Quick Version: Quantum of Solace offers a relatively entertaining single-player experience, but the true power of the game lies in the multiplayer modes. If you were a fan of multiplayer GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64, you’ll have a blast with this one too.

Overview and Features:

• Built upon the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine
• Dialogue from the actual film actors used in the game
• Storyline spans both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
• Multiplayer Features: New “Bond-specific” multiplayer modes, up to 12 simultaneous players. Modes include: Deathmatch, Domination, Bond Versus (one guy is Bond against everyone else), Bond Evasion (one team protects Bond, the other tries to kill him), and Golden Gun (find and use the “Golden Gun” weapon for one-hit kills)
• Intelligent AI in single player mode
• MSRP of $59.99 (Xbox 360)

You’ll like it if…

…you went to college around the turn of the century and spent most, if not all, of your spare time playing GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64. I must have logged about 100 hours of multiplayer before I even played the single player version. The Quantum of Solace multiplayer set me awash with nostalgia.

The single player mode is pretty straightforward and entertaining. It’s linear in the sense that you have objectives that need to be accomplished before you can progress to the next part of a certain mission. How you accomplish those objectives is a little less rigid. In some situations, you’ll need to decide whether you want to sneak up on all your enemies and kill them quietly or if you’d rather start a big, fat fire fight.

Fans of the latest Bond movies will also likely appreciate that the game sticks pretty closely to the storylines of both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. If you’ve seen both films, you’ll recognize plenty of the dialogue and locations in the game.

From a technical standpoint, Activision did an excellent job with the visuals and gameplay. The game looks great, it runs smoothly, and it’s easy to pick up and master the intuitive control scheme. If you’ve played first person shooters before, it’ll be like riding a bike. The game uses the COD4 engine, which works really well.

But not if…

…you’re looking for something completely new out of a game. Within minutes of starting the single player version — and all throughout playing Quantum of Solace — I kept feeling like I was playing Splinter Cell.

There’s a bit more open combat in Quantum of Solace but for the most part the general idea is: get directions from boss, check cell phone for map, sneak around, climb up building, shoot out surveillance cameras, use sniper scope and/or silencer, pick lock on door, quietly kill enemy from behind, repeat. Not to say that Splinter Cell is a bad series by any means. I love(d) those games. This game just felt like Sam Fischer in a tuxedo except that I couldn’t jump up and do the splits between two walls.

Recommendation:

If you’re a big fan of the latest two James Bond movies, get the game. You’ll love it. The characters are there, the dialogue is there, and the locations and plotlines are there. And if you miss the good old days of playing GoldenEye with your buddies, get the game and invite them over or, if you guys have all moved, hook up on Xbox Live and play until four in the morning like you used to. You’ll have a blast.

However if you’re looking for “the next big thing” in first-person shooters, you could probably hold off on this one. It wouldn’t be a bad purchase, but there’s not much here from a gameplay/objectives/features standpoint that you haven’t already seen.