Quantum of Solace
Jul 2, 2008The 2006 release of the film Casino Royale introduced the world to a reinvented James Bond. Gone were the science fiction gadgets and physics-defying action sequences. The increasingly over-the-top caricature of Bond from previous films was replaced by a more rugged, down-to-earth portrayal -- a James Bond that seemed grounded in reality. Sure, the stunts were still big and bold, but Bond himself as depicted by Daniel Craig was flesh and blood. The danger was real. We felt his pain (yeah, you know the scene I'm talkin' about). And, perhaps for the first time, audiences actually started to care about Bond as a character.
This new take on the Bond franchise represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the team at Treyarch studios, who are hard at work creating the first video game based off of the Daniel Craig's "new" Bond. It's a tall order to create compelling gameplay that doesn't revolve around magical gadgets or invisible cars. But Executive Producer Garret Young, a self-proclaimed "Bond Geek," thinks the team is up to it. The new Bond has a "hands on, head first" approach to problem solving, according to Young, and the new game aims to embrace this kind of visceral action.
Quantum of Solace wraps up two James Bond movies into one game, incorporating the story from both Casino Royale and the upcoming sequel, which picks up the action an hour later. Some deleted scenes from the movies, as well as some new material, have been added to flesh out the action sequences into a complete game.
Step one was to start building the game using the Call of Duty 4 engine (Call of Duty 4 was
Our first taste of the game was a playthrough of the sinking Venetian building scene from the original Casino Royale movie. It was clear that Treyarch is milking the powerful game engine for all it's worth. The lighting was spot on, with hazy sunlight filtering through the slats of rotting boards. Debris littered the ground, easily kicked aside or thrown loose by explosions, which sent cascades of dust showering from the ceiling. Then the real fireworks started, as the air bladders keeping the building afloat exploded. The entire level tipped at an angle. Canal waters burst from the walls and floor as the building started to slip below the roiling waves. The elevator scaffolding broke free from its moorings and crashed against the wall, dislodging bricks and mortar. And throughout this carnage, Bond dashed from cover point to cover point as submachine gun fire ripped through boards and bricks all around him. The spectacle was impressive; Treyarch seems hell-bent on outdoing the movies.
Stepping Into Bond's Shoes
The designers spent a good deal of time trying to figure out how best to represent Bond on-screen, and finally settled on a hybrid first-person/third-person style. Most of the time you'll be walking around in the first person, staring down the sights of Bond's gun. But when the action gets up close and personal -- and face it, Bond likes it that way -- the camera pulls out to give you a third-person view of the action.
Judging by the demo the transition seems to work smoothly. A context-sensitive action button allows Bond to dash toward cover, roll across an exposed hallway, press himself against a wall, or other moves. When you're crouched behind cover the camera will pull out some so that you can see Bond's face as well as who's lurking just beyond the corner.
Often you'll get the jump on a bad guy, who will be standing with his back to the camera. A silent takedown is easy; Just creep up toward your victim, hit the action key, and then a series of button presses will do some brutal no-holds-barred fighting moves to subdue your foe. Naturally the camera pulls out so you can see the stuntwork in all its motion-captured glory.
Espionage and Action
Gameplay alternates between moments of cautious sneaking and epic scenes of all-out gunplay. We spoke with Design Director Jeremy Luyties after the demo and he explained that the game gives players all sorts of visual cues -- from the lighting to the music to the placement of the enemies -- to give players an idea of how they can handle a particular problem. "James Bond is never surprised by his environment," he says.
A great example of one of the action set pieces was in the two story Casino ballroom, where Bond finds himself surrounded by armed men. The lavish room had all the accoutrements of a five-star hotel. Delicate stemware was arranged on gleaming white tablecloths. Enormous crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, interspersed with colorful banners. Tables, chairs, and service carts filled the space. As the gun battle raged, the chandeliers shattered, raining glass down from the sky until they themselves toppled onto the tables below. Stemware shattered; Chairs and tables were kicked aside. Banners fluttered to the ground. As first-person action goes, Treyarch is really aiming for big league spectacle.
But what might appease Bond fans the most are the little touches that make this undeniably a 007 game. Artists used 3D scans of Daniel Craig himself to render James Bond, so the character in-game looks dead-on, right down to the piercing pale blue eyes. Your character's silhouette in the corner of the screen, showing whether you're standing or prone and how hurt you are, is modeled after the animated opening credits sequence of Casino Royale. When you take damage, a spiral gun barrel begins to enclose the screen, recreating the iconic image that opens nearly every movie.
The hybrid camera views allow for some really cinematic moments. In another demo level, we were sneaking around a luxurious hotel floor of the Casino Royale, trying to rescue Le Chiffre from his heavily armed abductors. ("James Bond is always outnumbered and outgunned," Young explained. "His greatest weapon is his mind.") Players always have the option of unloading with guns blazing, but most levels have some James Bond solutions, allowing you to take out individual guards and slip across the floor undetected. Leaping out of the window put us onto balcony of the hotel, and we were able to shimmy along a window ledge while a gorgeous panorama of the Casino grounds spread out several stories below. As we approached the window of another hotel room, a "picture-in-picture" view opened up, allowing us to see who was in the room and if the guards were facing the window. The dev team plans to use the picture-in-picture mechanic sparingly (such as when Bond is trying to pick locks or access computers), but it definitely gave the action some intensity.
All told, the developers are Treyarch seem to "get" the James Bond franchise, and that makes us want to get our hands on this game. Quantum of Solace will be available this fall for all the next-gen consoles (our demo showcased the Xbox 360 version), as well as for Windows PC and Nintendo DS.
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