Quantum Impressions

Tecmo had a live demo going of Quantum, a third-person shooter, among the many, many playable displays of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. At first glance, it bears a strong resemblance to Epic's Gears of War series, but Tecmo's trying to do a few different things to help differentiate Quantum from its counterparts.

Who's Making This Game: Originally announced as Quantum Theory, Quantum is a being exclusively developed for the PlayStation 3 by Tecmo.

What the Game Looks Like: Imagine if Gears of War had an Eastern-influenced art style and you have a pretty good idea of what Quantum looks like. The environments that we've seen so far range from a gritty, barren style to colorful and vibrant, which in itself is interesting because most of the game takes place in a single, massive tower. But it's worth noting that this same tower is seemingly capable of transforming itself, which is something that comes into play during the course of the game.

How the Game Is Played:Quantum's main character, Syd, can perform most of the moves that you'd expect in a third-person shooter these days. You can make him take cover by pressing a button, and then pop up or take a quick step out and use any one of the three weapons that he has equipped at the time. He can also make use of blind fire or sprint to get close to an enemy and use a melee attack. So cover is a big deal in Quantum, but it can also cause some headaches because some cover objects can be destroyed by enemies or bosses, forcing you to run and look for another spot and fire safely from afar. The one massive boss that we saw in the demo had a charge-up projectile attack that can take out cover in a single blast.

Also, at some point in the game, Syd meets up with a female character named Filena who helps him out, and though she is controlled by the AI, you do have an opportunity to throw her through the air like some kind of human dart. Unfortunately, if she gets "killed" (an accurate description would probably be knocked out), you have to run over and revive her.

What We Say: It's difficult to overlook the similarities (in terms of gameplay) between Quantum and Gears of War, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we're hoping that the few glimpses that we had of the changing environment play a bigger role in the game and help make Quantum a little more distinctive.