Synopsis: With little hype, Tecmo Koei has released Quantum Theory, their third person action shooter. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy going into the weekend and got the chance to play through it with little interruptions before possibly breaking two fingers in a batting cage. You take the role of Syd, to take out the Living Tower, overtaken by black material after a world war has damaged the human race. It may sound like a daunting task but you don’t take on this feat alone, as you have a partner named Filena, a mysterious woman that helps take out baddies on your trip to ascend and destroy this villainous tower. With features such as a shape shifting battlefield, strong two person combos, and online gameplay modes, let’s see how this new release stacks up.
Praise: It’s an action shooter, full of fast paced action, put that together with a variety of weapons, melee attacks, and Syd/Filena combos make for quite the satisfying experience. The action also escalates the higher up the tower you and your companion go, with larger enemies and bosses. Weapons range from the typical assault rifle, pistol, plasma rifle, grenade launcher, etc. and it is a good idea to strategically plan ahead in regards to ammo and weapon type as there is not an overabundance of ammo. Filena is also a nice addition as she is really helpful and you can determine when you use her against groups of the opposition, but to top it all off, she also looks good. The story is straight to the point without adding in any unnecessary confusion, and cuts scenes are short and sweet quickly placing you back in the action.
Gripes: There are many people that are adamant about not giving the game a chance because they think it is a Gears of War clone. Not true, though it does play similarly, both have dark environments, and ridiculously large guns, both biceps and weapons. It does not really stray from those basics and were my first impressions, but when sticking with it to see where the story goes will make you remember you are playing as Syd and not Marcus. My only issues after that are that sometimes I will be walking down a corridor and then suddenly I can’t go any further although it looks like a hall I can continue walking down and wonder why there isn’t a wall in these places. Lastly because it is so dark and the only bright and vibrant colors come from Filena or stained glass windows, it is sometimes hard to identify enemies from a distance.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised when playing through Quantum Theory. From the start I was a bit skeptical but shortly lost track of time and was running and gunning my way up the tower with my mysterious girl at my side. The graphics are pretty solid and with the game installing to the hard drive, I don’t recall a time where I had an issue with load screens. There is a moderate amount of replay value as I would like to check it out again on a harder difficulty and the online would be more fun if there was a larger community for it.
Mashbuttons.com gives Quantum Theory a 7 out of 10.
Quantum Theory is available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
