Why Quantum Break is My First Real Next-Generation Experience

Quantum Break is Xbox One's first AAA console exclusive of 2016, and it is great third-person shooter fun. It delivers an interesting sci-fi story that delves deep into the theories of time travel without breaking its own rules as clearly established in gameplay and highly detailed documents in the form of collectible pick-ups. It boasts cool time manipulation mechanics that make the only-average gunplay tolerable and the graphical fidelity showcases the amazing performances by great actors like Shawn Ashmore, Aiden Gillen and more. Sounds like a great time, right? It is. As a third-person shooter action game, Quantum Break is pretty awesome. If that's all it was, I think it would be a commendable achievement for Microsoft in the way of their new exclusive IPs. But that is not all Quantum Break brings to the table.

If you want to read my more critical thoughts on Quantum Break, check out my review right here.

Quantum Break contains five acts of gameplay that move Jack Joyce's story forward. This playable element of the game keeps the perspective zeroed in on just Jack and those he encounters in his mission. He can read e-mails, documents and other collectibles to really flesh out the story, but this all remains in his perspective. Those collectibles are used so effectively, but they aren't what makes Quantum Break different (although, it does make it one of the funnier games in recent memory).

I believe Quantum Break is my first real next-generation experience because it successfully merges video games and live-action television with its four-episode show between the five acts. Some players may only see this as glorified cut scenes, but Quantum Break already has beautifully rendered cinematics that follow Jack Joyce. They only contribute to the development of his story, not the goes-on around town. Remedy Games uses the television show to showcase other characters that play pivotal roles elsewhere in the city of Riverport that directly impact the story even though Jack Joyce doesn't encounter them regularly. If Remedy chose to force the player to play through these scenes they may be detachment from the character because they have already centred on Jack Joyce and Paul Serene. And there is a lot of talk in these episodes that develop the story. But there's also some great action scenes that look as convincing as some premium cable shows. These four episodes could have been weak, phoned-in glorified cut scene conversations, but they fill the void of story gaps, character development and motive explanation that the game would fail to deliver.

So, what makes this a next-gene experience? When I played new games over the last few years I thought "That's got to be the next-gen experience." Such examples would be Titanfall, Shadow of Mordor, Bloodborne and The Witcher 3. These are all great games that up the ante in mechanics, graphics and AI in their own way, but that's just a development of what we've seen before during the previous console generation. In labeling Quantum Break the true next-gen game, I have to make clear what the criteria would be. When the Xbox One was introduced, it was identified as the home-media box that could do everything without the need for two, three, four boxes in the home entertainment set-up. Your game box would be your television box and you could do it all at once if that's what you're about. I know not everyone supported this concept and then Microsoft's Xbox division backed off this campaign in favour of the all-games-all-the-time approach. That's all well and good. But the Xbox One is still the entertainment box that they wanted it to be, even if it isn't the central focus. Quantum Break delivers on both fronts in ways other games have yet to accomplish in this generation. It merges games and television in ways others have not. It was a bit of a risk to pour everything into this combination for Remedy Games, but it works because they didn't hold back. Rather than acting as cut scenes, the TV show episodes go elsewhere and build the story where Jack Joyce can't be. Quantum Break embodies that initial next-gen intention of blending entertainment, and it does it well.

Quantum Break is a cool game, but it brings more than that. I'm not saying it's better than Bloodborne or The Witcher 3. I'm not even comparing them to that degree. But Quantum Break does something new and it's an experience I can't really pinpoint in previous generations. It's a lot of fun and I recommend playing it. I hope you enjoy the game and the show.

Lunchbox: A Creative Outlet

Today my good friend and all-around talented dude Dylan Burnett and I launched a blog called Lunchbox. Every week, as long as we are able, we will be posting a short story and a spot illustration. I see this as an outlet for myself to keep writing every day when I'm not tackling other projects and for Dylan to take time between his overwhelmingly busy schedule as a professional comic book artist to do something different.

I could write short stories and keep them to myself, but that's not how I feel I will get better. If it's out there for the public to read, criticize and dismiss, I will have something to draw from and improve upon. It will keep me honest in my work.

Check it out. I hope you like it. If you don't, tell me why. I'm all ears.

bdlunchbox.blogspot.com

Thoughts on Firewatch (Spoilers)

I have already reviewed Firewatch and thought it was a great walking simulator with an emotionally tense, slow burn of a story. I'm not here to review it again, but I do have some points to make about the game and some of the criticism it has received. I will be spoiling major plot points, so steer clear if you intended to play the game and wish to remain fresh.

