Quantum Break early impressions?

@kvally said:

@Bread_or_Decide said:

What are the chances of a PS4 port?

A man can dream lol.

The Windows Store is a joke. It's not even remotely ready for 50gb games. What I don't get is, if they want to be competitive the Steam space, just reverse engineer Steam (because MS is a software company after all), and add their "windows" features to it. I don't see any reason to reinvent the wheel.

Yeah but to be fair though, this is all new for developers as well. DX12 requires some forethought and it seems like its being shoehorned into things it has no right to be. UWP is also a new 'standard' so to speak and I can see that having a large part to do with these issues. Things will get better or it will die. Pretty simple. Now is not the time to buy and expect a problem free experience.

I agree with both of you. I think that MS should have started off cloning Steam to an extent, like EA and Ubisoft have, and then go from there. But I don't know how difficult it would have been with the introduction to their UWP. It's just messy all around though.

See, that is where I come from. I know ZERO about programming, so I don't know how difficult things can be. I guess I just think it should be much better than it is. Actually, I find that MS is behind all the time, even though they are rolling in money. I mean, they seem to play follow the leader instead of being creative. Copy Steam with Windows Store, copy consoles with Xbox, copy iPhone with Windows phone, copy iPod with Zune, copy iPad with Surface, copy Macbook with Surface Pro. It's always copy copy copy....and when they do copy, it seems they come out with less features than the comparable option. I would think they would copy ALL the features and add more and make it better. Honestly, if it wasn't for Windows and Office, I am not sure MS would be here. Even Windows 10 is opening up (copying alternative OS's).

Here are my first impressions. I finished Act 1 and the first episode of the TV series and am making my way through Act 2. So far I'm having a blast !

• Graphics, visual design

This game is a real looker. Even compared to some of the best looking games on PC like ROTR or Far Cry Primal, this game manages to hold up in a lot of regards. It pushes the Xbone to its limit.
The way the real actors look in game is just stunning. It looks absolutely incredible. But there are some downsides to the graphics. Especially the ghosting looks awful.

There was this one part where a NPC moved really fast, and he had this smear behind him... That I actually thought he was manupilating time like me. Turns out it was just a nasty side effect of the ghosting.

But apart from that the visual design is jaw dropping. The way the looks of the game change when you are in a time stutter or manipulating time yourself is great.

• Gameplay

In the time I've put into the game so far there was a lot of exposition (which is to be expected from a story driven Remedy game), some puzzeling with time powers and a good couple of shoot outs. The shoot outs were a lot of fun.
The game really keeps you on your toes, because you need to be aware of the threats coming at you, if you don't and you don't play smart you can die in a second.
But luckily the game grants you a cool arsenal of powers to use. Seeing these powers all come into play during a gunfight looks absolutely stunning. The shooting gets a lot more frantic when you start using time powers. And the shooting just feels good.

Another thing I love is how you can get creative with your powers. Another nice thing is that if you go really creative with your last kill, you'll always get to see the last guy killed in slow motion. So that is a great way of rewarding your efforts.

The exposition wasn't bothersome or anything, and I like getting into this story. Getting to see both perspectives is great, but sometimes it did feel like I was watching a lot ... instead of playing.

One thing I absolutely love is how sound and visuals are affected by manipulating time. The soundtrack is dynamic and all of the sounds in the game can get distorted, this is a great feat. We have no idea how it would sound like, being in a time stutter or time stop. But the sound design of this game gives you a clue what it might sound like.

• Story, TV-show

So far I've only seen one 20minute epside. But I liked it and it ties in great to the game. At the same time also granting a look at the other side of the story. The bad guys... It's cool that the bad guys in this game get a face. They are more than just evil people you need to shoot. They actually have a life of their own. This is a cool idea, but I also wonder how far they can go with this... I mean this is a TPS after all, where on average you're blasting hundreds of guys... If they all had a family and you should feel bad for them or something than you're not left with a good TPS anymore.

Anyway, I love how the game and TV series are so interconnected. You can't have one without the other it seems. The game influences the TV series, then the TV series shows how it goes with some characters from there on... and then it goes back to the game again. The pacing was right.

I also got my eye open for all the "easter eggs". In the earliest part of the game you can find a TV with Sam Lake on it. And so far I have found one ripple (which is something you change in the game and gets mentioned in the TV series). So that's a cool way of hunting for easter eggs.

I got my eye open to find the original Actor that did Jack Joyce (if you remember: the original gameplay trailers had a different main actor than Shawn Ashmoore, he was later replaced though and now has a different role)

Actually... I think I found him already... lol.

So far this looks like a cross between Max Payne and Life is Strange. Bad ass shoot outs mixed with a story and choices and a lot of exposition on how the story unfolds.

I like it.

I'd give it a 6/10. Back to DOAX3 I go.

Can't argue with that although I think their Surface Pro is the first time they may have outdone Apple. They also championed online console multiplayer (though not the first to attempt it). But mostly true about their practices.

I agree with most of this for sure. It's a good looking game normally but not ryse level IMO outside of the motion capture which is phenomenal, but when you add in the physics and interactive items and the time power effects it's amazing to watch.

