Breakdown (video game)
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco, Electronic Arts |
| Designer(s) | Masataka Shimono |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release date |  January 29, 2004 March 16, 2004 June 18, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | First-person action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Mature |
| Media | DVD-ROM |
| Input methods | Gamepad |
Breakdown (working title: Project Breakdown) is a first-person shooting/fighting game released by Namco in 2004 for the Microsoft Xbox console. Views on the game are mixed, as it sold unspectacularly, and was criticized for the flawed gameplay mechanics. Despite the shortcomings, it received critical acclaim for using the first-person perspective to achieve a higher level of emergence and a deeper method of storytelling than most games.
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[edit] Gameplay
Breakdown is unique in that it’s technically categorized as a first-person shooter, but integrates the experiences of a fighting game into the experience as well as using auto-lock-on for shooting at enemies. The viewpoint never leaves the perspective of the player, and interaction with objects, reloading of guns, and the impact of hitting the floor are all seen through this first-person perspective. Unlike other first-person shooters, interaction with objects is also all done in a realistic manner in Breakdown; ammunition is picked up by actually looking down and grabbing it with the arm, instead of automatically collecting it by walking over it, similarly doors are opened by grabbing the handle, key cards used by wiping them over a scanner, ladders by using the arms for climbing and so on. Even health packs are in the forms of energy bars, sodas and hamburgers, which the player must eat, all in first person.
[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
An enormous underground complex was discovered by humans and called Site Zero. Within Site Zero was an area called Sanctuary, filled with many varieties of vegetation, and above it in a simulated sky an area called "Silos" that contained what appeared to be crystalline rockets. Site Zero was speculated to be built by aliens many years ago, but has come under control of a being known as Nexus, who is able to control an army of T'lan humanoid warriors that are resistant to normal firepower. A large research facility was built as a cover for Terminus 4, the key research area for understanding and using what was found in Site Zero. While there have been scrimmages between humans and Nexus within Site Zero, Nexus has not, until a fateful day, made any direct attack against the human race. The game, which involves time travel, takes place at two unspecific near-future points, separated by fifteen years, with the first time frame being the point where Nexus begins to make its move against humanity.
Derrick Cole, an ex-marine, is a test subject in the Alpha Project which is to inject T'langen, a fluid extracted from defeated T'lan warriors, into humans to attempt to create human supersoldiers. The effects of the T'langen injection kill all the subjects but Derrick, but give him amnesia. Waking up in a training area of the research facility, a young lady, Alex Hendrickson, appears out of thin air and rescues him from sudden marine and T'lan attacks that are occurring all over the building. Alex appears to know Derrick quite well, but Derrick has no idea of whom she is. As Alex leads Derrick to safety with abilities beyond that of a normal human, they encounter an incredibly strong T'lan warrior named Solus who appears to be after Derrick due to his T'langen injections. Derrick's body also undergoes significant transformations; his arms start to glow and he gains incredible power to defeat the shields of the T'lan. However, these changes are also accompanied by strange visions of cats and desert landscapes. Narrowly avoiding the destruction of the helicopter they would escape in, the two end up in the Terminus 4 building. Alex remembers of a Dr. Glen Ogawa who would help them escape the carnage left between the marines and T'lan attacks. Along the way, they meet up with Dr. Stefania Wojinski who researches into memories but appears to be stealing data from Terminus 4 for her own purposes, and Lt. Gianni de Luca, leader of a marine squad that is headed for Site Zero for a special operation. They also stumble upon the Beta Project, where young children are being injected with T'langen, including one girl that looks very much like a young Alex. They finally encounter Dr. Ogawa, who explains how Nexus is now actively sending T'lan warriors to the surface and appears to be launching a major offensive against humans. After giving Derrick a booster shot of T'langen, Dr. Ogawa explains to the two how to get to Site Zero and that they must stop whatever Nexus is doing.
Derrick and Alex eventually reach the large underground cavern and make their way to the elevator to the Silos area. They learn that Dr. Wojinski is down in Site Zero as well with the data she stole, and that a nuclear strike against Nexus cannot commence until that data is obtained. As they progress, Solus appears and is able to kidnap Alex from Derrick, taunting him to fight for her later. Derrick eventually gets to the elevator to find Dr. Wojinski there, but only moments before she is shot dead. Unable to use the elevator, Derrick slowly climbs through the Silos and arrives too late to help Lt. Gianni's team protect and activate a jamming device that would prevent the launching of the crystal rockets. As Derrick watches, the rockets launch and send T'lan warriors all around the world, killing anything in their way. Realizing that he can now only save Alex before the nuclear strike, he encounters and attempts to fight Solus, but fails. Alex, in trying to protect Derrick, is killed, and Solus is about to kill Derrick with a large burst of power when the nuclear strike hits, causing Derrick to travel about 15 years into the future.
In the future controlled by Nexus and the T'lan, Derrick is found harmed and alive, but lacking any memories of his past. The last few scientists of Terminus 4 use Dr. Wojinski's Memscan machine to force Derek to relive the last several hours right before he was thrown into the future, which start right with the appears of Alex. He learns from Dr. Ogawa that due to the time travel, he will suffer the Pendulum Effect that will cause him to be thrown back into the past. However, with Derrick's relived memories, and a further booster shoot of T'langen from Dr. Ogawa, that he can exploit the Pendulum Effect and change the past, preventing the launching of the T'lan rockets. Alex, the grown up girl from the Beta Project, is also present, and though she doesn't know Derrick initially, immediately jumps into the Pendulum Effect when it occurs to help him fix the past. Unfortunately, the two become separated in transit, and the younger Alex ends up right at the start of Derrick's memories, saving him from the training facility.
Derrick ends up within Site Zero, and is able to save Dr. Wojinski from her death. She, in turn, is able to activate the elevator to the Silos for Derrick. Derrick is able to make it to Lt. Gianni in time to defeat a wave of T'lan attackers, and to activate the jammer, though this only manages to destroy the current rockets as new ones are grown within its place. Derrick heads to reface Solus, defeating him this time and saving Alex, and is able to break through Nexus' final defenses to destroy the threat once and for all. As they escape the collapsing Site Zero, Alex undergoes her own Pendulum Effect to return her to the future. The player can opt to have Derrick stay behind or traveling with Alex to help save the T'lan-controlled future.
[edit] Main characters
- Derrick Cole: He awakens in a strange research facility with no memories of his past and learns his name from a researcher working at the lab. It appears that he volunteered to the experiments and is likely an ex-marine. Derrick has super-human abilities that enable him to break through the T'lan Warriors' shields.
- Alex Hendrickson: A mysterious woman who seems to know Derrick. She has amazing physical capabilities and can fight with guns and knives, one knife which allows her to break through the T'lan's shields. A very strong willed woman, she never gives up easily.
- Glen Ogawa: A Japanese-American professor of medicine. He was conducting biological research in Australia but was banished from the medical community because he created a human clone. He is now involved in a highly classified project.
- Stefania Wojinski: A visiting professor from Poland who is a specialist in human memory mechanisms. She has not given up on her years of research although her recent project was cancelled, apparently titled 'Project Breakdown'.
- First Lieutenant Gianni de Luca: An Italian-American United States Marine. He leads an elite unit of soldiers that specialize in top secret missions. Gianni has a foul mouth, but is a good person with a passionate personality that keeps his cool at critical moments.
