The name's Bond....James Bond.

When Ian Fleming created 007, he created a character who was cool, dark and did what needed to be done for King and country. That's how Sean Connery started playing James Bond (except for the charity remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never...which was just awful). However, as the movies progressed, James Bond became cheesier, the gadgets became less believable (Lasers in space during the cold war era?) and despite some of the craziest movies being very entertainment, had deviated so far from the original character that after the also awful Die Another Day, James Bond needed to be reinvented. And So Casino Royale, which doesn't fall in line with any of the previous movies and starts as Bond's first mission as a Double-Oh agent (Just like Connery portrayed in Dr No), was released, and despite being set approximately 60 years after the book, is a very accurate representation which shocked and amazed me*. James Bond was back! Daniel Craig's Bond was just like Ian Flemings character, and his attitude was completely different to the laughable performances by Roger Moore.

Equally laughable were Electronic Arts published Bond games. Agent Under Fire and Nightfire were very poor, though their Nintendo 64 Bond games weren't too bad. Everything or Nothing was alright, and From Russia With Love was a bit weird. EA's Goldeneye was just awful though.  It was about time we had a reinvention of the Bond series in the games world to coincide with the movies. And so, Treyarch, the geniuses behind the decent Spider-man games, and Activision, took over the reigns and gave us a decent interactive version of the movie!

^{Before I tell you more about the game, I need to tell you that at this point I haven't seen the movie Quantum of Solace, but I have seen, and throroughly enjoyed Casino Royale.}

Quantum of Solace actually covers the main elements of both Daniel Craig's Bond movies. Starting off and ending in Quantum of Solace, you play as James Bond, secret agent for MI6, in his ongoing mission to protect Britain's interests and to keep M happy. This is presented with great visuals and audio effects keeping you believing you're playing a Bond game.

It may not be Rareware's Goldeneye, but you'll see the quality is there for the first time in a Bond game for twelve years! Treyarch have used the Call of Duty 4 engine brilliantly in adapting to the movies. And it seems this engine is perfectly adaptable to suit the style of a Bond game.

Each mission has a couple of ways you can play them. Either hide around corners, take out enemies with stealth and hijack surveilance systems. Or go in all guns blazing taking out all the enemies in quick succession. Whichever route you take, you'll feel like Bond versus the criminal world.

Quantum of Solace gives you the tools to do the job. Not only do you have bond's PP9 at your disposal, but a plethora of grenades; Short, medium and long range assualt rifles; Snipers and rocket launchers which all come in handy in when faced with organised crime. But we couldn't consider this a great FPS game without the obligatory explosive barrels could we? That's why Treyarch have  included them to use (or be used against you).

Once you've finished the fight, you can join the Xbox Live online gaming community which sees you trying out various Bond-themed game modes to prove you're the best double-oh agent. Take turns as Bond to eliminate a group of human controlled enemy players; survive the longest with a golden pistol (aka Golden Gun), control territories (capture the flag) or just simply deathmatch. There's plenty to do after completing the single player campaign...however multiplayer doesn't come without its flaws.

If the online game's host decides he wants to end the round, the game isn't passed on to the next suitable host. Instead the round ends and  everyone starts cursing on their headsets (quite rightly). Also, there is a very limited number of stages. Whilst they're big and roomy for great gameplay, it doesn't leave much room for variety and quite often you'll play your least favourite stage. When you do find a good mix of players it does become entertaining again though.

All in all, if you like Bond movies, you wont be disappointed with this movie to game conversion. It does the job nicely and plays well. It's no Goldeneye but its a hell of a lot better than anything Electronic Arts gave us in their seven or so Bond games.

8/10





^{*Especially the nude torture scene. I wonder if Daniel Craig can still have kids after that?}