For a long time, I’ve been a fan of James Bond. I’ve read the books, watched the films, but have never actually played a game based on the stories - a stance which may be about to change.

While in Los Angeles recently, we dropped in to visit with Treyarch - who were busily tidying the loose ends on their latest Bond game, the Xbox 360 / PS3 version of Quantum of Solace - and they very kindly let us have a look at their baby, and ask some questions of co-designer/directors Jeremy Luyties and Adam Gascoine.

We had the video camera with us again for this trip, so grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy as we find out about Quantum of Solace.

Download the Games On Net - James Bond: Quantum of Solace Developer Interview

While normally, people start playing games at the beginning, as you can see from the video, this visit was anything but normal. The developers wanted to show off some new and exciting elements of the game - elements that were not featured until a fair way through the storyline... so that’s where we started from, skipping all of the “getting to know you” stage, and jumping straight into bed with the new-look Mr. Bond (not an unpleasant task, with this being the first game ever to include Daniel Craig’s likeness).

Anyway - the developers had the controls, loaded up a game level which takes place on a moving train, and that’s where they dropped UgLyPuNk as Bond (...suddenly the previous paragraph doesn’t sound quite so appealing, does it?). The scene is based on one that was originally filmed for Casino Royale, but ended up on the cutting room floor. The development team picked it up, dusted it off, and turned it into a pretty action-packed little gaming sequence, perfect for showing off the various gameplay elements from Quantum of Solace - demonstrating first person elements, moments of third person play, and illustrating the newly implemented cover system.

The new cover system is used from a third-person perspective. You can hide behind something - a bench, a cupboard, a big rock - and then, without having to exit cover and re-enter it, run from spot to spot. It’s somewhat inspired by Gears of War and the Rainbow Six: Vegas titles, and saves you several button-presses (and quite a bit of health) when it comes time to progress through particularly enemy-packed zones.


Getting back to the train though, after running through a series of nicely-realised carriages (with instructions given by a disembodied voice reporting through the various abandoned mobile phones strewn around the train), it was time to climb the inevitable ladder for some roof-top confrontations. If you were curious, it seems that even James Bond cannot survive the impact that comes with standing up on a train roof as it goes under a set of low-lying lights in a rail tunnel. He also cannot survive being blown off the roof of the train - whether that’s due to an explosion, a poorly-timed jump, or even the strong winds that prevailed in this location. Seriously - when outside, on a racing freight train, the weather plays a very important role on whether or not our hero can manage to stay upright. We saw Bond get blown from one side of the roof to the other, and without a handy wall to lean on, it took significant effort to remain standing. It’s a nice touch.

While he may struggle with things involving balance and prevailing winds, Bond can, however, drop his gun at a moment’s notice and take on the main Bad Guy in a spot of hand-to-hand combat, with all the quick and deadly style that we’ve come to expect from our hero. The pair on-screen grappled and wrestled, through the game’s “quick timer” event system - as the scuffle reached a critical moment, a button would need to be pressed (or yes, mashed) to ensure Bond’s continuing success. Mis-remember a colour, mis-press a button or drift off for a moment and our secret agent is quickly dispatched. It’s standard stuff, but it works, the developers avoiding the now-typically drawn-out melee system by condensing each fight into a few button presses, more for the end-of-level fights, less for the standard henchmen. If you’ve been burned by recent melee systems (such as Sierra’s ill-fated Bourne Conspiracy), rest assured that the developers have learned from others’ mistakes. You are not forced to use hand-to-hand combat every few moments, you still have a gun, and the whole thing just works.


I saw someone recently commenting on a game that “if you notice something, you’re meant to notice it” - and this is true for Quantum of Solace also. As UgLyPuNk ran through the train carriage, occasionally being ambushed and looking for ways to attack, certain objects stood out, shimmering slightly on the screen. Apparently, if you shoot at a fire extinguisher, it will explode and create quite the nice little enemy distraction - or shooting something more volatile (like oh, a fuel drum) creates a bigger bang, useful for taking out several enemies at long range.

As Jeremy and Adam mentioned, you can pretty much play the game the way you want to. Quantum of Solace was built so that each level can handle a variety of gaming styles. Some may have been designed to favour stealth, while others are better-suited to fast-paced, guns-blazing action, but the whole game can be successfully completed using just one or the other.

For instance - UgLyPuNk is very much the sort of player who will run in, shoot everything in sight, and do as much damage as possible in a short period of time, and his playstyle reflected this - run and gun, take out henchmen left and right, shoot first, ask questions later. This is fine - except that we were being shown a level that had been designed for a more softly, softly approach, utilising stealth, skill and preferring hand-to-hand combat over firearms. The security cameras were there to be disarmed, not shot out, and the enemies were meant to be watched and taken down gently, not executed from a distance. But still - this was an interesting demonstration of how the game can be played, as the level was still completed successfully, and Bond survived. Each to their own.


It’s also worth noting, while discussing playstyles, that the AI in Quantum of Solace can actually learn from your behaviour. If you’ve been using a lot of melee fighting, close-quarters takedowns, then the enemy simply will not let you get that close, instead spreading out and shooting you sniper-style. On the other hand, if you’re more a fan of firefights, then you may soon find that they’re sneaking up on you and trying to force you into more hand-to-hand combat. We were told that every decision the AI makes is on-the-fly, with their behaviour varying from game to game even if Bond takes exactly the same steps.

Quantum of Solace utilises the Call of Duty 4 engine, but in reality is nothing like it, or the other games we’ve seen using the same system. The aesthetics are different, the cover system has been properly implemented and the pace has been knocked back a bit, making it more atmospheric and “Bond-like”. The developers went into this aiming to make a good game that happened to feature James Bond, rather than working on a good “James Bond” game, so the emphasis has always been on quality rather than just another cheesy tie-in. We’re not in a position to say if it’s as good as the fabled GoldenEye, but it gets a lot closer than a lot of the other recent titles in the franchise. Looks like Activision have a potential winner on their hands!