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==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
===Setting===
===Setting===
''Control'' focuses on the fictional Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a clandestine government agency charged with tracking "paranatural" phenomena occurring globally as a result of Altered World Events (AWEs), intrusions upon ordinary reality shaped by the human [[collective unconscious]]. These manifest as mundane items possessing paranormal energies, either as Objects of Power that can confer those powers to one that binds with it, or Altered Items that warp reality around them. The FBC collect these when found and store and study these within their headquarters, the Oldest Building in New York City. The [[brutalist architecture|brutalist-styled]] building itself is an Altered Item, with seemingly-impossible geometries and ever-shifting layouts, and connections to various [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]]s, including the Astral Plane. There, an entity known as The Board, visually seen as an inverted pyramid, sends cryptic messages to the FBC Director to oversee the agency. At the game's present, the FBC is run by Zachariah Trench, and supported by Head of Research Dr. Casper Darling, his assistance Emily Pope, and security agent Helen Marshall, among others.
''Control'' focuses on the fictional Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a clandestine government agency charged with tracking "paranatural" phenomena occurring globally as a result of Altered World Events (AWEs), intrusions upon ordinary reality shaped by the human [[collective unconscious]]. These manifest as mundane items possessing paranormal energies, either as Objects of Power that can confer those powers to one that binds with it, or Altered Items that warp reality around them. The FBC collect these when found and store and study these within their headquarters, the Oldest Building in New York City. The [[brutalist architecture|brutalist-styled]] building itself is an Altered Item, with seemingly-impossible geometries and ever-shifting layouts, and connections to various [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]]s, including the Astral Plane. There, an entity known as The Board, visually seen as an inverted pyramid, sends cryptic messages to the FBC Director to oversee the agency. At the game's present, the FBC is run by Zachariah Trench, and supported by Head of Research Dr. Casper Darling, Darling's assistant Emily Pope, and security agent Helen Marshall, among others.


Some years before the game's present, a major AWE occurred in the town of Ordinary in the United States. Two children, Jesse and Dylan Faden, discovered an Object of Power, a slide projector that, when certain slides were used, could open portals to other dimensions. Their attempt to use it caused the town's adult population to disappear, Dylan to become psychologically traumatized, and an alien entity to reside in Jesse's mind, which she named Polaris. FDC quickly arrived in Ordinary to secure the slide projector and seized Dylan, but Jesse fled with Polaris' help and has continued to evade the FBC. In the present, Polaris has guided Jesse to the Oldest House to arrive at a precise time.
Some years before the game's present, a major AWE occurred in the town of Ordinary in the United States. Two children, Jesse and Dylan Faden, discovered an Object of Power, a slide projector that, when certain slides were used, could open portals to other dimensions. Their attempt to use it caused the town's adult population to disappear, Dylan to become psychologically traumatized, and an alien entity to reside in Jesse's mind, which she named Polaris. FDC quickly arrived in Ordinary to secure the slide projector and seized Dylan, but Jesse fled with Polaris' help and has continued to evade the FBC. In the present, Polaris has guided Jesse to the Oldest House to arrive at a precise time.

Revision as of 11:20, 3 September 2019

Control
File:D1IOd0BWsAAiX5T.jpg
Developer(s)Remedy Entertainment
Publisher(s)505 Games
Director(s)Mikael Kasurinen
Producer(s)Juha Vainio
Designer(s)Paul Ehreth
Programmer(s)Sean Donnelly
Artist(s)Janne Pulkkinen
Writer(s)
Composer(s)
Platform(s)
Release27 August 2019
Genre(s)Third-person shooter, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Control is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games. The game revolves around the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a secret U.S. government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena which violate the laws of reality. As Jesse Faden, the Bureau's new Director, players explore the Oldest House – the FBC's paranormal New York headquarters – and utilize powerful abilities in order to defeat a deadly enemy known only as the Hiss, which has invaded and corrupted reality. Control was released on 27 August 2019 for Microsoft Windows (via the Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[1]

