Time … the key to Quantum Break lies precisely in time. It was too long in development, and during that time, Microsoft and Remedy Entertainment were responsible for turning it into something more than a game; is a kind of promise … the promise of a media revolution for video games. Moreover and ironically, time is also his greatest success because it is the conceptual axis of an outstanding argument. Quantum Break is a good game, but both development delays and promises made us expect something better.
True to the chronological nature of Quantum Break, I’ll start at first: it is a straight shooter in the third person. The title is the fictional town contextually River port, a hybrid between Seattle and Detroit, which serves as headquarters for a powerful technological corporation named Monarch Solutions and host a renowned university. Paul Serene (Aidan Gillen) is a researcher at this university and one night is visited by a friend, who helps lead a very delicate experiment. That friend is Jack Joyce (Shawn Ashmore), your character.
Microsoft was very emphatic in asking us to would respect the details of the plot in order not to spoil and agree, since the argument is probably the most notorious under Quantum Break. And, let’s face it: often, the story in a video game is not as good as we like to think, either because the designers conceived the mechanical first and then fit them a narrative component or because what was planned to be a single delivery it extends up to 5 and, in the end, understand the plot is more complicated than your classes of Universal History. There are exceptions, but I think that’s a common problem. Regardless of the cause, the fact is that Quantum Break does not have the typical video game history and it makes sense when you remember Alan Wake, another product of Remedy Entertainment that was distinguished by having an interesting story.
So, Quantum Break has the “mind-bender” factor that you will remember films like Looped, The Prestige and momentum. It is one of those elaborate plots that must be constantly reviewing your head and force you to pay attention to details because when the characters travel in time, the logic behind the argument is constantly changing. Even now, as I review Quantum Break, I keep asking me about the order of events and although I’m pretty sure it was one that another paradox, I am also convinced that Remedy took special care almost the whole story … almost.
For the high degree of complexity that drives the plot, the outcome seemed simple and, in fact, if you already decided who the villain with the trailers, you can probably predict the end of Quantum Break without playing more than 1 hour.
Quantum Break’s story is intelligent, well put and complex.
The miniseries that Remedy Entertainment that incorporates Quantum Break as a narrative device and Xbox sold as a kind of turning point of entertainment. I clarify, first, that the idea of incorporating live-action elements in a video game is anything but new. Only now I remember Dune as one of the first games where I saw real actors as part of the cut scenes. If there is a difference in how Quantum Break handles this concept, it is on the scale, because the production values are higher than those of which had games 90. However, in an effort to surprise us with something “different”, Remedy inadvertently got into a consistency problem because when playing the first episode of the series, you stop seeing Quantum Break as a game and start to measure with other television shows as a reference and, despite the best efforts of study, Quantum Break lost that duel.
While the game is an AAA project that exposes the highest production values of industry, Quantum Break, the series is slightly below the standard of other television programs. Some performances and special effects left to be desired; certain situations are not credible; there are spaces that seem too artificial and, overall, the series is perceived very plastic. Shawn Ashton and Aidan Gillen put all their talent on the table, but the supporting actors … meh, not so much. Then you end up with a strange situation: in the same package are 2 different products that claim to be the same; One is immersive and authentic, but the other out of tune you out of the experience, turn your disbelief and highlights the fictional character of the full proposal. In short, what you consider credible in the game makes you doubt the live-action show. To end soon, the “series” of Quantum Break provides important narrative elements about Monarch Solutions, reformatting but ends up doing more harm than good.
Another detail that goes by default is that, despite the traditional cinemas in CGI and several hours of TV series, Remedy Entertainment did not find an amicable way to tell the story – because one thing is another story and how you tell it -, so the presence of “narrative objects” and alternative sources of information that undermine the pace of the game is necessary. These elements come in the form of extensive emails, whiteboards entries, temporary echoes or notes left in the scenarios that contain relevant information about the history of Quantum Break. You are absolutely free to ignore these items, but if you do it will be more difficult to understand the argument because they are exposed the motives and the relationship between various secondary characters, whose actions will eventually become relevant to the plot. The problem is that if you add up all the time you spend reading Quantum Break, you realize that it is almost the same as invest fighting. The silver lining of this aspect is that motivates you to fully explore scenarios, rather than just visit them.
I do not want an end to the matter of narrative without mentioning that, as in Alan Wake, here there are televisions and radios with additional material, but it lacks the playfulness or dedication we saw in the game thriller few years ago. At the beginning of Quantum Break, for example, you can see a tribute to the X-Files on a screen and occasionally find subtle references to Alan Wake, but from there on out, both televisions and radios fulfill a role of setting or in the best case, they contain elements directly related to the argument Quantum Break.
