quantum theory
Matthew Cash
Most games that are acclaimed by the critics see come kind of copy-cat running amok anywhere from months to years later. Call of Duty has had them. Mass Effect has had then. Halo has had them. Splinter Cell has had them. Uncharted has had them. Grand Theft Auto has had a dickload (not loaded with that, ya sickos). Gears of War needed someone to copy it and I most definitely found the one. The name is Quantum Theory, a rip-off from Japan (what, now Japan is copying US??) to mimic one of Microsoft's famed franchises.
To start off most reviews... we kinda need a story. This'll be the best I can do. You're this big-ass testosterone filled dude with a scar and big-ass armor (That sounds vaguely familiar). His name's Syd (just Syd), and he has a mission, you see. You got this weird virus thingy that infects humans and turns them into ugly-ass monsters (Hmm...) called a diablosis. The diablosis wants to destroy the friggin' world (God, why does this bring so many memories?). The diablosis evidently comes from these stupid tower monstrosities that you have to destroy for no apparent reason. Yeah, that's about all the game explains. Oh, and your lady chick friend wants her father. My biggest gripe with this game is how stupid the plot is. It had promise, but they followed up with it in a stupid manner that brings little bits of what is supposed to be story, but fails miserably and doesn't at all end up tying in with the main plot. Syd is supposed to be destroying these towers. Well, who the hell told him to do it and WHY was he doing it in the first place?
The other bad thing I have to say is the entire presentation. Character models look bland, environments lack any creativity and look almost exactly the same with few exceptions. The weapons aren't easily identifiable, and the overall color pallete looks boring and extremely uninspired. The music sucks. How bad does it suck? I was just playing the game 5 minutes ago and can't remember any music the game was playing. What the hell, man? Then, add in some mediocre voice acting with a just as bad script with a few funny jokes thrown and mix it all up. What you now have is Quantum Theory's presentation. Do you like it? Let's see, do you like looking at your grandfather's diarrhea stuffed in a bag with cat crap, dog piss, horse vomit, and the sound of choking babies? Of course you don't. The presentation was lazily done here, to say the least. The third worst presentation I've seen this generation. That's what this is.
Don't judge a book by its cover. That advice will quickly shine through as true in this game as the overall Gears mimic is done brilliantly. While the aforementioned level design is sucky, the combat is competent for this third-person shooter. The variety of weapons to shoot with is large, but nothing really EXCITING rather than some big-ass pistol Syd gets stuck with that has exploding bullets with no area effect. To counteract this variety, though, is the lack of enemies, but it isn't much of a complaint as many other games don't have different enemies (*cough* Gears *cough*). The actual gameplay is spot on, however, as the cover, pop/shoot, cover, repeat (ad nauseum of course) is done perfectly. The control is very responsive and all that but one more issue is bugging me.
The AI. Both enemy and partner AI iz stoopid (I did that on purpose) and the don't enemies don't even have the common courtesy to turn their attention away from you long enough to attack your invulnerable allies. The biggest challenge is not from heir smarticles, but rather from the sheer overwhelming numbers against you. They'll flood all sides and you have to act fast as hell to shoot one side, run to erased side, take cover, then perform the natural pop-and-shoot crap. If you don't, then your ass will be forcefully given to you from a straw that you received from the bastard that killed you. That isn't saying the game is immensely hard, but some fast shooting is required and the ability to choose cover wisely as it can be destroyed around you. The destruction of cover and the throw of Filena the chop up enemies are the only real gameplay differences that this game has from GoW.
So, if you're anticipating Gears 3 and think Gears 1 and 2 don't have the entertainment value they did before, I would recommend that you at least rent this game. It isn't as good as the PS3 fans thought it would be back when it was an exclusive, but the gameplay is fun in its own right.
Score: 3.75
Most games that are acclaimed by the critics see come kind of copy-cat running amok anywhere from months to years later. Call of Duty has had them. Mass Effect has had then. Halo has had them. Splinter Cell has had them. Uncharted has had them. Grand Theft Auto has had a dickload (not loaded with that, ya sickos). Gears of War needed someone to copy it and I most definitely found the one. The name is Quantum Theory, a rip-off from Japan (what, now Japan is copying US??) to mimic one of Microsoft's famed franchises.
To start off most reviews... we kinda need a story. This'll be the best I can do. You're this big-ass testosterone filled dude with a scar and big-ass armor (That sounds vaguely familiar). His name's Syd (just Syd), and he has a mission, you see. You got this weird virus thingy that infects humans and turns them into ugly-ass monsters (Hmm...) called a diablosis. The diablosis wants to destroy the friggin' world (God, why does this bring so many memories?). The diablosis evidently comes from these stupid tower monstrosities that you have to destroy for no apparent reason. Yeah, that's about all the game explains. Oh, and your lady chick friend wants her father. My biggest gripe with this game is how stupid the plot is. It had promise, but they followed up with it in a stupid manner that brings little bits of what is supposed to be story, but fails miserably and doesn't at all end up tying in with the main plot. Syd is supposed to be destroying these towers. Well, who the hell told him to do it and WHY was he doing it in the first place?
The other bad thing I have to say is the entire presentation. Character models look bland, environments lack any creativity and look almost exactly the same with few exceptions. The weapons aren't easily identifiable, and the overall color pallete looks boring and extremely uninspired. The music sucks. How bad does it suck? I was just playing the game 5 minutes ago and can't remember any music the game was playing. What the hell, man? Then, add in some mediocre voice acting with a just as bad script with a few funny jokes thrown and mix it all up. What you now have is Quantum Theory's presentation. Do you like it? Let's see, do you like looking at your grandfather's diarrhea stuffed in a bag with cat crap, dog piss, horse vomit, and the sound of choking babies? Of course you don't. The presentation was lazily done here, to say the least. The third worst presentation I've seen this generation. That's what this is.
Don't judge a book by its cover. That advice will quickly shine through as true in this game as the overall Gears mimic is done brilliantly. While the aforementioned level design is sucky, the combat is competent for this third-person shooter. The variety of weapons to shoot with is large, but nothing really EXCITING rather than some big-ass pistol Syd gets stuck with that has exploding bullets with no area effect. To counteract this variety, though, is the lack of enemies, but it isn't much of a complaint as many other games don't have different enemies (*cough* Gears *cough*). The actual gameplay is spot on, however, as the cover, pop/shoot, cover, repeat (ad nauseum of course) is done perfectly. The control is very responsive and all that but one more issue is bugging me.
The AI. Both enemy and partner AI iz stoopid (I did that on purpose) and the don't enemies don't even have the common courtesy to turn their attention away from you long enough to attack your invulnerable allies. The biggest challenge is not from heir smarticles, but rather from the sheer overwhelming numbers against you. They'll flood all sides and you have to act fast as hell to shoot one side, run to erased side, take cover, then perform the natural pop-and-shoot crap. If you don't, then your ass will be forcefully given to you from a straw that you received from the bastard that killed you. That isn't saying the game is immensely hard, but some fast shooting is required and the ability to choose cover wisely as it can be destroyed around you. The destruction of cover and the throw of Filena the chop up enemies are the only real gameplay differences that this game has from GoW.
So, if you're anticipating Gears 3 and think Gears 1 and 2 don't have the entertainment value they did before, I would recommend that you at least rent this game. It isn't as good as the PS3 fans thought it would be back when it was an exclusive, but the gameplay is fun in its own right.
Score: 3.75