Quantum Break - Part Two (Xbox One)
Welcome to the rest of my review for Quantum Break. But first, I'd like to briefly explain why I split the review into two parts, followed by a small recap of the story for the game before diving into this part.
The reason I split this review into two parts is because of the way I prepare for my reviews. Generally, I will sit with my notebook next to me as I'm playing the game and anytime anything comes up that I want to make note of, I will do so by either pausing the game or writing through a cutscene. However, due to how in depth a lot of the newer games tend to be, I didn't want to become distracted by doing this. So initially I played the game far enough to grasp what the story was and the direction it was going, as well as getting a good understanding for the controls. I then wrote up the first part of the review, then went back, restarted the game and played through it like normal, gathering the information for this full review.
So without further ado, part two for the Quantum Break review.
At the conclusion of each chapter, two things happen. First is what's called a Junction, where you play as Paul in this short segment. Paul has a unique ability where he can see fragments into the future for a certain timeline, and in the junction segments you are brought to a fork in the road. You are given two options, with a glimpse of what will happen down each of them, and then you are able to choose which one you would like to see play out. The decisions in here directly affect what happens during the episode segments as well as who and what you'll come across in the rest of the game.
After the junction, you get to sit back and enjoy an episode of the Quantum Break TV show. These are twenty minute episodes that take place in live action, mainly to drive the story that goes on behind the scenes (seeing as you get to drive the story yourself for Jack during the game). While playing the game, you are able to directly effect certain people or events during these episodes based on which narrative objectives you come across and interact with.
Jack's abilities start coming to him early in the game, and they are easy and a lot of fun to use. These include Time Dodge (move through a time ripple over a short space, if you do this from cover to cover you can confuse the enemy), Focus (immediately after using Dodge, if you draw your weapon, time slows down for a few moments giving you time to precisely aim you next shot), Shield (bring up a small protective field around you that will absorb and disperse any rounds shot at you), Time Vision (highlight enemies, objectives, ammo within the area), Rush (slows down time allowing you to sprint faster, also comes with a melee option if you charge into an enemy), and Time Stop (can throw out a "grenade" of time, trapping an enemy in a cone of time for a few moments; this can also be charged to send out a bigger pulse trapping multiple enemies at once). There's also an ability outside of combat where Jack can manipulate time in a specific area, allowing him to cross certain gaps or access places that were only accessible in the past. For example, there is one area where a giant cannon used to be placed but in Jack's present, it's been disassembled and moved away. Manipulating the timeframe in that specific area puts the canon back where it used to be and he is able to climb and cross it.
Scattered in each level in addition to the narrative objectives, are time echo's and chronon sources. The time echo's aren't very numerous, but can provide helpful information like where a specific person went or was taken to. The chronon sources are what give's Jack his powers. Collecting these will help you upgrading each of his abilities to make them stronger, last longer, or lower the cool-down state.
There are numerous obstacles you come across through the course of the game outside of your generic enemies. Some areas get effected by a time stutter, a cause from the fracture in time that occur more frequently the closer it gets to the end of time. During these, time will mostly freeze, with certain objects in the area stuttering back and forth in time. Jack must avoid and dodge these objects as they can still kill him if he's caught on or in them while they're stuttering. Eventually, Monarch will start deploying Chronon Dampeners, these are massive towers that will dampen a small area, protecting them from the time stutters, but also draining Jack's abilities until he's able to shut them down. Some of the more powerful enemies can carry portable dampeners with them, negating the use of Jack's Time Stop ability.
Overall, Quantum Break is a very fun play. It's unique combination of gameplay and live-action episodes to play out every angle of the story make for a highly enjoyable journey from start to finish. And getting moments to play as the bad guy and choose which doors open and which doors close just adds to the uniqueness of this game. But how challenging is it?
Your normal enemies are a moderate challenge. Easy to take down, but they can come in pretty big packs where you will have lots of trouble if you don't rely on Jack's abilities. During these big showdowns, Jack's time stop and shield provide the biggest assistance to staying alive.
The special enemies can bring a bit more to the table, especially when they are a part of the above mentioned packs. You have heavy armor guys carrying shotguns, that take a decent amount more of damage before they go down. Then there are Strikers, white-suited bad guys who's suits allow them to do some of what Jack does manipulating time, having access to the dodge and rush moves. If they begin taking too much damage, they will rush away into cover, or if you're not paying attention they can sneak up behind you in a heartbeat. They aren't so difficult once you whittle everyone down leaving just the Strikers, but until then you almost need to look in every direction at once. Lastly, you have the juggernauts. These guys are massively beefed up with huge chronon suits, they can't take damage from the front, and sometimes they can carry the dampeners. The only way to bring these guys down is use your dodge or rush abilities, quickly get behind them, and shoot the power cells for their suits.
The time stutter puzzles are hard to rate. Some of them are extremely easy, while some are a little confusing and require precise aiming on your part.
The reason I split this review into two parts is because of the way I prepare for my reviews. Generally, I will sit with my notebook next to me as I'm playing the game and anytime anything comes up that I want to make note of, I will do so by either pausing the game or writing through a cutscene. However, due to how in depth a lot of the newer games tend to be, I didn't want to become distracted by doing this. So initially I played the game far enough to grasp what the story was and the direction it was going, as well as getting a good understanding for the controls. I then wrote up the first part of the review, then went back, restarted the game and played through it like normal, gathering the information for this full review.
So without further ado, part two for the Quantum Break review.
