007 Quantum of Solace

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is an only moderately better affair, mainly because Quantum of Solace has a good selection of modes up its sleeve.

They range from the standard Bond-game inclusion of Golden Gun mode, where there’s one gun on the map which is essentially a one-hit kill, to the more inventive Bond versus modes where players are divided into teams and given limited respawns or not based on their player types.

The level design is a mixed mess in the multiplayer too, ranging from the dismal courtyard and bare rooms of a square hotel to the actually quite impressive rooftops of Sienna. The rooftop level we actually really like; it’s very open and exposed but at the same time it’s got plenty of hidey-holes and sniper camps and a huge deadly drop in the centre.

Unfortunately, while the rooftop level is quite likeable and enjoyable despite the awfully flat and over-bright looks of the game, the majority of the other levels drag the entire multiplayer section down, right down. The areas fluctuate massively between too big, too small, too cluttered and just too damn ugly.


As with the singleplayer, cynical players will no doubt be annoyed by the reliance on the Games for Windows LIVE! system that supports Quantum of Solace. The system just isn’t as fluid, polished or optional as it really should be yet and the way the game forces you to update (which prevents you from playing multiplayer or saving in singleplayer) is a further blight on the already disfigured surface of Bond’s latest adventure.

To cap it all off, there’s also a few worrying indications that the PC version of the game is just an awful port of the Xbox 360 game. Why else would the LAN option be labelled as ‘System Link’?

Again though, as with the singleplayer, the most obvious issue with the game is the terrible graphics. It’s almost impossible to have fun with the game or to take it seriously because at the back of your mind is the constantly growing realisation that you’ve paid £30 for a game that plays like something from the early ‘90s and looks a hell of a lot worse.

Conclusion

There are a few things to like about Quantum of Solace. The action is fast-moving and enjoyable in that weird guilty-pleasure kind of way and on the surface at least we like the way the story jumps back and forth.

In practice though it all falls apart. The gameplay is duller than watching Mr Bean re-runs in reverse and about as good-looking as watching Rowan Atkinson at all. Sorry, Rowan.

The levels look awful, have no sense of life to them and are basically just funnels used to push you on into the next tired, staid piece of gameplay. The enemies have the worst type of artificial stupidity and the whole experience feels remorselessly rewardless and empty. It’s shallower than the puddle of vomit we’d rather drown in than continue playing – though the game admittedly isn’t broken enough to warrant a lower score than this.

The game works on a functional level, we've got to give it that because we don’t give truly low scores to games that play stably and smoothly, with auto-updating features and so on. Don’t let that confuse you though – Quantum of Solace just isn’t an enjoyable game on the PC. It's an underwhelming and very crude mess.

Score Guide