Breakdown (computer game)
| Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Namco | ||
| Publisher | Namco , Electronic Arts | ||
| Senior Developer | Masataka Shimono | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 January 29, 2004 March 16, 2004 June 18, 2004  |
||
| platform | Xbox | ||
| genre | First person shooter , beat 'em up | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Gamepad | ||
| medium | 1 × DVD | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
Breakdown is released in 2004 and from Namco -developed first-person shooter fighting game for the Xbox . The game pursued an innovative approach to the representation of the protagonist in the game world. All actions are shown realistically from the first person perspective, including things like somersaults or picking up objects. Breakdown was named as one of their sources of inspiration by the Mirror's Edge developers.
action
Similar to Half Life , the plot in Breakdown is shown completely from the first person perspective; there are no cutscenes with different camera angles. The game begins with Derrick Cole, the protagonist of the game, waking up in a hospital bed with no memories. Shortly thereafter, he is attacked by soldiers, but saved by a woman, Alex Hendrickson. It turns out he is in a research facility and has been given T'lan, a serum believed to give him superhuman powers. However, the serum is incomplete and has side effects. Together with Alex, he fights his way through the research facility and finally finds himself in Site Zero, an underground complex that was built by aliens and is populated by T'lan, who are controlled by Nexus. It turns out that Nexus is planning an invasion of Earth and is preparing a large number of missiles for launch. A little later, Alex is captured by a T'lan named Solus and the attempt to free her and prevent the missiles from launching fails.
Derrick is then thrown 50 years into the future, when he arrives there he discovers that the world has been overrun by T'lan. There he meets Alex, who comes from the future, again and a group of scientists explains to him that due to the pendulum effect he will soon be thrown back into the past. From them he receives an infusion of the perfect T'langen serum and thus gains his full strength. Shortly afterwards he is thrown back into the past with Alex. But they split up on the journey through time and Alex ends up on Derrick's bedside at the beginning of the game. Derricks himself can again face the fight against Solus and defeat both him and Nexus. Side Zero then collapses, while Alex and Derrick escape in a helicopter.
Shortly afterwards, the pendulum effect sets in with Alex, and she is pulled back into the future, the player has the choice to accompany her or to stay in the present.
Game mechanics
At first glance, Breakdown looks like an ordinary first-person shooter , but on closer inspection, some crucial differences become apparent. A major change compared to other genre representatives is that the protagonist's body is fully included in Breakdown, so not only are arms and legs visible, but interactions with the world also take place realistically. Health is refreshed with beverage cans, for example, but it is not enough to simply run over them to activate them, but the protagonist picks them up with his hand and then brings them to his mouth. Weapons and ammunition are also picked up by hand and cannot simply be collected by running over them. Hands are also used when climbing ladders.
Breakdown also contains jumping mechanics that are unusual for a first person shooter, so the protagonist can not only jump, but also hold onto ledges and pull himself up, similar to games in the Tomb Raider series. He is also able to perform backflips and somersaults, all of which are shown in first person perspective.
Fights, when fought with a weapon, essentially follow genre conventions, but include the additional possibility of targeting opponents firmly in order to automate the aiming. In addition to the firearms, the player also has a large selection of close combat attacks and evasive maneuvers; These same skills increase in the course of the story and are supplemented by special attacks such as a slow motion function.
Reviews
Breakdown reviews were mixed. One of the main points of criticism were the rather simple gun fights and the monotonous graphics and level design, which often consisted of the same corridors. On the other hand, the story and the immersion could inspire and was described by some testers as one of the best in recent years. It is listed on Metacritic with an average rating of 71%.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Breakdown Product Details ( Memento from June 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Interview with Mirror's Edge Producer, Tom Farrer ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Breakdown test overview at Metacritic
