Quantum Theory is one of thosee games which has amazing potential but doesn't quite realise it.
Gotta Kill it!
Opening Thoughts
Quantum Theory started out pretty well. It presented me with a character that was badass and could actually use his melee attack. It really was doing well until I got further into the game and the design flaws started to come.
The game runs solid, there is no issue there but the problem arises when the game tries to go outside cover based combat. The aiming was already iffy and then the decision to make you ride worms (giant moving living platforms) and a few other parts of the games areas were poor.
The hard part about all this is that the game has potential to sprout into a great series or at least produce a really great game if they could get their features working right and improve upon what makes the game interesting which is its transforming environments; of which could have been done in to a greater degree.
Likes: Shifting environments, Cover based shooting, being actually able to use melee as a viable option for combat, guns,
Dislikes: Aiming, aspects where they move outside cover based shooting, Couple of the bosses, features could be tighter
Game Play
Game play models itself after Gears of War while not being as tight as gears of war. You play as Syd a Marcus-esk macho man whose sole goal is to destroy the tower. You meet Filena in the tower and will spend portions of the game with her. She is light to your heavy.
The game rather fails here because it keeps separating the two characters instead of building a solider more prevalent feature. When she is with you, you can perform combo moves with the square or X button depending on which version you pick up. You can also throw her to do ether a paralyze move (Tap L2) or a heavy damage move (Hold L2).
The game features changing environments but this by and large does not affect the game play as it does not occur all that often. The changes will become more prevalent near the end but only for a breath but glorious moment. One of which I would have loved to see through the whole game.
The game branches from the cover base game play on occasions to have you scaling walls or riding a worm (Moving Diablosis). When the game branches to these two points it can get really iffy as these are not as polished as the combat which also needed work since the aiming was a bit rough.
These moments contain the worst moments you will have in the game. Outside these moments the game is tolerable and often quite fun.
Graphics
The game features Gears of War style graphics. From enemies to environment it is Gears of War all the way. This means it looks as nice as Gears of War and as bad as Gears of War.
Enemies are largely copies of each other since they are mass produced by the tower. This is not so much a problem from a story perspective since it builds atmosphere but it can get rather dull killing the same looking guys over and over again.
Your enemies come from two factions Gilskin or Diablosis and Nosferatu. The Diablosis look more mutated and red. The Nosferatu have a cleaner and more production efficient look to them and they are there to defend the Ark (tower).
Bosses possess the move unique looks with glowing reds and mutated blacks. These are where the graphics really come into play. It is unfortunate that some of the bosses are really poorly designed and are in sequences that annoy the hell out of you.
Presentation
The manual for this game is crap! It is the basics with a prologue and a center fold before adding a Spanish section (No French section). This is plain unacceptably short, Center fold looks nice though.
As for the story, it was good. The story will delve into Syd's past for a too brief a moment (would love to see this expanded) and you will learn of Filena's origins as well, along with the lore you get from destroying the Towers Watchers (Floating Glowing green devices) and the diary entries from the loading screens there is a nice bit of work done with the story. Although Xeust Lambert was a blatant socialist and his arrogant ideas are visible and are atypical of the socialist leader mindset. A good read on this would be Bastait's The Law.
Value
Though the game has potential it really didn't use it that much. The game had many frustrating moments and I doubt many would replay it. The multiplayer is of the tacked on variety and there is not much to it.
The game will run about 8 to 10 hours in length with maybe 2/3 of them okay.
Fun Level 3 out of 5
Closing Thoughts
Although it seems like I enjoyed a lot of this game it came with many a frustrating moment. Though it is the potential I see in this game that really makes me like it more than it is actually good. Over all it was a mediocre game that might provide you with a few hours of entertainment.
The games flaws make it a hard recommendation but if you have nothing else to play it might be worth a rent but you would be hard pressed to find a reason to buy it.
Final Score: 3.1 out of 5
Parental Warning: The game is rated M for mature and is not intended for children. It contains Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence. The game also address the nature of humanity at brief points during loading screens.
For more reviews like this please check out http://hubpages.com/profile/Phasmatis