Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

As a person who has played every single James Bond video game, I could not pass up Quantum of Solace, the video-game-adaptation of the movie of the same name as well as Casino Royale. The game sets itself apart from its predecessors with its impressive visuals optimized for the XBox 360 and its innovative gameplay mechanics. Using the Call of Duty 4 engine, the gameplay, at times, feels more like a mixture of Rainbow Six Vegas with its third-person cover feature and Call of Duty with its familiar first-person shooter feel. The game does a good job of meshing the first-person shooting with the third-person cover, making it fun to run between different forms of cover. The story loosely follows the film and covers in flashbacks the events in Casino Royale. The levels from Casino Royale are actually more memorable and enjoyable than the Quantum of Solace events, but it is good that the developers included it. My biggest disappointment with this game was the lack of any driving sequences, which could have gone along with the film's plot. Therefore, there is a minor lack of variety, except for one interesting but brief mission in which Bond gets poisoned. The single player was short but the gameplay is fast-paced and enjoyable, making for a fun gaming experience. The biggest surprise of this game is the excellent multiplayer. There are different game modes, fun maps that cater to different styles of gameplay, and plenty of different weapons, customizations, and perks that add a lot of replay value. The game borrows heavily from other major first-person shooters, but it does so well, creating the best multiplayer in a James Bond game since Nightfire. Any Bond fan will enjoy Quantum of Solace, since playing as Daniel Craig is an interesting touch. In my opinion, the best Bond game is still Everything or Nothing, but Quantum of Solace has a lot of redeeming qualities that any gamer can appreciate.