Quantum Theory
  Publisher: Tecmo
  Availability: Available in leading stores
  Genre: Fantasy Third Person Shooter

  Reviewed by: Alex D'souza on PS3

  Rating: 5.2/10 [SLAY]

Quantum Theory, the latest third-person shooter to hit consoles has an sense of familiarity about it in both its presentation and basic game play engine. The main thing worth noting is that the title was quickly dubbed as a "Gears of War clone", and the prospect of that had left me with some hope that it could live up to such a high level. After going through the game's foes for some time now it was found that there's certainly some familiarity here, and find it hard to believe if Tecmo were to deny their similarity to Gears?
Fortunately, as uncanny as some of the encounters may be in comparison, Quantum Theory certainly brings a few different things to the gaming table as well.

Game Play - 6 out of 10

You can run, you can roll, you can blast heads off in a very gory fashion, but let's be clear, there's no chainsaw present here. There's a story intertwined with the game's sprawling towers and your hot A.I. co-op partner Filena, as is evident by the game's cutscenes, though the story can offer up few entertaining set pieces in gameplay terms, the offering is otherwise dull and the story itself fails to keep a high level of interest, as how it's introduced and unfolding leaves a lot to be desired. Though Quantum Theory is by no means the first game to lack an intriguing story to follow, story issues aside you've got your guns, and you've got monsters to shoot in over 13 levels; as gamers most of us will be satisfied with this.
There is an interesting 'flashback' type mission in the middle somewhere which tries to give a bit more insight into proceedings, and is certainly the part we connected better with throughout the game. 
While the look and basic mechanics feel similar, Quantum Theory does offer a few things, one is the inclusion of an A.I. controlled partner which is present throughout the majority of the game. The way this plays out is very much similar to the 2008 release of Prince of Persia, where you can launch Filena at enemies by throwing her, this is especially useful for dealing more damage to the larger foes. Syd can also melee using his blade, a well time second press can result in a double team with Filena jumping in to deliver a blow of her own, though this is more miss than hit, and seems a bit too awkward to connect.
The most interesting aspect that Tecmo have included is with the dynamically changing environments, and having the ability to move onto different pieces of cover, which in turn are moving. Being scoped in and delivering a sniper headshot through your scope on an enemy that appears upside down to you, that's certainly satisfying whilst being mounted to the ceiling.

When the protagonists aren't spewing senseless crap from their mouths, you have to deal with the loose controls and terrible shooting mechanics. None of the guns have any sort of visual or audible impact; they mostly feel like peashooters. Moving your crosshair around, which for some guns never indicates where the bullets are actually going to go, is a chore and ranges from minute movement to nigh uncontrollable. Aiming shouldn't be this hard.

The stop-and-pop gameplay that is usually part of this genre is practically non-existent here. Most of the environments have little to no cover for you to duck behind and most of it is destructible. When there are places to take cover, you can just blow through this game without even taking cover because the enemy A.I. is non-existent. Enemies would just run up to me behind cover and stand there, asking me to shoot them, possibly so they could leave this game. Sometimes the game calls for you to jump from platform to platform, which is done by a context-based button prompt. The problem though, is if you are just a tiny bit off when you push the button, you will leap to your death. Sometimes, the game will just throw you off the target platform for being a centimeter off. It gets to the point that when you see these button presses, you'll just hang your head in frustration

Visuals – 5 out of 10

I think we've can safely say that Quantum Theory is a Gears of War clone at the basic gameplay level, and it's not just the gameplay but the graphics and audio as well. The visual style shows a battered hardened Syd as the main protagonist, whom occasionally buddies up with some marines. The environments themselves are mostly of an alien nature or theme, though usually this involves being in the confines of a sprawling, living and mutating tower. Outside however on the battlefield, there are plenty of overturned cars and streets to shoot down the enemy in.
While the environments, the moving areas in particular, and some of the backdrops do look especially eye catching, much of the game's textures however do fall flat. Quantum Theory's cinematics take the Movie approach as opposed to in-engine, and this is easily distinguishable and depending on the action can be spectacular and well worth the watch, even if you have not a single clue as to what is going on.

Sound and FX – 6 out of 10

Voice acting is quite well done but can, at times, lack a sense of life, though when there's a big friendly group of marines together shooting down foes, that's when it shines most, which is sadly very brief. The sound effects of the enemies, weapon fire, and even Syd's deeply said "Nice" as he picks up an ammo box all go down convincingly well. What shines more though in the audio department is some of the voices for the actual bosses themselves – they're creepy yet amusing, and though the encounters themselves might be a pain depedning on difficulty, 'that' voice should soon crack you up.

Fun Factor – 4 out of 10

The game lacking on many points is hard to call a fun game. The entire feel of the game puts a gamer off. My instant reaction was not that positive. With all the minor flaws it fails to live up to the expectation of main stream games. This game may appeal to a few depending on their taste.

Re - play - 5 out of 10

Quantum Theory offers up a campaign that consists of you running into cover, shooting down enemies and pushing forward. While the basics may feel flawed if you've played its significant other, the fact that it's so alike is certainly going to appeal to fans of the genre, and pique the interest of the certain crowd of chainsaw and head-popping lovers.
Quantum Theory isn't likely to keep players attention for very long, though the inclusion of multiplayer should increase this somewhat, that is provided you can find a match. There's little incentive for replay bar tieing off some achievements, playing it though will surely get tedious if doing a few playthroughs.

My verdict is 'SLAY'

5.2  out of 10

Alex D'souza signing off