Gameplay

Like Remedy's previous projects, Control is played from a third-person perspective, and is built using Remedy's proprietary Northlight Engine, which was first used on the company's previous title Quantum Break. As Jesse Faden, players wield the Service Weapon, a supernatural firearm that can be adapted into a variety of different forms with different combat applications.[2] In addition to the Service Weapon, Jesse also possesses a variety of supernatural abilities, including telekinesis, levitation, and the ability to control certain enemies. The Service Weapon and Jesse's abilities both expend Jesse's energy, necessitating a balance in their usage. The Service Weapon can be upgraded throughout the game via a skill tree; in order to gain new powers, players must locate various Objects of Power - ordinary items acted upon by supernatural forces - hidden throughout the Oldest House. Due to the versatility of the game's loadouts, Control's combat system can be customized and balanced to each player's personal preferences.[3] Health in Control does not recharge automatically, and must be picked up from fallen enemies.[4]

Control is set within the Oldest House, a featureless Brutalist skyscraper in New York City, which is referred to in-game as a "Place of Power." The Oldest House's interior is far larger than its exterior, an enormous, constantly shifting supernatural realm that defies the laws of spacetime.[5] Control is built in the Metroidvania format, with a large world map that can be explored at a nonlinear pace, unlike Remedy's previous titles, which were primarily linear. As the player unlocks new abilities and clearance throughout the game, new areas of the Oldest House can be explored, opening various side-quests. Certain areas known as Control Points can be used to fast travel throughout the building after they have been cleared of enemies. A new A.I. system known as the Encounter Director controls interactions with enemies based on the player's level and location in the Oldest House.[6] Enemies in Control are predominantly human agents of the FBC possessed by the Hiss, an otherworldly force. They range from standard humans carrying firearms to heavily mutated variations which possess a variety of superpowers. Some of Jesse's abilities allow her to seize control of enemies' minds temporarily, turning them into her allies, and allowing their abilities to be used for the player's benefit.[7]

Synopsis

Setting

Control focuses on the fictional Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), a clandestine government agency charged with tracking "paranatural" phenomena occurring globally as a result of Altered World Events (AWEs), intrusions upon ordinary reality shaped by the human collective unconscious. These manifest as mundane items possessing paranormal energies, either as Objects of Power that can confer those powers to one that binds with it, or Altered Items that warp reality around them. The FBC collect these when found and store and study these within their headquarters, the Oldest Building in New York City. The brutalist-styled building itself is an Altered Item, with seemingly-impossible geometries and ever-shifting layouts, and connections to various parallel universes, including the Astral Plane. There, an entity known as The Board, visually seen as an inverted pyramid, sends cryptic messages to the FBC Director to oversee the agency. At the game's present, the FBC is run by Zachariah Trench, and supported by Head of Research Dr. Casper Darling, Darling's assistant Emily Pope, and security agent Helen Marshall, among others.

Some years before the game's present, a major AWE occurred in the town of Ordinary in the United States. Two children, Jesse and Dylan Faden, discovered an Object of Power, a slide projector that, when certain slides were used, could open portals to other dimensions. Their attempt to use it caused the town's adult population to disappear, Dylan to become psychologically traumatized, and an alien entity to reside in Jesse's mind, which she named Polaris. FDC quickly arrived in Ordinary to secure the slide projector and seized Dylan, but Jesse fled with Polaris' help and has continued to evade the FBC. In the present, Polaris has guided Jesse to the Oldest House to arrive at a precise time.

Plot

Jesse arrives at the Oldest House as specified by Polaris and enters, finding the building seemingly empty of people. Jesse discovers that the Bureau's previous Director, Zachariah Trench, has apparently committed suicide. Taking his fallen sidearm, Jesse discovers it is an Object of Power - the Service Weapon - and is transported to the Astral Plane, where she completes a ritual and is selected as the new Director by the Board. Jesse emerges from Trench's office and discovers that the Oldest House has been invaded by a hostile force known as the Hiss, which possesses the Bureau's agents and corrupts the building's shifting topography. Jesse uses an Object of Power known as the Hotline to listen to the lingering presence of Trench, who relays that his former management team knows the secrets of the Bureau, and Jesse hopes they may be able to tell her the whereabouts of Dylan.

