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Unfortunately for Wii gamers, this version of Quantum of Solace isn’t quite as strong as the other console versions.
With Treyarch busy working on the game for other consoles (as well as the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War) the development duties for Quantum of Solace were passed onto Beenox. Quantum of Solace, for Wii, tries to replicate the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions but ultimately falls short due to a myriad of technical problems.
As fans know, Quantum of Solace is the second entry in the reimagining of the Bond franchise that began with Casino Royale. Casino Royale dumped the larger-than-life settings, enemies, and situations for a darker and more believable (though still extraordinary) world. Quantum of Solace picks up soon after with 007 chasing the man responsible for the death of Vesper, Bond’s love interest in Casino Royale. The game begins with a bang with Bond taking on enemies on Mr. White’s mansion and dealing with very unhappy patrons. As an added bonus, many of Casino Royale’s action scenes are also playable in the game through flashbacks. The story is told through a combination of CGI cutscenes (seemingly taken from the movie) and cutscenes that take place back at MI6. The Wii cutscenes are obviously lower-resolution than the other consoles but look pretty good nonetheless.
Quantum of Solace for Wii features largely the same design as other versions of the game. The game is still powered by the Call of Duty 4 engine, which handles the shooting components with ease. The game doesn’t waste any time throwing you right in the middle of action but the control system should feel familiar to fans of COD4. Similar to the COD series, Bond’s health recharges after a while but instead of seeing blood fill your screen as you take more damage you’ll see the series’ gun barrel start to encroach on your screen.
Bond begins the game with his trusty P99 (with silencer), a mobile phone (which shows the level’s map and information from enemies), and the advice of someone at MI6 who is keeping tabs on Bond who helps guide you through the levels. As you play through the game, you’ll be able to pick up an additional two weapons, since you’ll always hold on to the P99. These weapons cover the typical range in first person shooters and include everything from other pistols, machine guns, and sniper rifles. Yes, a grenade launcher is included, too.
Of course, Bond isn’t all about shooting enemies down. The game includes a cover system (where you switch to a third-person view point) very similar to Gear of War’s system, where you can easily take cover behind certain items. You can easily move around behind different items and take aim from behind cover before going back down. Bond can also defeat enemies that get to close to him fairly easily, too, by using a takedown. Superb FPS gamers will find that they can get through the game by just shooting their way to the end but most of us will have to use the cover and takedown systems, especially because the game (and AI) gets progressively more challenging. The AI in the game is great, as you’ll see them take cover, flank you, and provide suppressive fire for one another.
Quantum of Solace includes some stealth segments, as well as relatively simple puzzles that involve mostly pressing the appropriate button at the right time. During the stealth segments, you’ll have to face fewer enemies if you use takedowns (or even the silencer) and avoid (or disable) cameras. For the most part, being stealthy is a suggestion and you can easily continue the level by blasting your way through (albeit with many more enemies trying to gun you down now). There are some third-person elements, too, such as when you need to tip-toe across a window ledge and avoid being seen where you do have to remain unseen to continue.
Quantum of Solace features offline splitscreen multiplayer (the only version to do so) as well as a simple online multiplayer component. The online multiplayer actually works pretty well from a technical perspective with little lag, although the mode only has a couple of modes and pretty much features only the basics.
Unfortunately the game is bogged down by a number of technical issues. The primary one is that shooting in the game doesn’t have the fluid feel of recent shooters like Metroid Prime 3 or even Treyarch’s Call of Duty 3. The game does a fairly decent shot with the motion controls but you’ll notice that things go haywire if you make sudden movements, which is a necessity in a fast-paced first person shooter. This would have been workable but combined with the framerate issues mentioned below make some sections extremely difficult to get through and make the experience feel unpolished, and at its extreme, simply not fun.
Visually, Quantum of Solace looks great if you’re standing still but the trouble begins as soon as you start moving. Standing still, Bond’s character model looks fantastic since Daniel Craig’s likeness was licensed for the game and some of the game’s environments also look fantastic. But you’ll quickly notice that the game struggles to run at 30 frames per second and has sections where it plays more like a slideshow. Some of the game’s environments, especially those that feature open spaces, are way too bland, as well.
The game’s audio is terrific, though. The soundtrack is appropriately epic and sounds like it could have powered the blockbuster movie, thanks in large part to the famous Bond theme song. The sound effects—particularly explosions—all sound great, too. Activision got the film’s cast including Craig, Eva Green, and Olga Kurylenko to provide voice acting for the game, and they all do a great job.
With Quantum of Solace, Beenox had the tough task of porting over one of the most technically demanding engines over to the less powerful Wii. The result is a game that shines at its core thanks to an impressive Bond feel but is held back by technical issues. When Quantum of Solace works—when the framerate holds up and the motion controls aren’t shaky—the game is a ton of fun. Unfortunately, these technical issues—which don’t always occur but occur way too frequently—detract from the solid core game that Quantum of Solace tries to be. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 9, 2008
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