Monday 24 August 2015

QUANTUM BREAK blurs the lines between gaming and TV

Microsoft and Remedy have announced the release date of their new video game collaboration: Quantum Break, an action SF-thriller set in a world where time and space have become fluid concepts in the wake of a temporal accident. However, the game will also be part of a multimedia concept incorporating a digital TV series.

 


The game itself is a fairly standard action title incorporating gunplay and cover-based shooting, with the addition of Remedy's trademark polish and new mechanics revolving around the manipulation of time. This is a natural development for the developers who gave us the first two (and best) Max Payne games, with their development of bullet time in gaming. Like their previous title, Alan Wake, Quantum Break will be broken up into episodes. Each episode of the game will be followed by a 22-minute TV episode expanding on the story. There will be four episodes as part of the game, although if the game is a big hit presumably more could be made.

The live-action port of the game will incorporate some pretty well-known genre hitters, with Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings, Lost), Shawn Ashmore (X-Men, The Following) and Lance Riddick (The Wire, Fringe) being the most notable.

Quantum Break will be released on X-Box One on 5 April 2016. A later release on PC is likely, given Remedy's track record.

3 comments:

Stonewielder said...

Wasn't Aidan Gillen in The Wire also? I'm not sure about the game, but they do have talented actors.

Anonymous said...

"However, the game will also be part of a multimedia concept incorporating a digital TV series."

I hate this type of stuff, it never works, it always ends up being a complete failure

Adam Whitehead said...

Possibly. It should be clarified that the digital TV stuff is inside the game itself, so you complete a gameplay chapter (or two or three) and then a 22-minute live-action cut scene plays out (with events varying based on your choices in the game) and then you return to the game. The TV part isn't completely separate to the game, but integrated into it.

They haven't said yet if you can skip the TV stuff and still enjoy the game. It appears you can, as the TV stuff will be explaining the POV and activites of the bad guys whilst you play the good guys in the game, so they should complement one another rather than be essential.