The opening text selection that allows you to choose your path as Henry prior to the core gameplay is an excellent way to invest the player more personally than just throwing them into the fire, so to speak. The growth of Henry and Julia's relationship is very real and the major life decisions they make are believable enough that I felt involved. The decline of the relationship due to both the long distance period and Julia's mental health made the road much rockier than I anticipated, and since I was so personally linked to Henry's life at that point it was tough to make decisions like putting Julia in a permanent care facility and agreeing for her to move back home to her family in Australia. If I was biting hard on a simple text adventure, I was obviously going all in for the rest of the game.

Some critical arguments about Firewatch claim that these decisions are not crucial to the game's primary plot. I would agree that the story will take its route no matter the decisions you make. But the point of being involved in establishing Henry's past and relationship with Julia is to give the player something to hold onto and decide on rather than being told what came before. You, as the player, made those decisions. They weren't made for you. You are responsible for what Henry chose in that early stage in the game. The same goes for dialogue choices. The story will continue as it's supposed to whether you choose to say A, B or C, but this is still not the point of the decision making process. You develop a working and personal relationship simply by verbal communication with Delilah over the walkie-talkie, and this is after experiencing Henry's personal struggle before joining the fire lookout. The relationship can be cold and harsh, or you can play along and develop a great back-and-forth with Delilah that is supported by stellar voice over work. It all depends on how you play the game.

Firewatch has many decisions but one real story at its core. It's all about how you experience the journey, not the resulting conclusion. If you choose to warm up to Delilah and become somewhat intimate with her you may feel guilty about having left Julia and still being officially married to her even though the relationship is in shambles. The experience isn't just in the game, but in your own head as well because it is how you think, perceive and feel about Henry as a person, the relationships you have built in his place and the way you go about exploring your personal journey in the summer of 1989.

With all of this in mind, and having repeatedly beaten you over the head with the point that the core story isn't what Firewatch is really about, I'm going to say that the core story is actually what Firewatch is about. Now, hold on a second. Think about it this way. You've built a character with a blank page called Henry, you've experienced important life events whether they be in text form or verbal communication. You've explored your sector of the Shoshone National Forest and tangled with strange occurrences and conspiracies that make you feel uneasy. You've experienced them with Delilah and you've built that relationship as well. You weren't at Two Forks Station when Ned and Brian Goodwin were operating that sector, but you know enough about them that Delilah had a connection in the past. That connection may not be as strong for Henry as it is for her, but you can understand her emotional ties. When you discover the lifeless body of the child you are distraught, but more so for Delilah. As you discover more about the Goodwins and their time at Two Forks you and Delilah become critical of Ned. You blame the father for the death of the son and accuse him of being a coward for never telling anyone about the climbing accident that took his life. The disdain you have for Ned is reasonable and not uncommon, but it is more important that many have argued. Ned Goodwin lost his son and it was partially his fault. He internalized the blame and ran from the problems by hiding in solitary confinement in the Two Forks sector for years, avoiding the reality beyond the forest. Delilah called him a coward, and you may not agree with such harsh words but it is clear to you that he should not have done what he did. Ned Goodwin didn't do anything that you as Henry didn't either. Henry felt guilty for putting Julia in a home and leaving her with her family in Australia and he ran off to a solitary job in Shoshone National Forest. Even if you accuse Ned of being selfish, you not clear of the same charges yourself.

The game feels like the main plot line revolves around the Goodwins and their tragedy, but it is really about how Henry projects himself on that reality. And it is how you feel with your position in the story that matters most. Not everything have to be about Henry to reflect on the situation. Not everything has to have a storybook ending. This is what makes Firewatch feel more real than some other stories. This is highly realistic, even if it is set on a artistic backdrop. Firewatch may not be for everyone and the conclusion may not be a explosively satisfying as something like Gone Home but it sure does what its supposed to. You can't fault it for that.

The Future of First-Person Shooters

I know the title is a bit grandiose but these following thoughts are a little more low key. Ever since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the FPS genre has been predominantly set in modern, near-future and future settings save for the odd surprise like Wolfenstein. Modern Warfare changed the game almost a decade ago and we have seen our fair share of jump-pack, wall-running, sticky grenade, auto-locking rocket nonsense ever since. Call of Duty is one of the biggest video game franchises in existence whether you like it or not and it set the trends for many years. Now that influence seems to be waining with more and more shooters introducing different ideas that have pushed Activision's premiere title to take from other games, we are seeing an overcrowded genre. The market is flooded and something's gotta give.

