The third person shooter is a genre that has become
saturated with countless entries, so it takes something pretty spectacular in
order to stand out in the crowd. Games like Gears
of War, or Uncharted are the leading titles in the genre
for their respective consoles, and both have set the benchmark for both
gameplay and visuals. Unfortunately, Team Tachyon’s sci-fi shooter Quantum Theory cannot hope to keep up with its
competitors.
The player takes the role of Syd, a gruff, violent
and rather bland man, whose background
remains mysterious. The unknown history of the character is clearly supposed to
intrigue the player, but unfortunately he really isn’t likeable, so it’s hard
to care where he came from. He merely serves as a medium for the alien-squishing
madness, and as you spend most of the game looking at the back of his head,
it’s difficult to recall his face for more than a few seconds after you finish
playing.
You start off in a tutorial level, escaping a
crumbling tower, busting alien heads along the way. Fighting alongside you is a
mysterious woman named Nyx, who seems to have some kick-ass powers that would
be fun to play around with. Unfortunately, she dies just before you
escape-bummer. The main story begins with Syd fighting his way through
devastated streets to a second tower. The main objective of the game is to
bring that tower down. Conveniently, there’s another woman inside this tower
who has similar powers and abilities as Nyx – Filena, and she helps you on your
one-man war against the deadly “Diablosis”. It isn’t the most original
plotline, and there isn’t that much throughout that will have players hooked.
The main pull is in the gameplay – which doesn’t say
much for the game’s strong points. It works on a basic cover/shoot mechanic,
allowing you to take cover and pop out to blast a few heads, before retreating
to safety. You can also blindfire, run-and-gun, dash and use melee attacks.
Sound familiar? It should. The game basically replicates Gears of War, but
still manages to screw it up. Syd is not nimble. His movements are clunky, and
I can’t count the number of times I’ve almost thrown the controller away due to
the way he struggles to get through a narrow doorway.
The game also gets very repetitive as you play
on. There is no customisation to be done to Syd, the weapons are samey, coming
in practically identical versions of the same weapon type (Shotgun, Assault
Rifle, etc), the enemies are slightly varied, coming in a few different sizes,
but a small change in enemies doesn’t stop the bland faces from becoming
boring. This is a problem in quite a few other shooters, but at least there is
a decent narrative in most of them to back it up. Quantum Theory has repetitive gameplay, without an interesting plot
to act as the saving grace.
Fortunately, there are a few redeeming factors.
Enemies explode upon death, in an eruption of green goo, and headshots are even
better. When you manage to pop an enemy right between the eyes, you get
rewarded with a slow-motion, zoomed in shot of his head exploding. This is
undoubtedly one of the most satisfying things that you can experience in the
game, especially when you pull off two or three in a row.
Next up is Filena. She helps add a little variety to
the action, allowing the player to utilize her deadly sword, and swift
abilities. This effect doesn’t last long though, as you soon realise that all
you can do, and all you’re ever going to be able to do is throw her, for a more
deadly ranged attack. This was a huge disappointment for me, as the different
combat styles, and the promise of being able to use her SKILLS suggested a
strategic element. I would have liked to see more experimentation with Filena’s
abilities.
Finally, we come to visuals. Character models
look...okay. Decent at best. Syd’s bulky frame isn’t really memorable, Filena’s
bright armour shines in contrast to the dark environments you find yourself in,
and Syd’s default pistol does look pretty badass. If it stood alone, it may
have been passed off as a good looking game, but unfortunately, the Uncharted
series has set the benchmark, and proved that the system can do better. The
environments are at their best when they are moving around on an epic scale.
Certain set pieces throughout the game have Syd and Filena fighting on moving ground,
as the environment changes around them. These moments add a sense of drama and
excitement to the game that is otherwise absent.
Quantum
Theory isn’t a bad game. It just
attempts to do something that has already been done countless times, and much better.
I almost feel sorry for it, as it will inevitably be compared to other games,
which outclass it. Decent graphics, cookie-cutter gameplay and multiplayer
modes that nobody is playing just isn’t enough to compete with the rivals of
the genre.
5/10
– Okay
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