E3 Preview: Quantum Theory - Preview
by Karl Koebke , posted on 20 June 2010 / 3,304 Views
Quantum Theory has raised many an eyebrow since it was announced, and even more eyebrows since changing from an exclusive PS3 title to a PS3 and 360 multiplatform title. Luckily I got a chance to sit down with the producer of this game and asked him some questions as he played Quantum Theory.
The first obvious thing about Quantum Theory is the visual style; the architecture of the tower you are climbing through seems to have both a beautiful and sinister look to it. Living up to its name, this Living Tower is constantly changing and evolving as you climb through it, and this can greatly change gameplay. This not only encompasses small changes like cover that pops up and down, but also huge changes to the entire geometry of the room you are in, so what once may have been an advantageous position can become quite precarious.
On a more comical note, all of the enemies you kill explode into a bloody mist. I asked the producer why this was and he told me they wanted defeating an enemy to be fun and followed by a “hooray” kind of moment. While the game had a unique visual style I do find myself worrying that the graphics in general will end up disappointing.
Although you only have one character to control you are constantly traveling with a female partner named Fillena. Fillena can be thrown at enemies and used as a weapon or left to her own devices to help you out in whatever way she sees fit. When I asked why Fillena wasn’t playable in some kind of cooperative mode, the producer said that the player can throw and use Fillena no matter where she is on the map, which would obviously not be conducive with player control. He likes to think of Fillena as an extension of the abilities of the player.
The demo I played on the show floor had only three weapons (a shotgun, a single shot rifle, and a machine gun), which led me to ask precisely how many weapons were in the final build. He said that there were roughly 18 weapons in the final game. One unique example is a laser weapon that bounces off walls; the more times it bounces the more powerful it is when it finally hits. There's also a weapon that can be shot, but which is designed mostly to increase the range of your melee swing.
Quantum Theory is slated for a release this Summer and based on some of these more unique features it may turn out to be pretty fun.
