Official 'Quantum of Solace' Game Synopsis

A series of Best Buy listings for Activision’s Quantum of Solace have confirmed the release date of the latest James Bond video game as 4 November 2008.

The listing also features the game’s official synopsis, which contains a few new nuggets of information…

Enter the world of international espionage with that most famous of agents: James Bond. Based on the Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace films, this hard-hitting game delivers all the intense action and suspense you expect from the Bond franchise. Join 007 for dangerous and deadly intrigue across far-flung locations as you experience high-octane action that leaves you both shaken and stirred.

Combining the intensity of 1st-person shooters with 3rd-person cover combat, Quantum of Solace puts you in control of the fiendishly clever mind of James Bond. Use of all of Bond’s deadly skills, including punishing maneuvers, expert marksmanship, tactical skills and stealth, to overcome dangerous and deadly foes. An advanced artificial intelligence makes adversaries react in intelligent ways, so you have to stay sharp and alert. Take on thrilling missions in exotic lands and interact with characters from both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Smile at danger as only Bond can, and neutralize enemies with the cool efficiency of a “00” operative.

Features

• Step into the shoes of James Bond as you embark on an adventure in international espionage and intrigue
• Based on events and characters in the Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace films
• Put your best Bond skills to the test, including tactical combat, precision shooting, crushing takedowns and deadly stealth
• Battle clever enemies thanks to advanced AI systems that allow enemies to react to you in intelligent ways
• Experience all the exotic locations and glamorous characters that round out the world of 007
• Go online in multiplayer modes for up to 12 players that include unique Bond modes

Quantum of Solace is being developed by Eurocom, Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions and will be released on next-generation consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms.

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Activision Mixes 'Casino' With 'Quantum'

Team Xbox recently visited Treyarch headquarters and has posted an excellent interview with Garrett Young, executive producer of Activision’s Quantum of Solace.

Young said the game will involve roughly equal portions of story from the films Casino Royale and the upcoming Quantum of Solace. Intriguingly, Activision has taken a neat bit of creative licensing in adapting the two movies into a single video game.

“We are being a little creative with [the order of the missions],” Young said. “And the movie guys were fine with that.”

“We kick off the game with the same thing the movie [Quantum of Solace] does. And then we get to a certain point in our story when there’s a tie-in to a character – we had to actually bring the character forward from Casino Royale; he’s not in Quantum of Solace but we put him in and the movie guys were okay with it – and after you have an interaction with this character, it kicks off a flashback to a section of Casino Royale.”

Young continued: “From there you play through the Casino Royale story before flashing forward to Quantum of Solace. So we’re telling it that way instead rather than a linear path story because we wanted to make it a little more interesting and wanted to tie it in a little closer to what people have seen, even if it was two and a half years ago.”

Young also spoke at length about the process of working with Quantum of Solace‘s filmmakers. “It’s all about having a great relationship with the movie people and the fact that we’ve been on the set three or four times and they’ve given us thousands of photos and we got scripts and updates to the scripts and sometimes that causes problems for us because they keep updating the scripts and so we have to make changes.”

“But when we did get to show Daniel Craig (and the Broccoli family, the long time producers of the Bond movies) the game, we went to Pinewood Studios where they film the movies. So we’re setting up in their conference room and the production assistant on the movie is running around saying ‘He’s shooting a scene right now and I can let you come out and see the scene, but I don’t know if he can come look at the game yet and have you show it to him.’ So we watch them film the scene and then the assistant came back and said ‘OK, I got a hold of him in his trailer between scenes but he was playing some game with a plastic guitar.’ He was playing Guitar Hero! He’s between scenes in his trailer playing Guitar Hero? That’s crazy!”

“And then we came to see the game, and see himself depicted for the first time in a video game, I think he was a little bit nervous; a little bit anxious. He picked a controller right up and picked up on the first person controls almost immediately, though he was getting killed at lot at first until I explained the cover system to him. But when I first met him I think he was a little – I mean, he’s a big gamer. And he was asking us a lot of stuff about what’s in the game, the kind of stuff you would ask if you were a gamer. But I think he liked how he looked, and we’ve gotten more feedback from him after sending him screenshots. But he’d never been in a game before and I’m thinking ‘Dude, you’re in movies all the time, and video games are just another medium like a movie’. But I think because he’s a gamer he was a little apprehensive about whether he was going to look like crap. But thankfully he really liked it.”

“Getting to meet all the actors was cool, they’re really nice people. Daniel and Judi [Dench] and some of the other principles from both movies are really, really nice. And yes, those Bond girls really are that beautiful in real life. Not that many of them have been in video games before. Judi has of course and she was an old pro when it came to recording her voice-overs. She read it once and I was like ‘Oh, that’s M’.”

For the whole interview, including more information about the game’s cover system and enemy AI, visit Team Xbox.