Story Recap
Jack Joyce was summoned by his best friend, Paul Serene, to assist him with the final stages of an experiment. The project involved taking control over time particles and moving forward and/or backwards in time. While activating the final stage of the project, Jack's brother Will, who was also Paul's partner on the project, comes in waving a gun telling them they need to stop it, and while they're arguing about it the machine malfunctions and Jack develops the ability to manipulate himself through time. He learns from Will that what has happened has caused a fracture in time that will eventually lead to the end of everything, and that Will has developed a fail-safe for the situation. Before they can get to it, Paul kills Will in front of Jack. Now, Jack must attempt to bring down Paul's company, Monarch Solutions, and save time itself before it's too late.The Gameplay
Quantum Break is a 3rd person shooter with a linear, objective based story. It begins with Jack being interviewed in an interrogation room, and is played out through flashbacks of Jack telling his story of what happened to him in the moments leading up to the fracture and afterwards. The game is broken up into individual acts, which are then broken up into smaller parts, totaling five acts in the game, each containing between two and four parts. Each level is driven by Jack needing to locate a certain area, person, piece of equipment, or escape from a predicament, using gunplay and his time powers to overcome any enemies that he comes across. There are also narrative objectives you can come across, but you don't need to come across all of them either. These will be anything from audio logs, emails, handwritten plans, journals, etc. You choose which ones you want to pick up, and certain ones can have an effect on what happens later in the episode.At the conclusion of each chapter, two things happen. First is what's called a Junction, where you play as Paul in this short segment. Paul has a unique ability where he can see fragments into the future for a certain timeline, and in the junction segments you are brought to a fork in the road. You are given two options, with a glimpse of what will happen down each of them, and then you are able to choose which one you would like to see play out. The decisions in here directly affect what happens during the episode segments as well as who and what you'll come across in the rest of the game.
After the junction, you get to sit back and enjoy an episode of the Quantum Break TV show. These are twenty minute episodes that take place in live action, mainly to drive the story that goes on behind the scenes (seeing as you get to drive the story yourself for Jack during the game). While playing the game, you are able to directly effect certain people or events during these episodes based on which narrative objectives you come across and interact with.
Jack's abilities start coming to him early in the game, and they are easy and a lot of fun to use. These include Time Dodge (move through a time ripple over a short space, if you do this from cover to cover you can confuse the enemy), Focus (immediately after using Dodge, if you draw your weapon, time slows down for a few moments giving you time to precisely aim you next shot), Shield (bring up a small protective field around you that will absorb and disperse any rounds shot at you), Time Vision (highlight enemies, objectives, ammo within the area), Rush (slows down time allowing you to sprint faster, also comes with a melee option if you charge into an enemy), and Time Stop (can throw out a "grenade" of time, trapping an enemy in a cone of time for a few moments; this can also be charged to send out a bigger pulse trapping multiple enemies at once). There's also an ability outside of combat where Jack can manipulate time in a specific area, allowing him to cross certain gaps or access places that were only accessible in the past. For example, there is one area where a giant cannon used to be placed but in Jack's present, it's been disassembled and moved away. Manipulating the timeframe in that specific area puts the canon back where it used to be and he is able to climb and cross it.
Scattered in each level in addition to the narrative objectives, are time echo's and chronon sources. The time echo's aren't very numerous, but can provide helpful information like where a specific person went or was taken to. The chronon sources are what give's Jack his powers. Collecting these will help you upgrading each of his abilities to make them stronger, last longer, or lower the cool-down state.
There are numerous obstacles you come across through the course of the game outside of your generic enemies. Some areas get effected by a time stutter, a cause from the fracture in time that occur more frequently the closer it gets to the end of time. During these, time will mostly freeze, with certain objects in the area stuttering back and forth in time. Jack must avoid and dodge these objects as they can still kill him if he's caught on or in them while they're stuttering. Eventually, Monarch will start deploying Chronon Dampeners, these are massive towers that will dampen a small area, protecting them from the time stutters, but also draining Jack's abilities until he's able to shut them down. Some of the more powerful enemies can carry portable dampeners with them, negating the use of Jack's Time Stop ability.
Overall, Quantum Break is a very fun play. It's unique combination of gameplay and live-action episodes to play out every angle of the story make for a highly enjoyable journey from start to finish. And getting moments to play as the bad guy and choose which doors open and which doors close just adds to the uniqueness of this game. But how challenging is it?
The Challenge (or lack thereof?)
Quantum Break brings a decent challenge to the player. From the regular enemies to the special ones, from the time stutter puzzles to the final boss showdown, you can expect a pretty good challenge along the way.Your normal enemies are a moderate challenge. Easy to take down, but they can come in pretty big packs where you will have lots of trouble if you don't rely on Jack's abilities. During these big showdowns, Jack's time stop and shield provide the biggest assistance to staying alive.
The special enemies can bring a bit more to the table, especially when they are a part of the above mentioned packs. You have heavy armor guys carrying shotguns, that take a decent amount more of damage before they go down. Then there are Strikers, white-suited bad guys who's suits allow them to do some of what Jack does manipulating time, having access to the dodge and rush moves. If they begin taking too much damage, they will rush away into cover, or if you're not paying attention they can sneak up behind you in a heartbeat. They aren't so difficult once you whittle everyone down leaving just the Strikers, but until then you almost need to look in every direction at once. Lastly, you have the juggernauts. These guys are massively beefed up with huge chronon suits, they can't take damage from the front, and sometimes they can carry the dampeners. The only way to bring these guys down is use your dodge or rush abilities, quickly get behind them, and shoot the power cells for their suits.
The time stutter puzzles are hard to rate. Some of them are extremely easy, while some are a little confusing and require precise aiming on your part.
