Quake IV

[Sonic the Vampire]

Alright, I just finished off Quake 4 on 'hard' (Corporal?) this afternoon, having started it yesterday. A bit on the short end, but not too bad for this kind of straight forward totally linear shooter. I consider Quake 4 to be "The game that Doom 3 should have been," having noticed I had way more fun with allies, acceptable lighting, and a more frantic Quake-paced speed.

Things I liked

- First off I enjoyed the story. Technically there wasn't much story there, but it was presented in such a way that it impressed me and actually managed to keep me motivated.
- The NPCs as well as their voice acting. Quake IV had a solid cast and a decent script, although I was a bit confused as to why a platoon of marines stuck fighting brutal gut-munching aliens on a hostile planet would use the words "Fricken" and "Fubared" instead of just, you know, using more appropriate language.

- **Spoiler** The twist. I really enjoyed watching myself turn into a Strogg, as creepy and horrible as it was. The premise was awesome, although I didn't like the execution, for reasons I list below.



Things I didn't like

- Although the execution was good, the story didn't end up complete, or even tied off. It isn't spoiling much to say that if you didn't enjoy Doom 3's ridiculously short and pointless ending sequence, you will hate Quake 4's, which is, what, about 30 seconds long? Perhaps 45. What is it with these high end games and their endings lately?
- The weapons, aside from the machinegun, just didn't have any punch. Even the railgun sounded and felt weak (I mean, it just was). Enemies rarely flinch when being hit with anything but a rocket or a rail, and even then, it's only for a moment. They'll sit there and take a chest full of explosives and then fly backwards with the final death blow from a blaster. All of the weapons do around the same amount of damage, too. The hyperblaster has no advantage over the machinegun (and even less accuracy), it takes more grenades to kill a creature than shotgun shots, and the mighty BFG replacement feels like it doesn't accomplish jack. It doesn't even detonate on impact!
- The vehicles all felt like the same vehicle. One machinegun with a high rate of fire but low accuracy, and one large weapon that fired slowly and did damage in an area. The halo shield system made me feel invincible, but I didn't even need it as the vehicle segments were all easier than they should have been. Regardless, a walker should not pilot exactly the same with nearly identical firepower to a hover tank.

- **Spoiler** The twist! I enjoyed watching myself turn Strogg, but everything else was disappointing! Where was my gun arm? Where was my ability to communicate with them? Or how about hack or use their computers? Where were the colleagues that should have attacked me on sight? Great, the hug changes, and now you run faster, but there's nothing else that makes you feel like you've changed at all. I was hoping for *something,* anything at all. People don't even make a big deal out of it until you get back on board the ship near the end, and even then, there are only a couple of guys who act even remotely shocked about the whole thing. What a waste of a gimmick.




Those are my thoughts. How about the rest of you? Any of you beat the thing yet, and if you have, did you enjoy it? I think I'll try playing through it again on the normal difficulty just to see how much easier it is. I definitely enjoyed it more than Doom 3, although the gameplay and some of the environments were very similar.

 

[Mr. Satans]

My friends and I aren't going to waste money on Quake IV, hell we didn't even like Quake III: Arena.

However, a game that shows REAL promise is Enemy Territory: Quake Warshttp://www.enemyterritory.com/ -- That game looks BAD ASS (Despite looking like a BF2 mod )

 

[SaiyanPrideXIX]

Is that game out yet?!

 

[Mr. Satans]

Is that game out yet?!

It is coming out in 2006

 

[Dirty]

the mech does look bad ass.... lol

 

[Kama]

I consider Quake 4 to be "The game that Doom 3 should have been," having noticed I had way more fun with allies, acceptable lighting, and a more frantic Quake-paced speed.

I think you're looking at Doom 3 the wrong way then. It's never supposed to have you with allies or being able to see. And it's nice and slow for a reason. All of that is to make you feel isolated and alone. How scary would sometihng be if all your best buds were walking around with you with lights everywhere? A hell of a lot less scary than Doom 3 was.

But to your review! I havn't played Quake since Quake 2, and even then, I didn't even know that it was Quake I was indeed playing. So it's safe to say I don't know much about Quake.

Good review, I might check it out if it's for a console sometime.

 

[|Overlord|]

I'll just have to remove QIV from my "games to buy list" If it's just to simlar to doom3. I might get it anyway though, as when i get a decent gfx card I might go crazy with a lot more games on higher quality and aa and af turned on (and of course, a higher res too).

 

[SaiyanPrideXIX]

If this game is coming out in 2006 how did you play it, Sonic?

 

[Dark Drakan]

If this game is coming out in 2006 how did you play it, Sonic?

He was referring to Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

 

[TeKNiK]

If this game is coming out in 2006 how did you play it, Sonic?

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is coming out in 2006.

Quake 4 is out now.

 

[Smith|]

Heh, I'm just after your spoiler, Sonic. I love the game. It's lots of fun =D.

 

[Sonic the Vampire]

I think you're looking at Doom 3 the wrong way then. It's never supposed to have you with allies or being able to see. And it's nice and slow for a reason. All of that is to make you feel isolated and alone. How scary would sometihng be if all your best buds were walking around with you with lights everywhere? A hell of a lot less scary than Doom 3 was.

Well one major issue I had with Doom 3 is that it started out like a survival-horror game and ended up fast paced with mountains of monsters like the original Doom games. The original doom games were fast paced and filled with monsters, having little to nothing to do with being creepy and suspenseful. My personal point of view is that the original was more entertaining, and Quake 4 pulls it off from the beginning by motivating you to move quickly enough through the game that you don't have time to freak out over the incredibly creepy enviornments or monsters. Allies, when you get them, help increase the pace of the game to drive you forward while moving the story along.

Quake 4 also has consistent lighting throughout most of the game, which is dark but bearable. There are several spots where we reach Doom 3 levels of dark, and you are almost required to use the machinegun (which thank god has a light on it), but generally it's only dark enough to freak you out without stopping the pace of the game.

 

[tolore]

machine gun didn't have a light on it did it?

 

[Sonic the Vampire]

The machinegun in Quake 4 does, as does the pistol. None of the other weapons do, which actually works out in dark cramped areas because you have to decide whether you want to use a less powerful machinegun with a light or try to feel your way with a shotgun.

 

[-JLN-]

I was surprised by this game. I got it hoping it would be good fun, but the more I play it the better it gets. So far it seems like a very polished, fun, action packed old school shooter.
The graphics are nice too, despite having to run it with shadows turned off to get nice frame rates. Can't wait to try it when I picked up a new card.

 

[Xenogias]

Damn, unfortunately I haven't played this. My comp is too weak for Doom3/Quake4/HL2

Well, just the video card. Anyway, about what you said, Boyster. I gotta agree and disagree with what you said about enemie's not flinching when they are hit... because when you think about it, it was like that in Quake 2 (well, with the stronger enemie's, the weak ones would flinch from 1 shot and then they wont flinch again till you shoot them 3-4 more times with the shotty, then again the weaker ones die in 2 buck shots). Considering its a sequal to Quake 2 (the plot is there, if not a sequal, a side story).

I miss Quake, if I do purchase a 360 im definately getting it on console. My online gaming days are over on PC. The Mouse+Keyboard combo is good, its just im fricken tired of upgrading all the damn time, I aint ****ing rich. But I guess if your parents pay for these things or if you have a descent/good job its no problem for you =/

Im goinna wait for GeForce 6800 cards to really drop. And thats goinna take a long time. But I dont care. Meh. I've been thinking about going back to Quake 1 anyway. Revive my old clan (Quakes Best Warriors).