Quantum Break

I really enjoy playing and experiencing exclusive games on both the Xbox and PlayStation systems. Their competitiveness really drives each other to produce some fun, innovative, and immaculate-looking games that I often find just that smidgen more special than other mainstream titles that hit both platforms. Quantum Break is the most recent "big" exclusive for these two and it's on the Xbox One side, with Sony quickly answering back with their own little game called Uncharted 4 in May. 

I've been looking forward to this one for a while now because of the initial gameplay videos. Aside from the fact that they're graphically serene, the time warping/distorting/freezing gameplay looked phenomenal and fluid. Along the way, developer Remedy, announced that there would be an accompanying TV show with the game and I was officially along for the ride. Particularly in the gaming industry, I like to support new ideas and innovation when I can, so this was a no-brainer for me. 

The result? One of the Xbox One's best exclusives to date (though I think the "best" still goes to Sunset Overdrive) and easily one of the most gorgeous and memorable games I've played in recent months. Seeing as how it's the first game in a (hopefully) series, it's easy to forgive some of its pitfalls, but there is a potential that this becomes the Uncharted-level series Microsoft is looking for. And that's incredibly exciting. 

Christopher Nolan? Is Matthew McConaughey about to come through a black hole?

The first thing you may notice about Quantum Break is its familiar faces. Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones), and Dominic Monaghan (LOST and LotR) are the three main leads, with a few other familiar faces attached as well. That's because story seems to be quite paramount to Quantum Break, and for the most part, the results are great. The ending is fuddled and I feel like there were a lot of time-travel plot holes, but all in all this is a fun, above-average videogame story that will keep you interested from start to end. As I mentioned earlier, a big part of this is the TV show. In between each "Act" (an Act consists of 3-4 levels and a decision segment), there is a half-hour, scripted, live action TV show featuring the actors/actresses of the game. Are these episodes some of the best TV you'll ever watch? No. But it's a really cool premise that helps drive along story and add characterization without boring or confusing gameplay segments instead. At first it's a bit jarring when you see the live models of everyone, but you soon realize how good the graphics and face modeling are once you watch the episodes.

Harry Potter? Did someone just
Wingaurdium Leviosa that fool?

Playing off my perfect segue there, it's easy to see that Quantum Break's graphics are insane. I found very little to gripe about and it's a gorgeous game when it's "normal". By that I mean, when your character is simply walking around, or talking, or even doing some light shooting/traversing, it's a damn good looking game. Even crazier is when you begin to factor in the time powers and it becomes downright jaw dropping. Faux screen tears jangle across the edges of the screen, vision distorts and wraps as if in a black hole, lights pull from all angles creating lanes of light, rather than just a normal bulb -- it's all pretty mesmerizing stuff and I get a little worked up just writing about it now. Over dramatic? Maybe. But it astounds me how far videogames have come and the time-warping graphics of Quantum Breaks are one of those gaming memories that you'll probably never forget. What's better is that it's completely fluid with almost no slowdown. Death loading screens are annoyingly slow at times, but other than that the game only stutters when it wants to (i.e. when something is happening with time or there is a time-controlling enemy near you). Running from cover to cover, punching enemies, time running from spot to spot, freezing people, and producing shields are all completed with the press of a button and they string together beautifully, making an almost ballet-esque battle of a game. 

Easily Quantum Break's best aspect for me was its gameplay. Many have stated they got bored with it and I think that's an incredibly spoiled opinion. It's fresh, new, exciting, and it looks phenomenal. At the risk of starting a total fanboy flamewar here, it reminded me of a combination of Uncharted and inFamous (another PS exclusive) in the best kind of way. The graphics, traversal, and gunplay are all very similar to Uncharted, while the powers echo some found in inFamous. The powers in Quantum Break are all pretty awesome and I used almost all of them on a regular basis. The developers made a great decision to separate all their cooldowns (as opposed to them all pulling from some type of time-pool bucket) so, as I called out earlier, you can really string together some awesome combos once you get the tricks down. And here in lies my single biggest complaint about this game (and where I think the series needs to go). The levels and mission structure are terribly linear and I think the game is restricted because of it. As great as the game is, I think we would be looking at a potential classic if this series went open world. Now, I realize not every game needs to have an open world, but the powers of our protagonist, Jack Joyce (Ashmore), lend themselves so friggin well to an open world that it just begs to happen. If they could figure out a "fast travel" option for him similar to inFamous' neon-light-running, you'd have some absolutely crazy gameplay. 

A Falcon Punch in a game if I ever did see one ^^^

I don't believe that taxi should be up there...

Unfortunately, my last discussion point with Quantum Break is with regards to it's content, or lack thereof. While its campaign is strong and thoughtful, with some tremendous setpieces, it's also on the shorter side. My playtime was about 8-10 hours and that's while trying to find most of the collectibles. With some of the decision branches, I suppose it begs for a second viewing, but I was personally comfortable enough with my initial playthrough that I didn't need a second. And what's more is that I played on hard mode, which wasn't all that hard if I'm being honest. So after completing it I really had no reason to keep it and in fact, I've already sold it. Given how expensive of a hobby gaming is, I always find it hard to recommend these short, but strong experiences to people, especially when you can wait a few months and get it at half price. I wholly believe this is a game that Xbox owners HAVE to play, I just don't know if the $60 price tag is completely justified in a day and age such as this. Some will love to play through the campaign over and over, but I've never been that type of gamer (in most cases), so I was glad that by the time it was all said and done I only spent $10 on the thing, though I'd argue it's worth $30. 

Microsoft really put a lot of chips into Quantum Break and it was well worth it. It's an achievement to craft a new IP, but one as strong as this one leaves me very eager to see where things go. There are very few things that don't work here and a lot that does, with the highlights obviously being the graphics and the time-warping gameplay. I still think this series needs to take the jump to open world, but regardless of whether they do or not, I'll most certainly be along for the next ride. 

CONS:

• The story has some plot holes and the ending is a bit muddled. It doesn't really ever have that one "OMG" moment like most time travel tales do
• A very linear experience. A fun one, but I couldn't help but feel like I just wanted to bust loose out of the confines of the game. I very much think this game would become another beast entirely as an open world title
• Aggressive product placement by Nissan
• For $60, there's a lack of content. With only the campaign and a rather easy "hard mode" packed in, I found little reason to play again or keep the game outside of Achievement hunting
• A couple segments in the game were a tad boring
• Redundant to the last bullet but a couple of "walking" segments were painfully slow

PROS:

• Props to Remedy and Microsoft for the combination of TV and game. I really enjoyed it and thought it worked well, even if the TV show didn't always seem to have important plot developments. I'd like to see this become a regular thing
• Solid performances from a big-name cast. Additionally, their motion capture is stellar and their digital counterparts look identical to them
• A good, nearly great, story. the time travel elements are fun and there are some great twists and deaths. Beth's story in particular was my favorite
• Dear sweet baby Jesus is this game gorgeous. It's amazing when just getting around levels, but the time powers take it up a notch. Some of the best graphics I've ever seen and truly "next-gen"
• Solid enemy variety
• Speaking of powers...they're awesome and the fact that they all cooldown separately was a wise choice. When strung together correctly, the gameplay/combat absolutely sings
• Features a couple jaw-dropping setpieces. Like seriously...absolutely insane
• A really fun, unique start to a series that I'm sure will become a staple of the Microsoft library. For a new IP it's beyond impressive and there's a ton of potential here...with a great deal of it being unlocked in this first game

Rath's Review Score: 8.5/10