[E3 2008] Quantum of Solace
The first Bond sequel gets its first Activision video game counterpart.
Published: July 26, 2008
It would be fair to say the James Bond license is worth more now than ever before. The success of Casino Royale quite literally brought the Bond movies back from the brink. It wasn't so much that Pierce Brosnan's performances as Bond were particularly bad, just that the movies he was in (with the exception of GoldenEye) weren't terribly great, and it continued something of a downward trend that had started -- arguably -- since Sean Connery left the role and the series become a bit too hokey. What it needed was a restart. What it got was Daniel Craig.
Good thing, too, since the new Mr. Bond is exactly the kind of person a video game based on his adventures needed; he's brutal, at times merciless, and the real-life man that plays him is a real-life gamer -- or at least that's what Activision led us to believe as they demonstrated Quantum of Solace, based on the movie of the same name that serves as the first proper sequel to a Bond movie in the series' history. Craig will be lending his voice and likeness to the role, and is apparently quite the gamer.
It's another first, too -- the game, that is -- it's the first video game since the Bond license shifted from EA to Activision. EA's Bond games, while not entirely bad, certainly weren't great, though much of that could be attributed to the source material. It was somewhat fortuitous, then that Activision managed to get the license when they did, for Casino Royale was the perfect restart to the franchise, literally taking Bond all the way back to his root in Ian Fleming's short story. Now, the movie version of Quantum of Solace will take over where the last movie left off, and the game will spread across both to deliver a more complete narrative experience.
From what we saw of the game during E3 at Activision's off-site soiree (remember, they backed out of the ESA and won't be doing any more E3s, it looks like), the game is actually shaping up to be the most accurate depiction of Bond yet, mixing both stealth elements and first-person shooting, all built on the foundation of the Call of Duty 4 engine (itself built on the Quake III engine if you can believe it). All this really means is that the silky smooth shooting aspects of Infinity Ward's damned impressive shooter should come through just fine.
Though the presentation on the game was short, and involved some sneaking bits that were ridiculously fast (seriously, it looked like Bond was channeling The Flash), we were treated to a quick button press sequence where Bond flipped an enemy over a railing, scooted along a casino outcropping and eventually just opened fire on everyone inside with an automatic weapon. It was impressive, sure, but we want more! Technically that could be the game's biggest plus: we want to know how the reset of it all plays out. If Treyarch can nail mixing stealth elements with first-person shooting bits, they could well have the best Bond game yet on their hands. Of course, that's a big if.
We'll have more on the game in the coming weeks/months, but to whet your whistle just a bit, we've prepared some sexy new screens and movies of the game in action. Scroll up and give 'em a little clicky-poo. We'll be back with updates soon.
Good thing, too, since the new Mr. Bond is exactly the kind of person a video game based on his adventures needed; he's brutal, at times merciless, and the real-life man that plays him is a real-life gamer -- or at least that's what Activision led us to believe as they demonstrated Quantum of Solace, based on the movie of the same name that serves as the first proper sequel to a Bond movie in the series' history. Craig will be lending his voice and likeness to the role, and is apparently quite the gamer.
It's another first, too -- the game, that is -- it's the first video game since the Bond license shifted from EA to Activision. EA's Bond games, while not entirely bad, certainly weren't great, though much of that could be attributed to the source material. It was somewhat fortuitous, then that Activision managed to get the license when they did, for Casino Royale was the perfect restart to the franchise, literally taking Bond all the way back to his root in Ian Fleming's short story. Now, the movie version of Quantum of Solace will take over where the last movie left off, and the game will spread across both to deliver a more complete narrative experience.
From what we saw of the game during E3 at Activision's off-site soiree (remember, they backed out of the ESA and won't be doing any more E3s, it looks like), the game is actually shaping up to be the most accurate depiction of Bond yet, mixing both stealth elements and first-person shooting, all built on the foundation of the Call of Duty 4 engine (itself built on the Quake III engine if you can believe it). All this really means is that the silky smooth shooting aspects of Infinity Ward's damned impressive shooter should come through just fine.
Though the presentation on the game was short, and involved some sneaking bits that were ridiculously fast (seriously, it looked like Bond was channeling The Flash), we were treated to a quick button press sequence where Bond flipped an enemy over a railing, scooted along a casino outcropping and eventually just opened fire on everyone inside with an automatic weapon. It was impressive, sure, but we want more! Technically that could be the game's biggest plus: we want to know how the reset of it all plays out. If Treyarch can nail mixing stealth elements with first-person shooting bits, they could well have the best Bond game yet on their hands. Of course, that's a big if.
We'll have more on the game in the coming weeks/months, but to whet your whistle just a bit, we've prepared some sexy new screens and movies of the game in action. Scroll up and give 'em a little clicky-poo. We'll be back with updates soon.
