Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
+2
KENT HAMMER
TreeMunky
6 posters
Page 1 of 1
Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
TreeMunky Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:08 pm
QUANTUM CONUNDRUM
Developed by Airtight Games
Published by Square Enix
Price: 1200 MS Points
You are an anonymous youngster visiting his scientist uncle, Prof. Fitz Quadrangle, owner of Quadrangle Manor an impossibly large mansion perched on a precarious looking hilltop. Left at the mansion by your mother, you are an unwelcome distraction to you uncle who is not there to meet you. Cue cataclysmic science explosion! Upon entering the mansion you become your uncles’ only hope when it’s discovered he has become trapped in another dimension. So it is up to you to find, and ultimately rescue, your uncle with the help of his latest ‘Doc Brown’ invention, a reality-warping
Gameplay
Using the Unreal engine, Quantum Conundrum is a non-violent (and by non-violent I mean death will come from lasers and likely by drowning in ‘science juice’ but that will be your fault alone), XBLA 1st person puzzle platformer title. Quadrangle Manor is split across three coloured zones, blue, yellow and red and The Core. It is in these zones across multiple levels (51 to be exact) that players are tasked with using the IDS to shift between dimensions to manipulate the environment to solve increasingly cunning puzzles.
You are able to instantly switch between five dimensions, Normal, Fluffy, Heavy, Slow Motion and Reverse Gravity. Fluffy makes objects light enough to manipulate, need to move a safe here you can. Heavy dimension increases the weight of all objects, making them good for switch pushing or becoming indestructible to lasers. Slow Motion will have you zipping between giant fan blades or jumping on a safe thrown in Fluffy to sail across an open pit. Finally, Reverse Gravity deftly manipulated will have you controlling objects through mazes or used to ‘drive’ a moving safe/chair/table to get you where you need to be. With virtually every level entered, it is almost immediately apparent where you need to get to, be it impossibly high up or across a vat of ‘science juice’, what is far less apparent is how to go about it.
Frustrating at times, the later puzzles require some perfectly timed platform jumping/dimension shifting and the first person element can make this a far more difficult task than perhaps the developers intended? However, where rage inducing repetition in a game (Trials) generally has me switching to something less frustrating, I couldn’t help but try ‘one more time’ and the feeling you get when you nail an irritating level is a satisfying one. Control wise, the game uses shoulder buttons assigned to each of the four dimension, twin sticks for movement and A for jumping. There were a couple times I felt whilst jumping that a second or third jump wouldn’t register, but this happened few and far between to be a deal breaker.
Graphics
The five dimensions are graphical stylized to highlight the dimension you are currently in. The ‘Normal’ dimension has an almost Pixar feel about it. ‘Fluffy’ turns all objects into a marshmallow type heaven; with pictures on walls becoming cutesy. ‘Heavy’ turns the world into a red ‘Silent Hill’ type industrial hell, with the same pictures having an almost ‘S&M’ heavy metal feel. You get a fantastic tearing effect across the level when shifting. I did experience some framerate issues in transition between dimensions, but this only happened on occasion and didn’t detract from the game. Overall the levels can feel a little empty, with areas for level transitions used repeatedly and although not lost on the developers, with quips from your uncle the likes of ‘haven’t you been down this corridor before’, more effort could have been made to fill the levels with other detail.
Audio
Music and sound effects are varied and similar to the graphics switches between dimensions. This works ok and it does the job but I felt it could have been better. The narrative, as told by your uncle, is voiced by John de Lancie (Q of the Q Continuum). Now you would imagine a world of opportunities here but average script writing means your uncle’s ever-present voice gets old way to fast. There might not be laugh out loud moments but I felt he made the most of what he had to work with.
Achievements & Lasting Appeal
Quantum Conundrum comes with the new standard of 400GS. The majority of these will be accomplished whilst playing through the game. There is your standard collectables achievement and another three for finishing time trials, shift goals and no deaths in each of the 51 levels. Now this is where the replay value of Quantum Conundrum is found. I cleared the game in around five hours and hit the time target once, the shift target three times and finished about half of the levels without dying. So if you’re calm enough to handle repeatedly trying levels then that completion will be yours. The goal time achievement is called 'In less than 12 Parsecs' which made me chuckle, not dying will net you 'Still Alive'...... and the Did a thing! has to be the outright weirdest achievement I have ever got.
Overall
So what of Portal, I wrote this review having never played Portal, so without the expectation of that franchise I came out the other side having enjoyed the game. Quantum Conundrum is a little frustrating in places but the sum of the whole package far outweighs the weaker individual elements and makes for an overall fun, albeit short-lived and a little pricey, XBLA title. The ending is a little anti-climactic and an interdimensional shifting nephew is really going to want more than that if he’s ever going to
Pros
A good brain workout with mind-bending puzzles
John de Lancie providing vocals
Decent replay value if you’ve got to have the 100%
Cons
Runs out of steam towards the end
John de Lancie providing vocals to poorly written script
The ending leaves much to be desired…
7/10
Last edited by TreeMunky on Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
TreeMunky- Becoming Addicted
- XBOX Gamertag : TreeMunky
Number of posts : 1773
Age : 47
Location : Munky's Treehouse
Registration date : 2012-01-30
TGD Reputation : 28
TGD Elite Member Points : 6686
KENT HAMMER- Site Owner & Admin
- XBOX Gamertag : KENT HAMMER
Number of posts : 13825
Age : 47
Registration date : 2009-01-05
TGD Reputation : 578
TGD Elite Member Points : 25617 -
Re: Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
Tenlo Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:47 pm
Great review and very honest too. Look forward to more reviews from yourself!
Tenlo- TGD ADDICT
- XBOX Gamertag : Tenlo
Number of posts : 4825
Age : 42
Location : Southend, Essex
Registration date : 2011-02-03
TGD Reputation : 187
TGD Elite Member Points : 11929
Sh00t3rmcgavin2- Becoming Addicted
- XBOX Gamertag : Sh00t3rmcgavin2
Number of posts : 1513
Age : 49
Location : Colchester, England
Registration date : 2011-12-21
TGD Reputation : 0
TGD Elite Member Points : 6171
Re: Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
Slayer1189 Sun Jul 22, 2012 1:01 am
Good Job. Didn't get much of a feel for this game from the trial so maybe a DotW for me.
Slayer1189- unaddicted
- XBOX Gamertag : Slayer1189
Number of posts : 295
Age : 35
Location : Scotland
Registration date : 2012-01-19
TGD Reputation : 0
TGD Elite Member Points : 4894
Re: Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
Guest Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:54 am
I have downloaded this but yet to try it. I wouldn't expect it to be be better than portal 2 though, you should really get that game in youe life TreeMunky. Top review fella
Guest- Guest
Re: Quantum Conundrum - Official Review
stubbymite Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:18 am
nice work mate and looks like my kinda game i may get a trial of this
stubbymite- TGD ADDICT
- XBOX Gamertag : StubbyMite
Number of posts : 4312
Age : 39
Location : Sunny Oldham
Registration date : 2010-05-21
TGD Reputation : 90
TGD Elite Member Points : 10053
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|