Quantum of Solace is being developed by Eurocom, Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions and will be released on next-generation consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond gaming news.

Inside Look At Activision's 'Quantum of Solace'

A new demo version of Activision’s debut James Bond game, Quantum of Solace, has been circulated and IGN has gotten an inside look at what to expect.

As earlier reported on CommanderBond.net, the game will be comprised of the events that take place in both the Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace films. The IGN report adds that a sequence cut from the Casino Royale film has been restored for the game.

While developed on an engine for a first-person shooter game, some differences have been made so Quantum of Solace can also be called a hybrid third-person game. Such examples include the camera pulling out to third-person perspective when Bond pushes against a wall or climbs up a ladder.

Areas from the game featured in the demo were mostly apart of the Casino Royale section and included the tension-filled sinking house in Venice, a level where 007 is faced with the task of locating the villainous Le Chiffre in the casino, and lastly the action-packed construction chase in which the ever-changing perspectives ‘gave a great view of the surroundings which showcased the great draw distance and attention to detail’ in the sequence.

The report also confirms that Daniel Craig is providing his own likeness and voice to character of James Bond. Developed Treyarch has ‘thousands of reference photos to work from in addition to the scripts’ to provide similar treatment to the other main characters in the game.

Placing the importance on perfecting the gameplay rather than including everything, Treyarch explained to IGN that there will be no driving levels and no poker game to take part in. They did confirm that multiplayer would be featured, but wouldn’t go into extensive details yet.

The overall verdict from IGN? ‘Licensed movie games rarely get the attention they deserve, but that doesn’t appear to be the case with Quantum of Solace. Treyarch has taken the Call of Duty 4 engine and made it its own by adding third-person action and delivering a cinematic feel fitting of an agent with a licence to kill.’

Visit IGN for the full report and several screenshots from the Quantum of Solace game.

Furthermore, the official website for the game, 007thevideogame.com, has been updated with new details. A general overview, details on the weapons, concept artwork and more are all worth checking out.

Quantum of Solace is being developed by Eurocom, Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions and will be released on next-generation consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms. It is expected to be released in November 2008.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond gaming news.

'GoldenEye 007' Voted Sixth Greatest Game Ever

More than a decade on and the popularity of the GoldenEye 007 video game has hardly diminished.

The James Bond title based on Pierce Brosnan’s debut 007 film ranked sixth in a ‘Greatest Games of All Time’ poll conducted by GAME.co.uk. The poll collected more than 100,000 votes.

The Nintendo 64 hit, still considered a benchmark by which many fans compare the following Bond video games to, was the only 007 title to make the top 100.

For the full list of games that made the top 100 in this poll, visit GAME.co.uk.

On a similar note, the game also ranked eighth on Entertainment Weekly’s listing on the top 50 video games from 1983 through 2008.

After a three year hiatus, James Bond returns to video games later this year in Activision’s first 007 title, Quantum of Solace.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest coverage of James Bond video games.

Activision's 'Quantum of Solace' Previewed In Official UK PlayStation Magazine

Activision’s debut James Bond game, Quantum of Solace, has landed on the front cover of this month’s official UK PlayStation magazine. Gaming website sarcasticgamer.com brings full details of the report to the web, including impressive screenshots of Daniel Craig as James Bond.

A few new snippets emerged from the report. In particular, Quantum of Solace, which amalgamates events from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, promises to remain similar in tone to Craig’s characterisation of 007. This promises to be a change from the hi-tech gadgetry featured in some of Electronic Arts’ recent efforts.

As previously reported, the game will take place predominantly in first-person mode. However, should you take cover as Bond, the camera will revert to a third-person perspective.

As Bond, you will be able to execute “stealth kills”, as well as simply knock out baddies with a kick or karate chop. However, given the game uses context-sensitive buttons, you will be able to take out enemies in louder environments using more extravagant methods.

Gamers will be able to recuperate health by remaining under cover, and once you are hit, the film series’ iconic gunbarrel will indicate your character’s life.

Check out the remarkable likeness of Daniel Craig’s James Bond in the screenshots at sarcasticgamer.com.

Quantum of Solace is due to be released later this year.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond gaming news.

'GoldenEye: Rogue Agent' Now Xbox 360 Compatible

The 2004 James Bond video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is now coming back into focus by being added to the official Xbox 360 compatibility list.

Spong reports that the original Xbox game is being made compatible with the next-generation Xbox 360.

Upon its initial release four years ago, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent was met with mediocre reviews and generally considered a disappointment after the more successful Everything or Nothing and James Bond 007: NightFire.

2002’s James Bond 007: NightFire is currently listed on the Xbox 360 compatibility list as well.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest coverage of James Bond video games.

