Breakdown (video game)

Breakdown (ブレイクダウン, Bureikudaun) is a 2004 action-adventure game for the Xbox, developed and published by Namco. It received mixed reviews from critics, and in 2018, Microsoft announced it would be playable on the Xbox One via backwards compatibility.

The game is a first-person action title that incorporates fighting game elements and uses auto-lock for shooting enemies. The perspective never leaves the player’s view, and object interaction is realistic: ammunition is picked up by looking down and grabbing it, doors are opened by their handles, key cards are swiped over scanners, and ladders are climbed using the character’s arms. Health and energy are restored by consuming energy bars, hamburgers, and sodas.

The story begins in Japan, where an underground complex called Site Zero has been discovered. It was built by unknown forces and is controlled by a being named Nexus. A research facility studies the complex and its inhabitants, the T’lan, who seem invincible. Minor skirmishes have occurred between humans and the T’lan. The protagonist, Derrick Cole, has amnesia caused by an injection of T’langen, a fluid from Site Zero meant to create supersoldiers. He wakes in a recovery facility near Site Zero as war breaks out between humans and Nexus. A mysterious woman, Alex Hendrickson, rescues him and seems to know him, but they are separated by an earthquake during a fight with T’lan warriors. Derrick’s new abilities let him break through T’lan energy shields, similar to Alex. They reunite and encounter Solus, a human-like T’lan who easily defeats them both.

Derrick and Alex learn of an evacuation helicopter on the roof, but the U.S. military destroys it. They escape to the Terminus 4 research facility, where they find the Beta Project test subjects—children slowly injected with T’langen to gain abilities like Derrick’s. Alex recognizes one named Ernest. They meet neurologist Stefania Wojinski, whose project funding has been cut, and then Chief Researcher Glen Ogawa. Glen explains that Nexus plans a massive attack on humanity and gives Derrick an “accelerator” injection, boosting his powers. Derrick and Alex head to Site Zero but are separated again. Derrick meets USMC Lieutenant Gianni deLuca, whose squad is equipped with anti-T’lan lasers. Gianni reveals Nexus plans to deploy T’lan troops worldwide using crystal rockets, and his mission is to stop them.