikely to shake many gamers or stir 007 fans.

Hopefully Bond's next foray into the gaming world will deliver an authentic and compelling Bond experience, not just a decent but too-short shooter with some fancy window dressing.

Even by taking the plots from two films, the game is somewhat short, and definitely on the easy side when played on the default difficulty. The multiplayer is fun in bursts, but it's not going to draw players away from the big guns that are currently popular, so I can't imagine it having much of a community past the first few months of release.