As these FPS games become more and more convoluted with excessive weapon selections, falsely insightful sci-fi plots that are touted as high-concept storytelling and the need to create unrealistic speed and mobility to be an enjoyable experience is not what I want. I want to go back to a simpler time. I want to see the return of the World War II shooter. And maybe Battalion 1944 will be that game. It's a Kickstarter campaign looking to be your WWII shooter in a world of super-future twitch gaming.

I know that Battalion 1944 sounds like a game that I want, but what about the rest of the FPS audience? A large population of Call of Duty fans jumped aboard with Modern Warfare and the titles that followed. A lot of the players don't know the franchise without the "advanced warfare" element. Could they accept a WWII shooter and the slower gameplay that it would entail? Or is that audience lost for the most part? It may be a mistake for Activision to revert to WWII for fear of alienating their current primary players because the older fans that knew pre-Modern Warfare shooters have all but moved on to other games. I think that leaves Battalion 1944 with a job to do: garner the interest that once existed in the community. Maybe it could be a testing ground.

I think it's just time to throw a little more variety into the genre. All of these FPS games are trying to add more to the experience. I want something that strips it down and makes me feel vulnerable. I don't want to run into a bullet storm. Instead, I'd prefer to think more practically and be forced to survive. These future FPSs won't do that. Bring back the WWII shooter.

What It's Like to Write For No One

Lots of people go to school and get a job in some variation of that order and begin to build an adult life. Lots of people don't go to school and do great for themselves. Lots of people take paths they feel are safest for their wellbeing and futures. Others might dive headlong into uncertainty with the belief that if they don't now, they never will. I, myself, took a semi-safe route by getting a BAH and then on to an MA. Not that there are tons of jobs seeking MA students who wrote about the cultural identity of hockey in Canada and the world, but hey, it's an MA. I can research, I can write and I can tell you about it.

Now that I'm out of grad school (albeit, five months out), working a sporadic and unpredictable job with low future prospects I have begun to think about taking that headlong dive. I have a degree I can fall back on, even if it isn't the most supportive. Why not try to do something I want to do before I have to do something I have to do? So, I write for no one in particular. I nabbed a writing gig on a website where I express my views on certain media that someone else publishes so that I can build a portfolio of such work. I wrote a short novella, I have made headway in a series of short stories for a collaborative project and I'm currently writing a novel with the hopes of getting into a writing program that will improve my work. All of this, considering I have been doing it for free, is self-fulfilling. I can't imagine my articles draw lots of clicks or that my fiction will garner publication interest, but it is getting me somewhere that I would like to be. And that is "better."

I'm writing for myself, really. I guess that means I'm not writing for no one, but it is if I'm not the one who determines whether or not I get a job in the field or published in some form. I write about what interests me and what I think I would like to read. I'm writing selfishly, not necessarily purposely appealing to an audience. I feel that I'm not the most uniquely peculiar person in the world so whatever I write might interest someone. But I'm not concerning myself with that, as to say, I'm writing for no one in particular.

And for now that's okay with me. I'd like to improve. If I have to take a hit financially, that's okay. If I get better, I'm just another step towards a larger goal. If people read my work, that's just an added bonus. If you share my opinion, I hope you appreciate it. If you don't, tell me why I'm an idiot. But I'm not outwardly seeking the attention. I'm really writing this down right now because I'm tired of thinking about it in my head. Getting it out is like an exercise in my personal growth as well as an expressive form of writing. Even if this is just delaying an inevitable acceptance of failure or the defeated walk back onto a standard path, maybe it's worth carving it out on the fringe for a bit.

New Projects Ahead

In the coming weeks I will be bringing some different content to Billy Reads. When I started this blog I intended to deliver features and commentaries about pop and geek culture topics, but that wasn't all. I also wanted to post original content in the way of fiction and art, whether it be created by me or someone else. This is what I plan to do in the near future.

There are things to look forward to and I am excited to show you what's coming. Keep an eye out for new content!

