Part action game and part live action sci-fi mini-series, it's difficult to analyse the dual nature of Quantum Break, but you can't help but applaud the developer's undeniable ambition, even if

Clever narrative design; Time powers elevate combat; Great performances from the main cast..

...but the supporting cast isn't on par; Plot contrivances abound; Not much variety in the gameplay

The main characters of Quantum Break may frequently find themselves stuck in time, yet developer Remedy Entertainment appears to have no such problem. The team behind Max Payne and Alan Wake has successfully managed to evolve its signature style of cinematic shoot-'em-up for its latest release;...

The launch of Quantum Break - the first ever title shown for Xbox One - is finally here. It's the story of Jack Joyce (played by Shawn Ashmore) and his best friend Paul Serene (played by Aidan Gillen), caught on opposite sides of a fracture in time that threatens to bring about the end of time.

Scratch away at that and you've got a watchable TV series wrapped around a focussed and competent game, but Remedy's keen sense of style manages to elevate Quantum Break to something just about worthwhile. Maybe it's because of how eccentric the whole enterprise is.

The Xbox One version of Quantum Break was primarily tested for the purpose of this review. Whilst Remedy isn't exactly known for publishing a steady stream of titles, but rather putting them a few years apart, they've always been known to deliver influential narratives that also build upon...

I honestly wanted to give Quantum Break a 10/10. I love sci-fi, I love confident and competent time travel stories and I love Remedy. It's a wonderful game, don't get me wrong, and is almost deserving of absolute praise but a couple of things glared once it was all done and dusted, when I completed...

It's come full circle. Remedy has always had a love affair with the physics of time. They popularised bullet time with Max Payne and when they moved over to Alan Wake it came to light that they also had a good cinematic flair (or is that flare?). So, what happens if you combine the two?

Time-based powers is a blast to use | The graphics..; is this real life? | The humour in the notes and emails | Great use of known actors

Remove the live action movies and CG cutscenes and you have a short gameplay session at hand | Junction decisions don't impact the game THAT much | Streaming video footage..; meh..

Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break feels like the game the Finnish developer has been working up to ever since the comparatively meager days of the original Max Payne . Once again, they've brought together solid, if mildly unambitious, gameplay and the repurposed storytelling of other media and...

You probably know the story of Icarus. That Greek guy who made a set of wings, stuck them together with wax, but then flew too close to...

The creative; speedy combat is great fun; The story aspires to an interesting; layered narrative

The combat never evolves to a truly satisfying level; Disjointed structure leads to big pacing issues; The TV show is rather underwhelming

Despite these small setbacks, Quantum Break dares to succeed at pushing the boundaries of interactive storytelling. The relationship between games and films and TV is stronger than ever of course (for better or worse), but Quantum Break’s gamble of putting everything in the same box really pays off. It almost always functions as an actual game too, ticking along with the satisfying precision of a Swiss watch. It’s really the characters and the messed up ‘real world’ they inhabit that stand out though, even if it’s frustrating there’s not more of it, or them, to explore in-depth. Just like Max Payne, Quantum Break isn’t perfect, but that’s the price you pay for being ahead of your time. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Stunning and realistic in motion; Combat feels powerful and fun; The ‘Junctures’ and ‘Episodes’ feel unique - and work;

Unavoidably linear; No real replay value; Immersion breaking AAA trappings;