007. The man with the licence to kill.  Men want to be him; women want to be with him.  I’ve always loved the alluring Bond mystique; the guns, girls, gadgets.  Surely these iconic films make an impression on every red blooded male during his formative years as they did with me.  That fascination with the Martini swilling secret agent continues today, if I was to win the lottery my choice of exotic sports car could be nothing other than an Aston Martin.  The very first Bluray disc I purchased for my PS3 was you guessed it, Casino Royale.

It was only fitting then that the first great console FPS was Goldeneye 007 for the N64.  I was sold after only a few minutes, sneaking around with a silenced Walther eliminating guards and then making headshots through the sniper rifle’s scope was a sweet experience.  It was the sole reason (much to the disgust of my friends) I bought the N64 console over the original Playstation; to say that I feel vindicated in my decision 11 years on would be an understatement to end them all.  Just like Halo was for the original Xbox, it was worth getting the N64 just to play Goldeneye 007.  It was also the first shooter I remember being mentioned anecdotally in the media; one afternoon megapopular drive time radio show Martin Molloy regaled listeners with their method for spicing up their Goldeneye play.  Whenever an enemy was dispatched from the land of the living you had to deliver a typical Hollywood one liner just like Arnie, Bruce or Sly.  The highlight was their effort after topping a Russian soldier in a men’s room urinal, “Finish your piss in hell!”  Still makes me laugh to this day.  My point is I’ve been waiting 11 years for the next great Bond game and I’m starting to get the feeling the wait may be over.

Activision acquired the rights to the esteemed franchise a couple of years ago and to coincide with the movie’s release of the same name will be delivering the Quantum of Solace game this November.  Developed by in-house studio Treyarch the game looks impressive graphically due to it utilising the Call of Duty 4 engine; there are certainly worse foundations for a shooter to begin with.  The story covers the events of the new film as well as the excellent reimagining Casino Royale.  You’ll start the game at Quantum of Solace’s opening then through a flashback sequence will play through the Casino Royale events before returning to finish off Solace.  Because the new film is the first true sequel in Bond movie history with its events beginning only an hour after the completion of Casino Royale, the story thread for the game should be fluid and compelling.  Spoiler wary MI6 agents note; you may want to see the film before playing the game.

Treyarch have been given unprecedented access to source material from the upcoming film; the actual script has been in their possession for quite some time, in fact one of the action sequences in the game was shot for the movie but has since been scrapped from the big screen version.  Production values certainly seem to be of the highest order with the developers capturing the actors’ likenesses and voices including the demised characters of Vesper & Le Chiffre from Casino Royale; concept drawings and onset visitations have also been provided to complete the ultimate next gen Bond adventure.

The gameplay is a mix of first and third person reminiscent of Rainbow Six Vegas with a touch of The Bourne Conspiracy and Gears of War thrown into the mix.  Most of the time you’ll play in first person then switch to third person as you utilise cover and marvel at just how dreamy Daniel Craig is even in virtual form.  Those piercing blue eyes!  No word if we’ll see him in his famous swim trunks scene (that’s a scene for a beautiful woman dammit!).  Whilst behind cover you can blindfire just like Team Rainbow or slide to adjacent cover as Marcus and Dom would.  Gunplay looks very smooth and creamy just like COD4, switching to iron sights with the silenced SMG gives me Hardcore Search & Destroy flashbacks and you can shoot through weaker cover as well. 

Just like the celluloid Bond the emphasis will be on outsmarting rather than outgunning the superior numbered enemy.  Instead of the ubiquitous red barrel you can shoot a fire extinguisher in a hotel hallway for example; but instead of exploding the escaping gas will overpower any nearby enemies long enough for you to finish them off with firearm or bare knuckles.  If you choose to get up close and personal the camera will go Bourne style while you complete a Quick Time Event.  Judging from footage only they seem a little clumsier and less fluid than The Bourne Conspiracy’s effort; hand to hand combat was the strength of that game.

There are some nice little graphical touches to complete the Bond experience as well; the graphical representation of your stance at the bottom of the screen whilst upright is a silhouette of Bond in a tuxedo complete with bow tie undone just like the Casino Royale movie poster.  The representation when you are wounded shows instead of red haze like COD4 the rifled barrel effect you see at the start of every Bond film.  You gotta love it when there is that much enthusiasm for the subject matter.

Multiplayer hasn’t been discussed at this stage except that there is some.  As all Goldeneye aficionados will attest this is a prerequisite for the quintessential Bond experience and it has been mentioned there will be an XP system and weapon upgrades.  PS3 Trophies have already been revealed suggesting game modes consisting of Territory, Golden Gun and Bond Evasion.  What is not in the game’s multiplayer favour is Treyarch’s own Call of Duty: World at War releasing only a week before.  Considering I am an absolute Prestige junkie and not wanting to incur the wrath of Ice T, Quantum’s multiplayer will have to be special to keep me at it for any considerable time.

Usurping the throne of Goldeneye is a mighty task and certainly way too early to call but there are a lot of Aces held in the latest blond haired, blue eyed Bond’s hand.  Nonetheless my anticipation couldn’t be higher for both the film and the game; it’s a shame they weren’t both releasing now so it didn’t have to compete with the likes of Delta Squad and Jack Bauer in the Pacific Theatre come November.