Jesse aids Emily Pope and other surviving agents of the FBC; Pope notes that the Oldest House is on complete lock-down until the Hiss can be eradicated, but is curious how Jesse managed to enter. Jesse enters the Oldest House's Maintenance Sector and is guided by Ahti, a mysterious and idiosyncratic Finnish janitor, to repair the building's electricity and plumbing to prevent a major meltdown. Jesse then uses a Directorial Override to reopen the other sectors, and enters the Research Sector in search of Head of Operations Helen Marshall, whom she believes knows about Dylan. Jesse aids Marshall in retaking the Research Sector and securing production of HRAs: wearable devices created by Darling that protect their wearer from the effects of the Hiss; Marshall then reveals that Dylan, known to the Bureau as "Prime Candidate 6" or P6, was a candidate for the role of Director due to his special abilities, but after he proved unstable and killed several Bureau agents, he was detained in the Containment Sector. Jesse rushes to the sector to find Dylan, only to learn that he has appeared suddenly in the Executive Sector and been voluntarily contained by the FBC. Dylan tells Jesse that he has embraced the Hiss, which he believes will set him free of the Bureau, and that the slide projector Object of Power from Ordinary is the source of the Hiss. Dylan warns Jesse not to trust Polaris, but Jesse resolves to find and deactivate the slide projector in order to stop the Hiss.

Jesse investigates the Prime Candidate program and learns that both she and Dylan were considered for the role of Director, and that the slide projector is contained in the Research Sector. Ahti gives Jesse a cassette player which enables her to navigate an elaborate maze protecting the slide projector's chamber. In the chamber, Jesse finds the projector missing; she learns that Dr. Darling led several expeditions into the only surviving slide dimension (the other slides having been burned by Jesse years prior), discovering a polyhedron-shaped organism he coined the Hedron, which is the source of the HRA resonance. Jesse discovers that the Hedron is Polaris, who called out to Jesse to save her from the Hiss; however, in spite of Jesse's attempts to rescue it, the Hedron is destroyed by the Hiss. Jesse's mind is nearly invaded as the Hedron resonance falters; however, she is able to rediscover Polaris's essence within her and restore control. Jesse learns that Trench had kept one of the burned slides and was the first to be influenced by the Hiss, which occurred during one of Darling's expeditions; Trench was the one to use the burned slide to let the Hiss into the Oldest House, to destroy what he perceived to be the threat of Hedron's takeover. Jesse finds the slide projector in the Executive Sector and interacts with it, entering the Astral Plane and confronting Dylan, who is attempting to take over the Board through the Hiss. Jesse cleanses Dylan of the Hiss, and he falls into a coma; finally accepting her new role, Jesse resolves to defeat the remaining Hiss in order to restore order to the Bureau.

Development

Control is one of the first games to support new graphics cards with real-time ray tracing. Here, the bottom image, with ray-tracing turned on, shows reflections of lights and other surfaces in the marble floor, compared to the more traditionally rendered version, shown on top.

The game is developed by Remedy Entertainment. Mikael Kasurinen, who has worked on Remedy's previous project, Quantum Break, is the game's director and Sam Lake served as the game's writer and creative director alongside narrative lead Anna Megill.[8][9] Development of the game began before the release of Quantum Break.[10] Previous Remedy games, including Quantum Break, made references to some of Control's story elements, including Altered World Events. Instead of focusing on creating a large and complex story, the game's writers put more emphasis on creating a game world and universe that is rich enough for players to craft their own stories.[10] Another goal for the team was to create a game that has high replayability.[10] Lake assured players that the game will nonetheless feature a strong narrative, one that is "narrowly focused" according to Kasurinen.[11]

In May 2017, Remedy announced that they had partnered with 505 Games to publish the game, then codenamed "P7". 505 provided marketing and publishing support and a fund of €7.75 million to assist the game's development, while Remedy retained the intellectual property rights to Control. In the press release, Remedy revealed that the game will have complex gameplay mechanics and that it will be a "longer term experience" than its previous games.[12] P7 was being worked on by Remedy alongside two other projects.[13] The game was officially revealed at Sony Interactive Entertainment's E3 2018 press conference.[14] It will be Remedy's first game on a Sony platform since 2003's Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.[15] The game's main cast was announced at New York Comic Con in 2018, consisting of various stars from Remedy's previous games. Courtney Hope, who played the character Beth Wilder in Quantum Break, stars as Jesse Faden, while James McCaffrey, known for his roles as the titular character of Max Payne and Thomas Zane in Alan Wake, plays the role of Zachariah Trench. Matthew Porretta, famous for his role as the titular character of Alan Wake, is also featured as the character of Dr. Casper Darling.[16]

Control also represents one of the first major games to be released after the introduction of graphics cards that support real time ray tracing (RTX), and considered the first game with a nearly-full implementation of all possible RTX features.[17] The game also supports more standard rendering techniques suitable for less powerful graphical hardware.

