Quantum Break Preview

Introduction

Quantum Break is an upcoming third-person shooter developed by Remedy Entertainment, launching exclusively on the Xbox One (and possibly for PC later on). There’s a live-action series in production as well, and the game will even feature digital episodes that are somehow related to the choices you make in-game. It’s even shipping with the live-action series so you can get the complete story, and this isn’t something a true science fiction fan will want to miss.

Gameplay

Similar to Gears of War, this third-person shooter will focus on a cover-based perspective, with a nice addition of manipulation powers. Microsoft and Remedy have something unique here, as the gameplay is split into segments and an episode of the digital show will play after you make it through a segment.

The gameplay features a nice automatic cover system so you won’t have to struggle for cover, and weird things will happen, such as the time freezing. However, the time will freeze on your command so it’s not so weird.

The show and game will go together well, as you will learn about the protagonists while playing the game, and the show will feature the antagonist’s story. Quantum Break is going to tell a full story, really bringing the characters to life.

Plot

Quantum Break’s story revolves around a fictional North Eastern U.S. Riverport University, and things are weird with time due to a time travel experience going wrong. When the experiment goes wrong, time starts to break down, and three main characters in the game somehow get the ability to manipulate it. These characters are Jack Joyce, Paul Serene, and Beth Wilder. There are two protagonists, and Paul Serene is the antagonist, who has the ability to look into the future. Serene uses this ability to make better decisions in the present time, while Joyce has the ability to freeze time.

Both protagonists are currently wanted by Monarch Solutions, which is a company that Paul Serene founded. But, things are deeper than they appear, as Jack Joyce recently lost his brother, who died in a failed science experience.

Development

Quantum Break was first revealed on May 21, 2013, with a teaser trailer that Microsoft displayed at an Xbox One reveal event. Science fiction fans will be happy to know the developer, Remedy Entertainment, actually consulted with a scientist lecturer who used to work at CERN. Their scientist consultant helped them, as they wanted to write the plot in a realistic way that adhered to current theoretical physics. Basically, they kept it real in the science world.

Initially, Quantum Break was supposed to get a 2014 release date, but it has been delayed twice since then, once for 2015, and recently until 2016 to make room for other Xbox One exclusives. Apparently, they’re still finishing up the game to make it more polished, but we think the main reason they delayed a release this year is because Halo 5 and other big releases.

In order to bring this game to life, Remedy Entertainment has created their own gaming engine to develop Quantum Break, they call it the “Northlight Engine”.

Live-Action Digital Series

Quantum Break is more than just a game, it’s a game with a live-action series built into it. How you play the game will have an impact on the digital show, and the show will actually help you with the game. It’s a nice feature, and the cast of actors is not going to disappoint. When an episode ends, you be presented with a choice, so there are alternate paths to take and the choice you make will affect the game and the show.

There will be four episodes in the live-action series, running at about 22 minutes each. Remedy Entertainment explained that it’s important you watch the series if you want to get the entire story. Here is a complete list of the television series cast:

Courtney Hope as Beth Wilder
Shawn Ashmore as Jack Joyce (X-Men: Days of Future Past)
Dominic Monaghan as William Joyce (Lost, Lord of the Rings)
Aidan Gillen as Paul Serene (Game of Thrones)
Jacqueline Pinol as Sofia Amaral
Marshall Allman as Charlie Wincott (True Blood)
Mimi Michaels as Fiona Miller
Lance Reddick as Martin Hatch (The Wire, Fringe)
Sean Durrie as Nick Marsters
Patrick Heusinger as Liam Burke (Black Swan)
Jeannie Bolet as Kate Ogawa
Brooke Nevin as Emily Burke
Amelia Rose Blaire as Amy Ferraro (True Blood)

That’s quite the cast for a video game! As you can see, there are two actors from True Blood, an actor from Game of Thrones, Dominic from Lost, and Lance Reddick from Fringe. We still don’t know which characters are villains, right now we only know minor details about the game’s main characters. But, the live-action series has a great cast, so it will be exciting to see the show and play the game. Maybe spoilers aren’t such a good idea for this game, so let’s not learn about all the characters yet.

Conclusion

Quantum Break is giving scifi fans a third-person shooter game to look forward to, and the live-action series is just icing on the cake. It’s hard to describe the gameplay, but the official trailer below will give you a sneak peak so you know what to expect. The video shows us the character’s time powers and even some of the enemies. Curious about the live-action show? The trailer below also shows us some of that, and we know that it will ship along with the game. For more information, there are behind-the-scenes footage videos from Remedy Studios online that show off some of the live-action shoots.

Official E3 2013 Trailer – The first Quantum Break Trailer