Thoughts: Quantum of Solace
I was chatting with Ludwig this weekend about the latest exploits of James Bond in Quantum of Solace and while he wasn't too thrilled with the film, I enjoyed it overall. Now, it's not the easiest movie to follow and Mr. Bond can certainly be robotic, but what thrilled me most was the possibilities of where Bond can go from here.
He's wreckless, impulsive, and less of a drink connoisseur than the Bond I grew up with, which is a big part of what gets me so pumped for where Bond is going to go. He's more dangerous, albeit less stylish, than the Bonds of years past, but he has the ability to be the most unique. It may not be to everyone's liking, but I enjoy the change from the generic catch phrase-spewing Brosnan.
As for Quantum itself, the plot is kind of hard to pick up on until about halfway through the movie. There's a lot of tying up the loose ends from the first movie, but it's also an action spectacle through and through. Some of the quick cuts in filming are hard to keep up with, but I found the chase scenes benefit from this style. It makes them more tense and frenzied, especially in the foot chase early on in the movie.
It's not perfect, but I thought it was better than Casino Royale, which was a bit of a snoozer. Consider me interested in seeing where Bond goes from here.
Fallout 3 not the gaming hotness it was hyped to be
I've been playing Fallout 3 a lot lately, much like everyone else I know and converse with on a daily basis. While I was smitten with the game during the outset, a few annoying problems have stacked up to make me, well ... kind of mad. In no particular order, they are:
- Why can't I hit the B button to back out of conversation? How could you forget that?
- Stop trying to make me take the subway! I want to see the world and these stupid blocked paths really piss me off.
- Why would you make the main storyline quest about 7 hours long? Then, after that, why would you END THE GAME?
- Once I hotkey a weapon, why can't I know what is in that slot until I either replace it, or actually pull it out? This makes hotkeying things useless.
- Level cap at 20? Come on, you created an open-ended game that encourages free choice and moral consequences, yet you make it so that I have to pre-plan my character's perk route and level-by-level trait points allocation? This is Bush League, Bethesda!
- No more getting your health back while you wait? Eh ...
I'm sure there are others that aren't springing to mind as I stare at my computer screen, but it's very much not Oblivion. The prospect of DLC excites me and I'm sure I'll get all of the achievements I possibly can, but, overall, I'm just killing time until Gears of War 2 now. It's such a shame, too, because I was sure Fallout 3 was going to be my Game of the Year. I guess that will just have to go to Metal Gear Solid 4.
Quick bio:Hi! I'm David Hinkle, Contributing Editor for Joystiq, former Lead of DS Fanboy and Wii Fanboy and co-host on the Xbox 360 Fancast. Basically, I write about games, talk about games and play games -- all the time.
This place is mainly a dumping ground for random thoughts, but you can also find links to all of my reviews and my contact info. Email me by clicking on this link.
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