Xbox 2015 Fall Exclusive Line-Up Sells Big

It is no secret that Sony's PlayStation 4 has been consistently outselling Microsoft's Xbox One in the little over two year life-span of the consoles, currently reaching a roughly two to one ratio by comparison. More consoles in the entertainment centre means more games on the living room shelves (or digital collections), and that should also suggest that the Xbox exclusive line-up would struggle to reach sales numbers akin to those of the PS4 catalogue. As if Microsoft needed more adversity, Rise of the Tomb Raider, a major exclusive title for the Xbox fall line-up, released alongside the highly anticipated and competitive multi-platform Bethesda RPG Fallout 4, which many suggested would be the death of Lara Croft's sequel adventure on the Xbox One. 

Xbox has been quiet about its sales numbers virtually on principle as they have trailed the PS4 in a number of categories, but Xbox Wire has chosen to speak up about the success of the 2015 exclusive line-up. Mike Nichols, the Corporate Vice President of Marketing at Xbox, announced that Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6 and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition each sold over one million copies since their individual releases. This all despite a heavy season of new releases and half the number of units sold as the PS4. PlayStation may not have had any major first-party exclusives for the holiday season, but they did have third-party marketing agreements with EA for Star Wars: Battlefront and Call of Duty: Black Ops III, the former selling over twelve million copies to date and the latter being associated with Xbox for years prior to a new agreement between Sony and Activision. 

Days after the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider, industry voices and entertainment personalities were declaring Microsoft's agreement with Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix a failure simply due to the success of Fallout 4 and other holiday titles. Of course, had the game released on multiple consoles the sales numbers would have been far larger, but that does not spell the end for the reboot of the legendary series. Rise of the Tomb Raider will come to the PS4 in fall 2016, but it won't have to wait until then to be a success. The game itself is a spectacular adventure sure to please fans of the series and the genre alike. The gameplay is smooth and diverse, the puzzles unique and challenging and the story more riveting than the 2013 reboot effort. It is worth purchasing for any Xbox One owner, and even a great choice to buy the console if gamers do not already have one. Surely, this holiday season success for the Xbox exclusive line-up is indicative of the progress towards a better reputation and marketing push for console sales and future titles.

My Year in Books: What I Read in 2015

Now that the New Year has come, it's time for me to begin a new list of works completed in my ever-growing stack of interests. It's worth noting my 2015 reading list really didn't kick into gear until April when I completed my grad school course work. That said, this list does not contain any of the countless titles I read for my own research, but instead the pleasure reading I did on my own time. I'd like to share with you the books I read or re-read in order during 2015 and maybe a few books I know I'll be reading in 2016.

Books Read in 2015:

• "Seinlanguage" by Jerry Seinfeld
• "Star Wars: Kenobi" by John Jackson Miller
• "Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire" by Steve Perry
• "The Lost World" by Michael Crichton
• "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi
• "Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Greatest Troublemakers"            by Nick Offerman
• "The Ghost Brigades" by John Scalzi
• "Star Wars: Tarkin" by James Luceno
• "The Last Colony" by John Scalzi
• "The Martian" by Andy Weir
• "Total Recall" by Arnold Schwarzenegger
• "Zoe's Tale" by John Scalzi
• "Star Wars: Lords of the Sith" by Paul S. Kemp
• "The Human Division" by John Scalzi
• "Star Wars: Aftermath" by Chuck Wendig
• "Lock In" by John Scalzi
• "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein
• "Number Two: More Short Tales from a Very Tall Man" by Jay Onrait
• "The Making of Star Wars" by J.W. Rinzler
• "The End of All Things" by John Scalzi

I read twenty books in 2015. Mostly fiction, some tie-in fiction and a few non-fiction on varying topics. If I had a full year of reading, I'm sure I would have gotten to more, but I'm not disappointed in what I reached. The fall months saw a slower turn around between books as I took more time with work, traveling and the heavy season of video games. I'll kick off the 2016 year early.

So what am I going to read this year? I'm sure the list will change, but I do know I want to read these few books:

• "Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company" by Alexander Freed
• "The Children of Hurin" by J.R.R. Tolkien
• "Unfinished Tales" by J.R.R. Tolkien
• "Ringworld" by Larry Niven
• "The Making of The Empire Strikes Back" by J.W. Rinzler
• "Star Wars Costumes: The Origin Trilogy" by Brandon Alinger
• "Inferno" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
• "The Unincorporated Man" by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin
• "The Bassoon King" by Rainn Wilson

I know I'll get to these, but I am also anticipating what I will come across in the months ahead. Check back!