Time Quantum Breaks

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Over the years, many have speculated about time travel and its probability to be possible or if it can ever be accomplished. In Quantum Break the unthinkable becomes reality, time itself becomes ruptured and the future and the past collide. You play the role of Jack Joyce, the younger brother of the scientist who developed the technology to alter time. When this great power winds up in the wrong hands it leaves you fighting to make things right. Along the way you encounter several people who aid in your mission as well as many people who will do anything to get in your way. Told through a combined medium of gameplay and live action movie, Quantum Break has an incredible story that I couldn’t wait to see unfold.

The game starts with Jack arriving at a college campus to meet an old friend, Paul, to help your currently troubled brother. The meeting takes place at a college campus at 4:20 (Classic). After hearing more about Jack’s brother’s invention from his friend Paul, I was excited to see what he had created. After engaging in dialogue with several protestors at the campus I learned more about an organization called Monarch. Like most large corporations in games, this power-hungry company was acquiring massive amounts of power and was involved in shady activities. I would later find out they were much more corrupt and manipulative than I ever could have anticipated.

(And so my journey begins)

After meeting with Paul and listening to his spiel on time travel and the funding he needs to continue research, I quickly realized something was amiss. Sadly, my character, Jack, went along with what Paul asked which was booting up what turned out be a time machine which triggered a rift in time. After sending Paul into the time machine, a version of him from the future exited along with him which was possibly one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. They would talk simultaneously and even finish each other’s sentences. This is where Jack’s brother shows up and tries to stop Paul and everything spirals out of control.

(Now there's two of him...)

By going into the future Paul triggers a cataclysmic event where time is now set to break. It was difficult for me to grasp everything that was going on so quickly, but I didn’t have time to doddle. After the fallout Jack and his brother were forced to try and escape as Monarch soldiers quickly stormed the lab.

There were so many thoughts rushing through my head as I made my way out of the lab. Not too long after this, I was forced to fight several Monarch goons and Jack began to discover he had powers that he could use to manipulate the fabric of time. Trying my best to gain control of these newly gained powers I fought my way through the seemingly endless waves of Monarch troops. Will eventually got captured and after running into a seemingly friendly Monarch agent, I used my powers to rescue him. Then suddenly, time itself came to a crashing halt. Everything was frozen except for Jack and Will.

(Everything, even the people are frozen)

As we made our way out of the main building we were confronted by an older and more intimidating Paul. I was instantly cast aside as he used the same but more potent powers I had just recently gained. Paul then turns to Will and after a brief interaction where he tries to get Will to help him with the time machine he kills him with debris from above. As it turns out, Paul went back in time almost 20 years to prepare for the end of time Will had predicted and because of this he gained incredibly strong powers and created the evil corporation Monarch to gain power and control of the city of Riverport.

(I feel like this guy always plays a villain)

With Jack now in custody of Monarch, things weren’t looking great for our protagonist. Thankfully, the agent he had met earlier, Beth, ended up rescuing him. Now a labeled terrorist he was on the run. While this was all going on you are put in the shoes of Paul from the past giving you the first choice of the game. Essentially, you can wither kill the protesters to eliminate witnesses, or use them to create a PR campaign. The PR campaign blames Jack for the deaths of everyone and the destruction of a large portion of a college campus labeling him a terrorist. If you kill the protesters Monarch becomes publicly ridiculed and frowned upon. Now, if I was any good at being a villain, I would use the situation to gain the trust of the people, which is exactly why I chose the PR campaign route which forced Jack to evade the pursuit of Monarch and the cities law enforcement. The way you can make these decisions is through the ability Paul gained with years of practice which is precognition, he can see how everything will play out far into the future. Just when I thought I was beginning to figure out what was happening, the game whit me with even more crazy stuff to wrap my head around and I was just getting started.

(Please don't fall on me)

This is just the first act of 5, so as not to spoil anymore of the story, I’m going to leave the rest for you to discover when you play if you decide to do that. I must say, as someone who loves the idea of time travel and remarkable stories, Quantum Break was an excellent game that had me on the edge of my seat countless times. The mechanics and combat are a little rough, but that’s to be expected from a game where it’s entire focus is on telling an excellent story. Besides that, it’s an incredible game that left me pondering many things about time travel after I completed it. It’s not an experience that I will forget anytime soon and I’m so glad I decided to give it a whirl.