A demo for Treyarch’s upcoming Bond title, Quantum of Solace, has been made available for PC today. Fileplanet members can download it here, but before long I’m sure it will be all over the web. I’ve been looking forward to this title since I saw gameplay at Activision’s Non-E3 Press Conference back in July, hoping that the joy of Goldeneye would be rekindled in the current generation. After playing the demo several times I am left just as anxious, albeit a little confused.

See, the demo was short. Crazy short. Just about five minutes long, in fact, not nearly enough time to gather a full opinion. I don’t know why they would bother releasing such an incomplete demo, but for whatever reason they did, and it gives a little insight as to what we can expect from the final product. It consists of a few rooms joined together by collapsing hallways, as Bond chases an escapee (Dominic Greene?). Whether or not it was to invoke feelings of nostalgia or not, the enemy you’re chasing cannot be harmed by attacks, just like Trevelyan in the Cradle level of Goldeneye. Oh, wait, did I say nostalgia? I meant poor game design.

Luckily, that was the biggest complaint. The game plays like Call of Duty 4 with Rainbow Six Vegas’s cover mechanic. It felt a bit clunky, but was fairly solid, and the gunplay itself was rewarding. The environment the demo took place in was a basement of sorts, and shooting certain areas of the level caused explosions, triggering different effects. One slowly filled the area with water, and while it had no effect on gameplay it had one on the mood, and it definitely gave the game a more epic feel. Close-quarters-combat will likely be handled with button combinations on the console versions, and was quick, deadly, and fluid, which should help keep the “Bond” feel of the game.

The graphics were nice, and even turned to the highest setting there were no framerate drops or muddy textures. Body physics were a bit erratic, and the controls weren’t as tight as they could be, but when compared to the last several Bond games it’s easy to see that Quantum of Solace is easily leaps and bounds over its predecessors. It isn’t going to be this year’s Call of Duty 4, but it definitely isn’t a flop, and I’ll be ready to pick it up when it comes out later this year.

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