Quantum of Solace Lasts 4 Hours

[modeps]

The first review of Quantum of Solace is out, and IGN UK gave it a 6.9. Sounds mediocre, but it gets worse. The single player campaign of the game lasts about 4 hours in length. Four. Hours. VE3D (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/42692/Quantum-of-Solace-The-Game-Review) has the story:

To top it off it's a mercilessly brief game, with the single-player campaign clocking in at little over four hours. Although it at least doesn't outstay its welcome, it will leave many feeling short-changed. Solace can be found in the multiplayer, which is a solid appropriation of Call of Duty 4's unstoppable recipe mixed up with some classic Bond tropes such as proximity mines and the golden gun, but it's not quite enough to save the game from mediocrity.

I thought this game was supposed to span both Casino Royale AND Quantum of Solace... I think watching both movies takes longer than 4 hours.

[karaokequeen3]

hehe - that certainly explains the noticeable absence of pre-release reviews. 4 hrs? Considering the game is 40 quid, that doesn't work out to be particularly good value. MP unable to resuscitate the game? Not surprising that it's at best a rental.

[Steve_Erhardt]

I'm not too worried about a 4hr length just yet. Bearing in mind a reviewer probably rushes through as fast as possible in order to be "FIRST!" with their review, your average gamer who isn't out to break any speed records, but actually enjoy the game, is probably going to take longer than 4 hours to finish it.

I mean, maybe it IS a short game, I don't know. I do know this, though. Whenever a review for a game comes out that mentions how long it took to finish it, it's only ever a fraction of the time it takes ME, so I pretty much throw that right out of my buy/no buy equation to begin with.

[Zander]

This seems to define the term "rental".

[MasterEvilAce]

they should invert the controls so the game lasts longer.
up/down, left/right, reverse actions of the thumb sticks...

oh baby that could increase playtime 10 fold!

[Acidpoptart]

Dang, thats too bad... I pre-ordered the PC version at newegg a few weeks ago for $27.99 (pricing error?), so for that price I will probably keep it. I spent a summer as an intern working on this game, so I think I should own a copy :P

[oldschooldimo]

WOW, thats freaking terrible. 4 hours!? even the bourne game was longer..

[Duskfire]

I'm not too worried about a 4hr length just yet. Bearing in mind a reviewer probably rushes through as fast as possible in order to be "FIRST!" with their review, your average gamer who isn't out to break any speed records, but actually enjoy the game, is probably going to take longer than 4 hours to finish it.

I mean, maybe it IS a short game, I don't know. I do know this, though. Whenever a review for a game comes out that mentions how long it took to finish it, it's only ever a fraction of the time it takes ME, so I pretty much throw that right out of my buy/no buy equation to begin with.

While this is true and I am certainly the same, 4 hours is still pretty short for a rush through. Thats like... King Kong short.

[Emabulator]

I'm not too worried about a 4hr length just yet. Bearing in mind a reviewer probably rushes through as fast as possible in order to be "FIRST!" with their review, your average gamer who isn't out to break any speed records, but actually enjoy the game, is probably going to take longer than 4 hours to finish it.

I mean, maybe it IS a short game, I don't know. I do know this, though. Whenever a review for a game comes out that mentions how long it took to finish it, it's only ever a fraction of the time it takes ME, so I pretty much throw that right out of my buy/no buy equation to begin with.I'm a stop and smell the roses type of gamer too. In fact I usually play games multiple times. Four hours is pretty thin though.

On a related note, the reviewers *cough* Norman Chan of PC Gamer *cough* who claim you'll have to crank the difficulty to 'worse than hell mode' to enjoy the game drive me nuts. OK, we get it hot shot, you're good at shooters! Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back.

I always play games on the default difficulty and it works for me. I figure the developer made that the default difficulty for a reason. Like it plays well at said setting. Second or third time around I may crank it up a notch or two.

P. S. Fellow sim fan Andy Mahood and rpg guru Desslock make PC Gamer worth the buck an issue I pay for the subscription. That and some days that copy of the NY Post I get delivered are not enough for my required time on the Royal Throne (Blood Pressure and Cholesterol meds can make it tough on a guy).

[darklordjames]

Game length does not dictate game quality. Portal was the best fucking game of last year, and it was 3 hours long. Even at 20 hours long, this game would still be shit.

[Shell Lookbehind]

Is there ever a good Bond's game?

[HALO 32]

Is there ever a good Bond's game?

Um...Goldeneye?

[Returner]

I'm still going to get it.

[Zanch Effect]

Wow, pretty inexcusable. Then again, mediocrity is what Treyarch does best.

[modeps]

While this is true and I am certainly the same, 4 hours is still pretty short for a rush through. Thats like... King Kong short.

King Kong took on average 7 hours to complete... I don't think anyone could get through it in 4 hours.

In response to people saying that length does not dictate quality, you're exactly correct... however when you've got to pay full price for a game, most people expect something much more lengthy.

Comparing this to Portal really isn't fair either... Portal was a part of a larger release, and you could buy it on its own for $20. You know what else took me about 4 hours to complete? Braid. Both Portal and Braid were worth their respective costs, but I'd be really pissed off if I paid $60 for either one of those.

[Demo_Boy]

I think from the read of it the reviewer did a quake speedrun through the game with his leet skills.

Its likely he played the game nothing like the target audience.

[saulob]

Wow, pretty inexcusable. Then again, mediocrity is what Treyarch does best.

Oh my... poor COD5

[darklordjames]

"Both Portal and Braid were worth their respective costs, but I'd be really pissed off if I paid $60 for either one of those."

For how absolutely refined the experiences where, I would have been perfectly happy paying full $60 retail for both of those games. Hell, given that I have bought Portal 4 times now, I have spent $60 on it. I would have also been much happier with COD4 and GOW's single player campaigns if they were only 4 hours long instead of the 6-8 that they are. There was a lot of junk in both games that could have been shaved out for a might cleaner and impacting experience.

Time per dollar is a stupid way to measure game value.

[Rash]

Four hours? I hope this game isn't retailing for sixty dollars.

[lost]

Oh my... poor COD5

It's true. It's no wonder Infinity Ward tries to distance themselves from the games they don't do.