Here's a question: how many of you liked Portal 2? If you raised your hand just now,... what the hell, man? Why are you raising your hand at a computer screen? I will not be able to see your hand!
Anyways, I'm sure you were very fond of Portal 2 if you have played it. You have played it, right? Right?! Well, even if you didn't play Portal 2 (for some asinine reason) you've probably at least heard quotes from the game or the ending song, "Want You Gone". Wherever you heard it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you should be aware of how successful it is and how funny the game is, thanks to comedian, Stephen Merchant, as Wheatley.
Of course, in the video game industry, if something works, do it again! (Actually the same could be said about any industry involving media art forms, bit I digress.) It doesn't even matter who rips off a game nowadays. Just do it again!!! Which brings me to today's Portal-clone from Square Enix and Airtight Games, Quantum Conundrum. So, what do you get when you take Portal and give it to the creators of Dark Void? Well, that's why I'm here and that's why you're here as well: to understand what this game is about.
Now, I know what you're screaming at your monitors for: "Quantum Conundrum isn't a Portal rip-off!" Well, let's put it this way: when the game has you doing dangerous, life-threatening puzzles throughout the game, there's an omnipresent voice speaking to you about the puzzles, there's science-related techno-babble, the game has a crapload of comedy, and there's a little companion that follows you around everywhere you go, I call that very similar to Portal.
Alright, now, to be fair, the game is quite good and alot of fun to play. So, it goes to show that a knock-off can be done well. However, it still baffles me as to how this game is almost identical to Portal in every single way.
The story involves you going to visit your Uncle Quadwrangle at his manor. He is a scientest who always shows you his latest inventions whenever you come to visit. However, this time around, his latest invention on interdimensional shifting goes awry and traps him in some sort of limbo. Meanwhile, the power in the mansion goes out and it's up to you to get it turned on again. If it sounds like the plot to an arcade game, that's because it is. I mean, the game is an arcade game, available on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam.
Throughout the manor, there are a series of puzzles you have to solve, much like in Portal. Although, unlike Portal, where you use portals to help solve the problems, here, you shift between different dimensions to help solve them. This is, of course, the science-related "stuff" involved with the gameplay. And, yes, the puzzles, much like in Portal, are very life-threatening and very hazardous to your health.
The omnipresent voice following you throughout the manor is Quadwrangle, who, awesomely enough, is voiced by John de Lancie. Who's John de Lancie? F you! That's who he is; but in case you would like to know, I'll tell you. He is most famous for his recurring role as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. He is also well-known for playng Eugene Bradford from the TV show, Days of our Lives and as Frank Simmons from Stargate: SG-1. Of course, if you are a brony, like myself-- look it up if you still don't know what it is-- you may remember him quite fondly as the antagonist, Discord, from the 1-hour season 2 premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, "The Return of Harmony". He serves as this game's GLaDOS, taunting you throughout the game and telling you about certain science-y things.
The comedy is quite different from Portal. Unlike Portal, where the comedy came from GLaDOS taunting you or it was Wheatley's stupidity and stammered-speech, this game' humour... actually, they're pretty similar. Although, Quadwrangle does make jokes about his numerous failed experiments, like a jet pack taht's extremely flammable (apparently) and a digger that, apparently was influenced by the dwarves, because it dug too deep. There's also another amusing thing about this game. Wenever you die, there are these comedic quotes that tell you what you will never be able to do with the rest of your life. I think my favourites are "Making a bunch of depressing comments for a video game" and "Telling your friends about the time you almost died in a mansion". That, is just spot-on.
The Wheatley-equivalent in this game is actally a creature: an interdimensional kinetic entity, or IKE. He does help you through alot of the tests and is so damn cute. This coming from a guy who almost suffered a fatal heart attack from staring at a picture of a sleeping Fluttershy for too long. Quadwrangle also comments on how IKE is sort of like a pet, only he's sentient, even though he doesn't talk.
So, there are the comparisons to Portal. Even with that, the game is still alot of fun to play.
If I had any complaints about the game, it would be that alot of the earlier puzzles are really easy. Even the early puzzles in Portal weren't that easy. Another thing I'm not to wild about is the controls. For the most part, the're fine, but moving around often feels really loose and slippery. This makes it very dfficult to perform jumps with perfect accuracy at times, which is really a problem in a platforming game like this. I don't remember Portal having such a problem.
This blog entry is in no way a review or a critical analysis--even though I stated that it was. It's more of a "first impressions" blog than anything else, considering that I haven't completed the game yet. But, I did give critical analysis where it needed it so you, the reader, can take it into account what it's like. Overall, I give this game a...
4.5 out of 5!
The graphics are very bright and cartoonish, it's profusely entertaining hearing John de Lancie talk about things, the puzzles (for the most part) are very challenging, the music definitely has a Portal vibe to it, and it is definitely more "airtight" than Dark Void, right?
(BOO! HISS! "THAT WAS AWFUL!)
Oh, come on! I had to! It was too perfect! Shut up!
I make good jokes...
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