First Glimpse At Activision's 'Quantum of Solace'

The first preview of Activision’s upcoming video game, Quantum of Solace, appears in the new issue of GamesMaster magazine – and ComputerAndVideoGames.com has the scoop.

According to the site, Issue 200 of GamesMaster reveals that Quantum of Solace‘s first-person shooter gameplay will be interspersed with third-person elements designed to remind the gamer that they are James Bond.

Apparently, gameplay will be switched between perspectives in a similar fashion to that featured in Grand Theft Auto IV.

The third-person perspective will be used during some of the game’s action sequences, including a recreation of Casino Royale‘s free-running scene (GamesMaster notes that Sebastian Foucan’s likeness will not feature in Quantum of Solace). The report also suggests the game’s baddies will use flank tactics and be able to communicate with each other.

GamesMaster claims to offer the first ever screenshots from Quantum of Solace; however, a Czech gaming website has beaten them to the punch. Tiscali Games carry some impressive screenshots from the upcoming game, taken from the levels based on Casino Royale.

Featured screenshots include looks at Casino Royale‘s Madagascan construction site, Venice and the casino itself. The shots also include a look at the rendering of 007 himself.

Quantum of Solace will be based on the films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The game is being developed by Eurocom, Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions and will be released on next-generation consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms later this year.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond gaming news.

Activision's 'Quantum of Solace' Site Goes Live

Activision have launched the website for their first James Bond video game at 007thevideogame.com, confirming “Quantum of Solace” as its title.

While details remain scarce, Activision’s Quantum of Solace website features a map of the world marking locations featured in the films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, hinting that the game will be adapted from both films. By hovering your mouse over these locales, you’ll get a sneak peek at some very sweet concept artwork for the game.

Activision were granted the 007 rights two years ago; news broke shortly after that the game was expected to be based on the 22nd Bond film. Activision’s licence to produce video games based on the James Bond franchise is valid until 2014.

Quantum of Solace is being developed by Eurocom, Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions and will be released on next-generation consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms.

Click here to check out the site.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest Quantum of Solace video game news.

Discuss the ActiVision Quantum of Solace website in this thread of the CBn forums.

No Plans To Release Revamped 'GoldenEye'

Another week, another round of rumours surrounding the release of a spruced up version of Rare’s classic James Bond video game, GoldenEye.

With XBox World 360‘s latest issue – now on sale – promising a world exclusive look at the canceled game, the mist is clearing as to the title’s true status.

MundoRare went straight to the horse’s mouth and scored this key quote from a Microsoft representative: “We would love to release GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade.”

“There is no truth to the rumour of plans to release GoldenEye on Xbox Live Arcade. While we share the gaming community’s enthusiasm over the possibility, we do not have the necessary rights to release the game on Xbox Live Arcade.”

The website’s sources imply Nintendo is at the core of the holdup, with the company reportedly blocking a revamped version of the game to be released on Microsoft’s platform.

The clarification comes as two more screenshots emerge, depicting updated versions of GoldenEye‘s “Facility” and “Bunker” levels.

Given how far in development the updated game appears, it seems unfair to dismiss all hope of a release. But for now, GoldenEye 007 on Xbox Live Arcade looks to be stuck firmly in Development Hell.

Activision will produce a brand new 007 game later this year, said to be an adaptation of Daniel Craig’s second James Bond picture, Quantum of Solace.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest news and coverage regarding all the James Bond 007 video games.

'GoldenEye 007' Rumours Fire Up Again

The K1Bond007 James Bond site brings to our attention a very intriguing development over at the Xbox World 360 blog where, for the past week, they have been unveiling piece-by-piece a screenshot of a “MEGA-EXCLUSIVE” Xbox 360 game.

The screenshot is of the “Dam” level of the classic Bond game GoldenEye 007 – only with some spiffy new graphics.

Rumours of an updated version of the game for Xbox 360 have been circulating for some time. However, reports suggest Nintendo and Microsoft have been unable to reach a deal to see the game released.

What can we piece together from Xbox World 360’s blog? It doesn’t sound 100 per cent positive. “There’ll be no satisfying conclusion…” reads today’s entry. “[B]ut maybe, together, we can take down the whole system. Or, er, change a few minds.”

Yesterday’s entry reads, “Will you be excited? Oh yes. Will you, like us, be just a little bit angry too? Mmmm, maybe.” The story itself, notes Xbox World 360, is “an exclusive so exclusive that even the companies involved don’t know what we have”, which seems to imply the details regarding a potential re-release of the bestselling first-person shooter are yet to be ironed out.

Xbox World 360 promises to deliver the full story in their upcoming issue, due out next week.

Activision will produce a brand new 007 game later this year, said to be an adaptation of Daniel Craig’s second James Bond picture, Quantum of Solace.

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest news and coverage regarding all the James Bond 007 video games.