JAMES BOND 007 QUANTUM OF SOLACE PC Game

James Bond is back to settle the score in Quantum of Solace The Game. Introducing a more lethal and cunningly efficient Bond, the game blends intense first-person action with a unique third-person cover combat system that allows players to truly feel what it is like to be the ultimate secret agent as they use their stealth, precision shooting and lethal combat skills to progress through missions.

Seamlessly blending the heart-pounding action and excitement of the upcoming Quantum of Solace feature film with the Casino Royale movie, the title propels players into the cinematic experience of international espionage. Based on the renowned Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game engine that has been specifically engineered to immerse players in the Bond universe, Quantum of Solace: The Game delivers superior high-definition graphics, reactive AI and visually stunning locations inspired by locales portrayed in the films.

Put a beautiful beau in a hot sports car, toss in a gorgeous babe for him to boink and then prop up a bunch of would-be henchman to stand in between our hero and his goal and you have the recipe for just about every Bond film in history. Of course, with every movie comes a game of the same name and Quantum of Solace is no different. It takes the Call of Duty 4 engine and wraps it around the James Bond universe with a few new trimmings to try and keep the action feeling as fresh as possible.

It's just a bummer that roughly everything that was added in an effort to keep the game feeling fresh isn't done all that well. They're not bad additions, they just don't meld or work especially well with the rest of the game and therefore come off feeling very forced and artificial.

As you'd expect, Quantum of Solace is played almost entirely from a first-person perspective. The biggest deviation from the COD4 gameplay formula is actually one of the few moments when you'll be removed from Daniel Craig's point of view. Treyarch, figuring that they had a star that most would want to look at, decided to implement a cover system into the standard first-person shooter gameplay of QoS. It works similarly to what we've seen from the likes of Gears of War and others.

Basically any surface can be stuck to by pressing A and you can even dash into a piece of cover by holding the button. The cover system is better than some (Kane & Lynch) but not as functional as others. There were times when I felt like I should be able to crouch behind something in front of me and I couldn't. Only to find out that I was perfectly aligned and it was the cover system screwing me up. It wasn't a massive annoyance, but the few deaths that I was able to chalk up to the faulty cover were a nuisance.

Another problem with the cover system is that the levels are built around the mechanic. That means that the free-flowing way of dispatching enemies from several different angles as was available in COD4 is no longer available. Instead there are too many situations relegated to standard stop and pop gameplay. That's fine if things are bright and flashy with lots of blood and guts, but when you're fighting a bunch of henchmen things can feel a little tired.

Luckily there are moments when things aren't so mundane. When the game tries it does do a good job of delivering intensity and flare but those moments are spaced a bit too far apart. Also trying to keep the action fresh are the levels which stay varied throughout. They're all a little predictable – there's the requisite speeding train and museum levels – but at least you're not running down the same hallways over and over.

JAMES BOND 007 QUANTUM OF SOLACE