Aside from the usual assortment of guns, rocket launchers, and grenades, Bond can also perform real-time melee kills. Rushing into an enemy will prompt a button-press. If hit quickly enough, Bond will take down the enemy in a number of different ways via an attack animation. This often proves more effective than simply running and gunning, as you take less damage during the process. Certain important fights throughout the game also take advantage of this feature, lending a third-person God of War feel to the action. It works well and adds a deserved cinematic feel to what would otherwise be another run-of-the-mill FPS. I would have liked to have seen more incorporated into the storyline, but what is included is most definitely enough to satiate gamers’ appetites for interactive cut scenes. And when Bond isn’t fighting? He’s patching into video cameras, unlocking electronic doors, or hacking into computers. However, the technology aspect is not as involved as we have seen in previous ventures. While this is appropriate for the new edgier Daniel Craig Bond, the gadgets did add a layer of intrigue to the franchise, and they are sorely missed here.

For the collectors out there, you can scout out cell phones throughout levels that will net achievements and unlockable content. They are hidden throughout levels and will ring faintly when you are in their vicinity. I thought this seemed like a hasty attempt to get achievement enthusiasts interested in the game, because the intel the phones provide is nothing too interesting that you couldn’t have picked up from the story or the movie.

Every cut scene in between levels is comprised of telecommunication between Bond and M, or one of the other contacts you will meet throughout the game. I felt that this was very boring and rushed, as if the developers didn’t want to put any work into story-telling cut scenes. They are flat black backgrounds with colorful text and images, featuring voices and bland information. They do very little to entice the gamer to hover on the cut scene for any longer than it takes to load the next level. In the past, Bond cut scenes tied in with the action and were parts of the games to look forward to rather than dread. These are painfully long to watch, and prompt you to skip over the remainder of each scene as soon as the level has loaded. Thankfully, scenes within levels make up for the fact that in between missions is so dull and repetitive. With that said, there are hardly as many full-CG cut scenes as I would have liked to have seen. It seems as though they purposely cut out the addition of them so as to focus more on the gameplay. While some may argue that cut scenes take away from the experience, it’s a welcome break once in a while to sit back and watch the action unfold. It is, after all, a game based on a movie.

Quantum of Solace isn’t particularly difficult, but it can get frustrating. When out of cover, it seems that enemies rarely miss. Bond’s health replenishes on its own so there is no need for health packs. However, if you stand out in harm’s way a few seconds longer than you should, it’s lights out -- back to a checkpoint. It seems that snipers are decidedly deadlier in this title, as well, but luckily they use laser sights so it isn’t that enormous of an endeavor to go after them.