Also the one thing I was worried about was the auto cover system, I usually hate it, but it works well for this game because you aren't supposed to sit in cover long. The game play is amazing, rumble triggers are utilized well, it's fast paced while managing cooldowns, guns feel great. especially the SMG

Also for your jack joyce comment i have a theory. well 2 kinda. 1st off he is trying to protect his brother, something you can tell he's had to do a lot of growing up. 2ndly the story isn't happening now, he is telling someone who is interviewing him the story of what happened. So well he might have been emotional when it happened. going back and recapping you could be a lot calmer.

your post makes no sense either so clearly you know nothing of nothing. steam is a storefront. it would be like saying target copied walmart. There are only so many ways to have a store. Copy consoles with xbox? so did nintendo copy coleco? that makes no sense either. none of the 3 console makers now existed when the first console was made. plus the xbox was made to bring PC power/features into a console space. It had a built in hard drive and broadband capable. as well as brought in online gaming for consoles as a solid network complete with friends lists , reputation etc. copy iphone with windows phone? 2 aren't even close to each other and also FYI windows phones have existed long before iphones did. i could go on and on, but I think you get the point of how crazy you sound now

@R4gn4r0k: The original main actor is now the taxi driver lol. You gotta love Remedy sense of humor. I'm about to travel for a bit but my pc copy is rdy. Hoping pc issues will be resolved by the time I get back. This time Im going to be patient with pc.

@Zero_epyon: I admit I have heard good things about the surface pro. But I just don't like MS in general. I would rather have Mac OS or Linux based products. Xbox is the only exception. If my work would support our software on something other than Wondows I would have switched OSs by now.

How many time ripples (that affect the TV series) and TVs have you guys managed to find ?

I've only found one time ripple and TV in the University so far.

I'm literally searching everywhere for hidden stuff. Hehe

He is :D

I do love their sense of humor. The easter eggs of Alan Wake in this game are more comedy than serious references xD

So one third of the game is collectibles? Nice!

Despite the letdown with the pc version visuals, I'm liking the actual game, the powers really spice the standard cover shooting and there's a lot of small details scattered everywhere so it actually encourages you to look around rather than jumping from place to place shooting baddies

@darkangel115: ok lol

Why the heck is this game a 6 again???? Oh man like I expected the atmosphere in this game is AMAZING just like with Alan Wake, but what I did not expect was the action to be so FUN! Its very Max Payneish... I'm still on act one and I'm just taking my time reveling in all of it.

PC Gamer Port Impressions

Finished act 1, easily a solid game so far.

as someone who has a mac pro as a work computer running VM-ware for windows applications, I highly disagree with this. All apple products are sub-par and overpriced. Apple had a time when their products were legitimate (back when windows launched vista, but now OSX has went to crap, their products are trendy and overpriced. People just don't know any better because all they use it for is browsing the internet and even then, the mac version of firefox is crap as is safari. Mac versions of office are also terrible (yes i know they are made by MS) and the apple version of office is embarrassingly bad

Yeah, I like that description.

It does seem like something new. You are engaged in the story A LOT, even if you're not always in gameplay...

It's weird but also kind of interesting in that it reminds me very much of Life is Strange. As in, you're also getting an experience there. Watching as the story plays out. Though I prefer QBs gameplay so far xD

@darkangel115: couldn't disagree more.

Peter and Danny are talking shit about Quantum Break on The Lobby right now. I can see why it got a 6.

@darkangel115: Yeah makes sense, Good points

Loved the first decisions and loving the first episode!

No you cant, you havent played it. You played yourself.

http://www.gamespot.com/videos/uncharted-4-dark-souls-3-quantum-break-and-doom-be/2300-6430470/

About 22 or 23 minutes in Peter and Danny start talking about Quantum Break. From the way they talk about it there's no surprise Gamespot gave it a 6, sounds like they had problems with both the gameplay and the story.

Might not be a good idea to listen if you're only on act one though.

Once I see that everyone is playing the PC version okay, I'll buy it. Really looking forward to getting my hands on this.

This and Dark Souls 3 are going to make for a busy month.

@kvally said:

Okay, that looks badass

@charizard1605 said:

@kvally said:

Okay, that looks badass

it does. Particle effects is something i expected in most games this gen (8 core cpu n all) but devs don't care. Shame... When its well done, its pretty cool even in an average game (Infamous SS as an example).

How does the main actor do?

When I saw it was him recently I kinda got a little sad. Not that he's bad at acting but he has a baby face and looks really young and innocent and all that.

I thought and hoped it was going to be more of a gritty hardnose looking character.

Utterly shit, at 2560x1440, and I kid you not, I'm lucky to be getting 10fps with the settings on Medium. Yet I can run it at 1920x1080 on Ultra! It's absolutely disgusting and Remedy/MS better get their fingers out and fix this bullshit. Then to add to that you cannot disable DoF, motion blur or film grain and we have a 100% direct Xbox One port with absolutely **** all optimization for PC.

