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Quantum of Solace

• By George Jones
• September 04, 2008 12:15 PM PST
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GamePro scores a one-hour play session with Activision's Quantum of Solace James Bond game, and we come away quite impressed.

We played three different levels in the game - two from the movie of the same name (which is premiering in theaters November 14) - and one flashback sequence that is set in the Casino Royale movie from 2006.

Each level demonstrated relentless pacing and top-notch shooter action. Treyarch, the same design studio that is developing the new Call of Duty: World at War, freely admit that Gears of War and Rainbow Six played a key influencing role in this new style of gameplay, which emphasizes sprinting between cover and physical contact.

Hands-on sessions with unfinished beta code of upcoming games are great for a couple of reasons. First, even at an early stage of development, an experienced gamer can get a real feel for how responsive the controls will be as well as how a game's pacing will feel in the final product. The other reason beta play sessions are great is that these experiences are necessarily unscripted. There's no way that a game developer can tell you how to play a game, and the end result is a series of discoveries. This can be good and bad. Thankfully in Bond's case, it's good - we found more depth and open-ended action than we expected.

We played this early version of Quantum Solace on an Xbox 360, but the game will be available on the PS3 also.

Level 1: Sienna Underground

The first level we played began in Sienna and takes place at the beginning of the game. Bond is chasing a villain through an underground area - Activision declined to explain why we were chasing this villain because it would spoil a key plot point in the upcoming movie.

We sprinted through an underground cavernous area that appeared to be suffering from some sort of earthquake. As we sprinted through hallways and shot our way through the occasional bottleneck ambush, we learned the importance of cover in this game. Much like Gears of War, you move to and from cover by holding down the A button and sprinting. The right trigger button allows you to lean out or up and fire from cover. The left trigger aims down the gun sights.

In traditional shooter fashion, explosives were located through the level that we could use to trigger wide-area explosions capable of neutralizing multiple targets. The enemy A.I. seemed pretty snappy - some bad guys would sprint at you, while others would hide behind cover and wait for you to approach them.

There are no health packs in Quantum Solace. When you take significant amounts of fire, the game starts to go into a slow-motion display. This is your queue to seek cover. If you take even more damage in this slow-down mode, the display narrows in the classic bond blood barrel.

Sienna Rooftops

The second level we played also took place in Sienna, but high above the ground on the roofs of apartments and homes in the fabled Italian city. This sequence was also a frantic chase, but was a more physical form of gameplay, including numerous jumps and a few sequences where you lose your footing on rooftop tiles.

As we leaped from building to building, we discovered a few other features in Quantum Solace. First, when you come into close contact with an enemy, you can trigger a quick takedown by clicking in the right thumb stick. This triggers a one-button mini-game where you have to quickly press the button displayed onscreen. Succeed and Bond performs one of several silent action moves. Judo chop!

The other thing we noticed is the large number of weapons in the game. Bond typically starts with his pistol and a grenade, but as you dispatch enemies, you can pick up their firearms. Over the course of our three mission endeavor, we used pistols, machine guns, snipers, and more.

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