Quantum

In addition to Filena, Quantum has another trick up its sleeve. The locations are varied and distinctive, but they’re all the same place. The whole game is set in one location, or rather several sections of the same location. A hulking tower has erupted from the ground - it’s a living, morphing entity with a fierce survival instinct and its own troop of protectors patrolling it. So - as is so often the case of these things - you, Syd, find yourself inside and blasting all and sundry to hell.

There’s a strong sense too that Syd wouldn’t mind turning his firepower on Filena if he had half a chance. They just hate each other. The reasons for this are being kept under wraps so as to preserve a sense of resentment that’s sure to reach boiling point at the summit of the tower in a three-way battle to the death during the game’s eventual climax.

Syd and Filena are thrown together through circumstance and need each other to battle through this ever-evolving tower, taking on a slew of devastating foes. One in particular was a lumbering great beast with an explosive charged blast that destroyed swathes of the tower with one jolt, taking out cover and anything in its way. It’s a match-up with a real difference; where Resident Evil 5 had the two of you progressing though the game as a partnership with an even spread of skills, Quantum’s duo is less balanced. Syd possesses all the subtlety of Gordon Ramsay; Filena’s nimble, quick and cunning. And a missile. Go figure. It’s an interesting take, and one that bucks the trends of a crowded genre and provides a meaty plot hook to boot.

Hopefully this will be enough to distinguish it from the pack when Quantum arrives next year. The prospect of battling both your partner and the environment is a twisted one, so we'd love to see it explored to the full. Quantum’s influences are varied and obvious – but Tecmo might just have a secret ingredient of its own hiding in the wings. If the transient tower is properly capitalised on, this will be amazing.

Jul 23, 2009