Let the mechanical because the science fiction concept lent itself to expect great things. Because of important events in the argument, Jack Joyce enjoys certain … powers, same that allow you to manipulate the flow of time. In the first instance, these powers may seem revolutionary for the game system, after all, anything adopts a sophisticated and original shade when you add “temporary” to its name, because it is more exciting to say “temporary burst” than just “grenades”. Now, if you can ignore for a moment the chronological verbiage that you notice resources Quantum Break are spectacular, but not so innovative.
Before delving into this, it is important to mention that in “normal” difficulty, Quantum Break is a bit challenging title. You have 6 faculties, all inspired by and watched concepts ranging from a holographic sound here is called “temporary vision” a Granada stun here refers to “stop time” until a force field, renamed “shield temporary”.
So what another title equivalent to shed Granada, here is to send “temporary burst” that makes your opponents are suspended for a split second and then fly through the air. If another game you had winnowed one flashbang to disorient your enemies, here “you stop the time” around them, during which time you shoot them, and when the action resumes, the bullets hit them.
The “temporary acceleration” is a melee attack with bullet time; temporary vision is a holographic filter showing nearby enemies, such as grenades threat of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ; and temporary Dodge is your typical dash to evade attacks and take by surprise opponents, which, to be honest, it is important in certain instances which I will explain below.
However, the mechanical derivative are not mean they are bad. They increase their intensity as Chrono find sources in ─is another reason to explore─ levels and when you master, the feeling is gratifying combat; it feels a little like being inside the Matrix. To spice things are the visual effects really are a delight and credited to the identity of Quantum Break. In short, the powers are well implemented and enjoy, but do not be shielded because the “temporary” concept dates from shooters who came much earlier, as Time Shift.
The cover system can be a little uncomfortable at the beginning because it is not fully under your control. That means that when a firefight cannot press “A” -for example- to adhere to an object, but Jack bends down and lifts automatically when it is near or far from a large enough body.
Artificial intelligence is not special, but to make things interesting, Remedy incorporated various types of enemies. The lowest category does not pose problems, but there are special assault units and armored opponents who are immune to your powers of time can emulate or only have a weak point that you find. This forces you to change strategy from time to time and to use your powers, either to outflank or to avoid.
Another resource of the game mechanics are the conundrums, instances in which rewinding time to solve a problem. For example, if you do not know the password of a door you can turn back time in a specific place to spy on the guards in the past and listening. If a door is closed, you are able to rewind time to the moment when it opened to let a vehicle. In certain instances, plus rewind, you must apply to temporary dribble through a gate or crossing a small bridge before the time resumes. It is an interesting idea and, if absolutely free and open new storylines or modify the story lines, it would have been astonished … but it was not. These instances are promptly defined. The game dictates where you can use them strictly and which button to press for it; you are unable to use them outside that context. Then the mechanics quickly ceases to be fresh and original to become a simple process.
Perhaps aware that they were forgetting the flexibility that their game was crying, the boys of Remedy Entertainment implemented precisely instances where you could “change” history. At those points, you adopt the role of another character and make a decision whose implications affect the events of the TV series and certain details of the argument, but the extent of the impact is limited. After changing some of my choices, I got the same results. At one point, for example, I decided to cause the death of a character instead of leaving alive. Later, another character appeared to replace it, and though the environment changed slightly and some details of the show were mutated, the thread remained intact and the last third of the game remained the same. Another example: you can decide incriminate a character or another, but regardless of your decision later an event occurs that guides all in the same plot direction. To explain better, I think Quantum Break had potential to be a Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor science fiction, but Remedy Entertainment adopted a more predictable and rigid route.
In short, the dynamics of the game is to explore the space in search of narrative objects or sources of chronon; read to better understand the story; fight your enemies alternating coverage and powers; solve one or two simple conundrum occasionally or make a decision that will not affect much the plot; and see the show to notice changes.
Regarding the presentation, Quantum Break is good, though to be a linear game might be even better. Art direction manages a minimalist concept consistent with the technological and science fiction history, and it is clear that there was attention to detail spaces. Temporary fractures are very striking and are peppered with elongated light flashes like an overexposed photograph that accentuate the effect of “temporary freeze” without mentioning that many objects in the environment are dynamic and fly with explosions and gunfire, and chances are suspended in the air. There is a grainy filter that some may find uncomfortable, but I think it reflects the need to print a film character to experience.
As for performance, I just noticed declines in the rate of frames per second in those instances where the game saved, while the textures lingered a few moments to appear and loading screens were a little longer but nothing that you can’t wait for. The audio, on the other hand, it is good to dry. The music lacks memorable melodies and complies rather with a task of very solvent atmosphere.
