James Bond: Quantum of Solace X360 comments

Quantum Of Solace is one of the best movie-based video games ever. To those who know movie-based games, this will sound like faint praise. But developers Treyarch deserve applause for a respectable adaptation of the last two Bond films - as Quantum Of Solace works in plotline both the latest Bond film and Casino Royale. After all, QoS would probably sell very well if it was terrible due to the fact it has the 007 logo on the cover. Instead, this is first time since the highly acclaimed Goldeneye that Bond fans won't get horribly stung if they decide to bring Bond home to their console.

Essentially, QoS is a first-person-shooter (FPS) crammed with a number of on-the-fly mini-games. In between gun battles, players will have to hack computers, dismantle security cameras and occasionally sneak up to opponents and silently dispatch them. There are also times when players will have a fistfight with an opponent, and then the action switches to a third-person-viewed mini-game in which timed button bashing sees Bond dole out brutal punishment.

But the lion's share of Bond's activities involves dishing out flying lead. Just as the film franchise eschewed zany gadgets and camp humour in favour of pugnacious grit and lead-pipe brutality, so the video game follows suit providing run and gun action built on the Call Of Duty 4 engine. The fire-fights come fast and furious, complete with a booming soundtrack and an adaptive AI. The gunplay also puts a premium on finding cover and Bond doesn't last long out in the open. A lot of the environments also contain handy gas cylinders and other explosive devices which players can used to decimate large numbers of opponents with a well-placed shot.

Cast members have been digitally captured, and the voice work, as you'd expect from the likes of Daniel Craig and Dame Judy Dench, is uniformly excellent. Bond fans will also be pleased to know chronicles events from both QoS and Casino Royale (possibly to pad out the action). The game also offers an online multiplayer similar to the mode offered in Call Of Duty 4, except with Bond skins

What makes QoS so appealing is the way the action switches so seamlessly from FPS carnage, to puzzle solving, to brief cinematic and then back again. Treyarch has taken every effort to make QoS look and feel like the player is starring in a Bond film and the end result is exciting to play, if not an instant classic.

The only other problem facing the game is its date of release. This month has seen the release of some absolutely amazing games (Dead Space, Far Cry 2 and Fable II to name three) and even more are on the way. In spite of being tied to one of the most loved and respected film franchises of all time, QoS may battle to find an audience beyond James Bond's fan base..