Do not waste your money mate, definitely wait to see if it gets fixed because as it stand it's completely unplayable at 1440p and with the horrendous post process it's borderline unplayable all together.

I have a Zotac 980ti AMP Extreme with additional over clocking over the factory clock. I'm completely sickened and will never buy anything from the MS App store ever again. They can shove it up their arse and whistle Dixie before that store sees any of my money ever again.

I was truly excited for this game. I played a good portion of it today with a good friend of mine who purchased the game. It's a solid game, but far from great or a masterpiece. In my humble opinion, it is not worth the $60 asking price and think the Gamespot's score of 6/10 is both fair and warranted.

I decided to cancel my pre-order of the game (which I was going to pickup from Best Buy later today) and rent it instead when it comes to RedBox or purchase the game when it goes on sale or clearance.. It is a win-win situation as I can finish the experience I started with my friend and save a good 50 bucks in the process. I simply can not justify the full $60 asking price for what the game offers. This is coming from a life long MS and Xbox supporter. I have never had any desire to own any other platform as I don't have time to game as much as I once did. The older I get, the more picky I am at which games I'm willing to spend full price on. Unfortunately, as much as it pains me to say, this game is not one of them.

Mechanically it feels a bit weird at first, the bloom is pretty excessive as far as imitating recoil, which isn't inherently an issue, but the general aiming just feels loose. Would rather play this on a mouse and keyboard, but I gotta wait till Microsoft sends out codes, which might not be a bad thing considering on gaf it's been pretty common to say the game runs like ass cheeks. Anyway looseness aside I do like the gun audio and general feedback of the shooting, albeit the initial act has to do opening act things and give you your stuff piece meal. The way the cover works annoys me a bit as well, it's very similar to Rise of the Tomb Raider where the cover mechanic works where when you naturally walk up to something the character crouches down and gets behind cover. I sort of prefer The Last of Us model of at least giving me a designated crouch button n stuff.

Otherwise once I got over how the movement n shooting felt, and got more into the swing of things it's reasonably fun. I fail to see how they are going to vary this shit up or keep it reasonably challenging, because I started the game on hard and it's as simple as duck behind some cover for a bit, pop out and use your powers, freeze a guy here, dash from one major cover spot to another (also a general sprint would be nice sort of like a middle ground between the slow ass jog and the time dodge move), use the time shield to block shots and shoot through ala that one gun in the Resistance series. It's relatively neato stuff, don't know why the pistol has infinite ammo, but, whatever.

Story stuff is reasonably compelling, I'll openly say I'm fucking sick of hearing the same fucking shitty actors in every fucking video game, so Sam Lake's decision of hiring people from The Wire? Gets a fucking thumbs up in my book, unless he hired Carcetti because of Game of Thrones. Iceman is decent enough, and most of the script is solid, the few awkward stretches I feel could be poor line delivery by Ashmore and whoever plays William, also the game tries to be cute and not do cinematic walking, but then it does it at one point, lame. The binary choice thing seems really dumb, ditto the tv show if all these characters are meant to be ancillary and doesn't really payoff later. Which has been a common criticism of the game, especially since the tv show is pretty fucking low budget. Not that I don't want to see more Lance Reddick, more Daniels please.

All in all after act 1, it's pretty solid. Mechanically it's more enjoyable than say Alan Wake, narrative wise I'm interested both from the plot, and the characters themselves, and the overall pace of that opening act was there. TV show is more intriguing to see Sam Lake try a tv show than genuinely for what happened there.

@GarGx1: what drivers v driver are you running and if you have gsync monitor did you try disabling gsync on 1440p?

That and its in his dossier if you find it, that he received training in firearms in Laos I believe. Now what would he be doing over there training in firearms when he is obviously an American and could purchase firearms and go to the millions of ranges here? Weapon trafficking? Merc work? He obviously isn't Mr. innocent. Also says he is prone to violence, has been in trouble with the law in past.

I am personally glad Remedy didn't make the combat more Gears, cover like. That's what I play Gears and Uncharted for. In this, I like moving and powering through fights. Especially against the enemies with power suits who can zip around as well. Nice cat and mouse going on there.

And the guy playing Charlie Wincott is hilarious.

I rate it a 78.

Bronze star.

After 2 acts, I agree. Nicely done on taking this combo risk. Thinking back to the review, he wanted more cover: why? I have a bubble shield for a second or 2 when the screen goes red, then I am back to strategically powering through combat; the shooting mechanics issue? It took me all of ten minutes to adjust to it; story isn't always followable? No trouble here.

Drivers 364.72, so bang up to date (unless there's a new beta driver out)

Never considered disabling gsync, I wouldn't expect any difference when it doesn't appear to affect lower resolutions. I'll give it a go though and see what happens, it certainly can't be any worse.

Some ppl on the gaf thread reported gsync causing them issues on 1440p and running lot better w/o

same driver v as I have

Played for the first time last night. Early impression, QB got mugged big time here, the game is gonna wind up closer to 10 than it is to 6 for me and most others I bet.

I cant wait to play it either

Just beat it, game was a solid 8.5 for me, gonna go back through it and 100% this.