The gathered writings of the fictional SCP Foundation ("Secure, Contain, Protect") website was a major influence on Control. Stories on SCP Foundation's site are based on singular objects with strange paranormal impacts, and as whole, they are narratively linked by being housed in a mysterious seven-story building managed by the fictional SCP Foundation to catalog and study the objects. Control was built atop this, having the various Objects of Power and Altered Items, along with numerous collectable writings about these objects or other stories in line with SCP.[18] The game includes Easter eggs to Alan Wake, which shares similar paranormal themes with Control; one such Easter egg discusses the aftermath of Alan Wake as part of the FBC's case files.[19] The game also includes a voice cameo by Hideo Kojima and his English translator Aki Saito; in one side mission, a recording by Dr. Yoshimi Tokui, voiced by Kojima, relates a dream-like experience in Japanese, with the English translation given by Saito.[20]

Reception

Control received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[21][22][23]

References

  1. ^ Jeff, Cork. "Control Is Coming Out This August". Game Informer. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. ^ Vader, Leo. "Remedy's Control Only Has One Gun. Here's Why It's Awesome". Game Informer. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  3. ^ Shea, Brian. "A Look At Every Supernatural Ability In Remedy's Control". Game Informer.
  4. ^ @@bacon_sandwich (15 March 2019). "I think you'll be happy to learn in Control, player health does not regenerate automatically. It is dropped from enemies as you damage them, and you have decide when to collect it" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Shea, Brian. "Uncovering The Mysteries Of Control's The Oldest House". Game Informer. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. ^ Favis, Elise. "How Control's Gameplay Differs From Past Remedy Games". Game Informer. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  7. ^ Shea, Brian. "A Look At Every Supernatural Ability In Remedy's Control". Game Informer.
  8. ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 5, 2017). "Remedy's Sam Lake on 21 years of game storytelling and transmedia". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Shea, Brian (June 11, 2018). "Remedy Announces Gravity-Bending Shooter, Control". Game Informer. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Purchese, Robert (May 26, 2017). "Remedy on life after Xbox exclusivity". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  11. ^ Crecente, Brian (December 18, 2016). "Why Alan Wake's creators want to make you the storyteller". Polygon. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  12. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (May 3, 2018). "505 Games will publish Remedy Entertainment's new game". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  13. ^ Horti, Samuel (February 18, 2018). "Remedy's upcoming third-person action game, codenamed P7, will be out in 2019". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Russell, Bradley (June 11, 2018). "E3 2018: New Remedy Game Control Announced at Sony Conference". Game Revolution. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  15. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (April 11, 2017). "Remedy eyes PS4 development after 20% revenue rise". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Dwan, Hannah. "Alan Wake and Max Payne's voice actors are going to appear in Remedy's next game, Control". VG24/7. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  17. ^ Walton, Jarred (August 30, 2019). "Control is the best, most complex implementation of ray tracing in a game so far". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  18. ^ Garst, Aron (27 August 2019). "The web's creepiest fictional wiki is now a mind-bending video game". Wired UK. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  19. ^ McKeand, Kirk (August 29, 2019). "Here's the brilliant Alan Wake easter egg in Control and how to find it". VG247. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  20. ^ Good, Owen (August 28, 2019). "Hideo Kojima is in Control, narrating a very weird mission". Polygon. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Control for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Control for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Control for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  24. ^ Makedonski, Brett (August 26, 2019). "Review: Control". Destructoid. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  25. ^ Goroff, Michael (August 26, 2019). "Control review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  26. ^ Reeves, Ben (August 26, 2019). "Control Review – A Heady Power Trip". Game Informer. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  27. ^ Leri, Michael (August 26, 2019). "Control Review - Weirdness, perfected". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  28. ^ Brown, Peter (August 26, 2019). "Control Review - Break On Through To The Other Side". GameSpot. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  29. ^ Loveridge, Sam (August 26, 2019). "Control review: "A game we'll be talking about for generations"". GamesRadar. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  30. ^ Dornbush, Jonathan (August 26, 2019). "Control Review". IGN. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  31. ^ Davenport, James (August 26, 2019). "Control review". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  32. ^ Wise, Josh (August 26, 2019). "Control review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  33. ^ Brown, Peter (August 27, 2019). "A return to form for Remedy Games". GameSpot. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
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