What a refreshing way to get shot in the face!
Firstly, it's worth noting that by combining the story lines from both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, you're probably going to want to have seen both films before diving into the game. Quantum of Solace as a movie directly follows Casino Royale chronologically, so if you are yet to check it out and don't want spoilers, it'll be worth doing so before playing. So with two movies to draw from, it means there's a lot of sequences they can incorporate into the game to make it a reasonably lengthy experience. As we mentioned before, Daniel Craig's likeness is in the game which, although perhaps a trivial detail, does give the game more of an updated and modern feel; which is useful, because you'll be seeing yourself a lot while you play.
While you will spend your time running around the game and shooting from the first person perspective, the camera angle moves into the third person when you lean against cover of some kind, so you'll clearly be able to see whether you're in the sights of an enemy and be able to keep an eye on your surroundings more effectively. It's a mechanic that works very well, where going through corridors and tight spaces is convenient for the first person, but in larger areas where there are multiple enemies, you're going to need to make use of cover quickly if you want to survive more than a couple of minutes.
Could this be as good as GoldenEye was?
One of the impressive things about the game which we witnessed first hand is the fact that you don't necessarily have to go in with guns blazing to achieve your goals and move through the level. In some cases you'll get the opportunity to use the more stealthy side of 007, by slowly moving through areas, avoiding cameras and waiting for the right opportunity to sneak up behind your foes, which you can then quietly take out with a physical attack by pressing the buttons that are indicated on-screen. Some of these attack animations are even location specific, so if you take out somebody standing on a balcony, you'll actually watch as Bond tosses them over the edge, sending them plummeting to a nasty fate - both cool and also kind of funny to watch.
Quantum of Solace is built on the same engine as the very good Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and as such is a very smooth and fluid shooting experience. The game looks great and will be instantly familiar to anybody who played Modern Warfare, but the whole thing should be very natural to pick up and play for shooter fans in general. It's also been given a very cinematic feel, which was particularly easy on the eye at one point where we had to use Bond to shimmy on the ledge of a building just outside a room where we could see enemies inside through the windows. The screen split into two not unlike an episode of 24 where we were able to see the outside shot of ourselves moving across the ledge, as well as the shot from the inside, so that we knew when to move past the windows when the enemies' backs were turned. Some moments also temporarily went into slow-motion for emphasis, which was a nice effect that didn't really interfere negatively with the gameplay at all.
This place could really use a spit 'n' polish...
With everybody seemingly desperate for a Bond game to meet the expectations of GoldenEye, Quantum of Solace is heading leaps and bounds in the right direction, with a fun and action-packed campaign that will be backed up by what will hopefully be some high-quality multiplayer. While we don't know much about the multiplayer at this stage, we do know that it will feature an experience system similar to that of Call of Duty, along with several game modes that will include some familiar game modes as well as some that are original to the game for up to 12 players online. We're certainly very excited to see just how the game delivers in its entirety when it's released in November, but at this stage we have high hopes for what could indeed be one of the shooters this holiday season.
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