STACK #138 Apr 2016

GAMES FEATURE

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Leading lads

Shawn Ashmore Look familiar? The leading man of QB was made famous as Bobby – aka Iceman – in the X-Men series. Fun fact – he also has an identical twin. Aidan Gillen “There’s no justice in the world unless we make it.” GoT 's Aidan ‘Littlefinger’ Gillen is the best brothel owner this side of the Narrow Sea, and now he’s playing your enemy in Quantum Break. Lance Reddick He's no stranger to appearing in video games, providing the talents for Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, in Bungie’s Destiny . Dominic Monaghan Another X-Men alumnus, Dominic Monaghan is however better known as Merry in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

still in the game," he confirms. “From early on, it was about time breaking down. But actually figuring out what it looks like when time breaks down – from the artistic side – took a long time. Originally, time is frozen. Visually, frozen time looks very cool, but when you actually play it a couple of times, that becomes pretty boring. It’s like, nothing happens, right? That’s the idea at the start of Quantum Break – how time really is ending in the game, because time ‘breaks’, through to the experiment of how the game begins. All the testing we did came up with the idea of time breaking down. We had this feature, and you could sort of 'rewind' time, so we were like, ‘let’s break things up in a really creative way, and have the world shift back and forth in a really violent way.’” And that’s exactly what they did. Quantum Break is as beautiful to look at as it is daunting. You play secure in the knowledge that anything around you can change at any given moment – and it usually does. “Things just break down around you," Puha confirms. "For instance, a big cruise ship suddenly comes crashing around you and then it all just builds back up again – this really keeps you on your toes, and that took a long time to get right. That was a very crucial moment in the game when we nailed that. So the 2014 trailer with the ship crash was a big ‘okay, now we know what the game is’ moment, and it took a long time to get there to figure that out." Puha also notes that the studio didn’t want

You don't stay in cover. If you stay in cover you die.

GAMES

this to be just another third-person shooter. “You don’t stay in cover. If you stay in cover you die. The Monarch enemies will come and get you. It’s really about using the time powers in a way that encourages you to move around." Remedy have always been heavily involved in live-action and Quantum Break is certainly no exception. It features a blockbuster cast including Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen, and Lance Reddick. “Obviously when we were at a point where our digital characters could really act, you actually need good actors, not just for the sake of them being famous," explains Puha. “[Shawn] Ashmore

miniseries, and Remedy were keen to tackle the stigma attached to live action and video games head on. “I understand that live-action’s a really bad connotation when it comes to video games – we’re not stupid, we know what people think." notes Puha. "People still think that live-action games are like what they were 20 years ago. Or maybe they think that we were running around in backyards doing YouTube stuff. "No, the live-action Quantum Break is made by Lifeboat Productions in LA; an experienced television production company with a pretty sizeable budget and a great cast.” Though it isn’t a true Alan Wake sequel, Quantum Break promises to be an inspired and unconventional third-person shooter with more to see than you have time for. “It’s Remedy’s vision of what the characters are, and what the game should be, and what the story should be about obviously, you know, a sort of artistic endeavor," says Puha. "It’s a team effort – it’s about collaboration and sort of getting the best out of everybody."

was somebody we did talk about early on, and then [he] became really interested in the game. And I have to say, he’s a really good guy. Really into the games and plays a lot of them. He cares about the performance and the story – he’s basically an extended family member of Remedy at this point because we spent so much time with the man." Quantum Break is a time travel game with a live-action

• Quantum Break is out April 05

APRIL 2016

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