Be honest with me.
If you had the ability to manipulate time, what would you do? Would you go back and alter some minor and utterly insignificant event that plagues you to this day? Would you pull an Albert Einstein from the Command and Conquer universe and use your chronosphere to kill Hitler? Or perhaps you would choose to go forward in time and see exactly what our future holds. Whatever your decision, you must realize one incredible and undeniable fact:
Playing with time is a dangerous thing.
Set to release on April 5th, 2016, Remedy Entertainment‘s newest game titled Quantum Break is a third-person shooter exclusive to the Xbox One and the PC. Set in a world where time does not follow the same linear flow as ours, players take on the persona of Jack Joyce (played by Shawn Ashmore of X-Men fame) as he diligently fights against the machinations of his equally gifted antagonist, Paul Serene (played by Aidan Gillen of Shanghai Knights and The Dark Knight Rises). Loaded with even more star-studded talent such as the phenomenal Lance Reddick and the equally talented Dominic Monaghan, Microsoft has spared no expense in generating hype for their latest exclusive. Rumored to be the spiritual successor to the third-person thriller title Alan Wake, Quantum Break not only rhymes with it but shares similar elements with its distant cousin, most notably Remedy’s careful attention to detail and their graphical fidelity.
The story of Quantum Break seems somewhat vague. It follows the story of Jack Joyce in his search for revenge against Paul Serene. Serene executed William Joyce in cold blood, but William apparently had the ability to “end time” as a trailer stated and with his death, time has shattered and both Jack and Paul have intriguing abilities. For example, Jack can stop time, reverse the direction of bullets, and even warp across a sizable distance to initiate a powerful melee take-down on an opponent. On the other hand, Paul does not have any of the flashy and powerful abilities of Jack, yet he has a gift that could turn the entire world in his favor: the ability to predict the future. Another protagonist by the name of Beth Wilder (played by the awesome Courtney Hope!) may also have such abilities and both Joyce and Wilder must escape from Serene’s corporation known as “Monarch Solutions.” Quantum Break understandably escalates and I can only imagine that the destruction as well as the utter endangerment of the space-time continuum progressively worsens as the player completes the campaign.
Armed soldier versus Iceman? I think we know who wins.
Intriguingly, Remedy Entertainment plans on making their newest title into a two part experience; combining the aspects of video games and television, Quantum Break will deliver gamers both a traditional video game and a linked series of short episodes as he or she progresses through the story. While playing the game, he or she will step into the role of Jack Joyce, but when the story reaches a certain point and it switches over to the television short, players will see the story from Paul Serene’s side and may make a “prediction” using Serene’s ability in order to change events in the video game. If it all sounds a little complex, don’t worry. You’re not alone. While I love the idea of incorporating two different mediums within a video game, Remedy must understand the risk this poses to destroying the immersion factor of Quantum Break. Simply put, it could work spectacularly or fail miserably. Thankfully, both producer and developer have enlisted the help of an incredible cast as well as worked with scientists at CERN to make the time manipulation theoretically relevant and the script believable. Hopefully Quantum Break can deliver on all of the hype!
Even with the incredible hype machine blasting at full volume, Remedy has not forgotten about another form of entertainment that currently prevails in gaming culture: Let’s Plays. A recent article by engadget noted that the developers have added a feature that allows YouTubers and Twitch streamers to completely disable licensed music playback in order to avoid copyright notifications. A surprisingly unheard of gesture in the AAA video game realm, it appears as though the company recognizes the popularity of major YouTubers and their ability to unintentionally boost the sales of games. Timothy Seppala, the author of this article, does warn players that Sam Lake (the creative director) specifically chose music for each section of the game and that disabling the licensed track could diminish the overall experience of Quantum Break. That’s something to keep in mind!
Stay tuned for my eventual review of Quantum Break!
Happy gaming! Victorus aut Mortis!
-Valiant
Leave a Reply