Quake 4 (PC DVD)

 

 

Create your own review

To sum up the essence of Quake 4 in a sentence: Quake 2 single player plus Quake 3 multiplayer plus Doom 3 graphics. That is to say the game features a fairly straightforward, you might even say oldschool campaign with the emphasis on moving from point a to point b while killing enemy after enemy. And while it lacks the uniqueness and variety gamers are increasingly demanding from their games, especially in the overcrowded FPS genre, this actually works to its advantage in many ways as, while it feels a little like a flashback to 1997, it gives the game a pretty refreshing feel, especially if you missed out on Quake 2.

The game follows on directly from Quake 2 with references to ‘some soldier taking down the Strogg leader’, allowing for a fullscale military invasion of Stroggos. You’ll immediately notice two things: firstly this game looks absolutely beautiful; the enhanced Doom 3 engine looks fantastic, the environments are delicious and the character models look much better – the whole plastic looking faces are gone, and secondly, the game starts in an almost painfully cliché way as you’re separated from your squad, forced to go it alone: but that quickly changes as you find yourself surrounded by fellow soldiers, sometimes fighting alongside them. It’s nowhere near as expansive as, say, Call of Duty 2 – but it does detract from the one man army feel FPS games tend to have. The outdoor sections also add to the feeling that you’re fighting a war as droids and tanks roll past to the chorus of machinegun fire.

The combat is bread and butter FPS stuff, enemies jumping from around corners with the classic Strogg ‘gyanchin’ type sounds, which I translate mostly as ‘Good day sir, might I interest you in a spot of DEATH!’ – then either shooting at you or charging in close to melee. You have no melee abilities yourself, which both forces you to keep your distance from the enemy and perhaps conjures fond memories of your pre-Halo days. The weapons available are pretty much the same as Quake 2 with a few additions – there’s a neat nailgun, a very fun-to-use lightning gun and a few other additions. I found myself thinking there were too many weapons in the game – and since only the blaster and machine gun have an attached torch, you’ll find you use the machine gun for most of the game anyway. But at least with so many weapons available (about 12), everyone will find a favourite in there.

To be blunt, absolutely nothing sets this game apart from the crowd, there’s nothing special – no neat features, nothing particular about this game – there’s no slow motion, no amazingly advanced artificial intelligence (the enemies hop from side to side, forcing you to adjust your aiming occasionally but that’s about as good as they get) and no neat set pieces or scripted events which are really memorable. But what Quake 4 does, and does excellently, is offers a no questions asked straight-forward killfest. Compared to recent entries into the FPS genre, ranging from last year’s FarCry and Half Life 2 to this year’s FEAR and Call of Duty 2, this game is bland and uneventful, linear and mainstream. But games don’t have to revolutionise the genre to be good games, and games don’t have to pass a two hundred point list of credentials to qualify as worth playing – Quake 4 is fast paced action with fun combat and top-class visuals. And while certainly not as good as the abovementioned games – it is nevertheless a fine addition to any games library and worth playing through.

The game mostly takes place indoors and looks absolutely amazing – the Strogg structures look great, and as you stalk through processing plants where human corpses hang on hooks, or power facilities where limbless, headless corpses have been integrated into power production, you’ll learn to hate the Strogg. Being a fusion of technology and biology, the Strogg buildings often have strange organs merged into the very structures, pulsating and making ominous moaning sounds when shot at. It adds an incredibly creepy atmosphere to the game – and although you’ll use your machinegun-mounted torch for most of the game, it’s when you turn it off and let the environmental lighting take over that the game really becomes something special.

The outdoor areas, which are thankfully few and far between, are bland and it’s clear the doom 3 engine is made for indoor environments. There are also a few vehicle moments, but they’re poorly implemented and nowhere near as exciting as those found in Half Life 2, or Escape from Butcher Bay, though they are pretty fast paced and one vehicle level features a very neat giant robot-spider boss.

The single player campaign lasts around eight hours, split down into around thirty levels each lasting about fifteen minutes each, meaning you can play for very small periods of time while feeling as though you’ve accomplished something – which may make the game stretch out and feel a lot longer than it actually is. The multiplayer plays exactly like Quake 3 did – but the player limit is sixteen rather than thirty two, and of course it looks a lot better.

The bottom line with Quake 4 is that it’s a game which offers a solid but straightforward single player experience and – if it’s your type of thing – a solid multiplayer experience. While the game is by no means essential, nor even highly recommended – it is worth a play and a decent addition to anyone’s games library.

If you are a FPS fan like me, then this game is a must! More or less from the first door you enter its action packed, all the way to the end. I only played Quake 2 as I am more of a doom fan, but I was still a little concerned how they were going to continue the feel of Quake on a new state of the art graphics engine. well they did better then I could have imagined, it feels Quake-ish and the sounds are up-to-date, but still feels Quakes too!
The graphics are superb and even though the doom 3 engine is very detailed, it feels as if Quake 4 has much more detail and depth then Doom 3 even had. The environments are all slightly different, so if people are worried about the repetitiveness that Doom3 environments slightly had, then no worries here. Though do remember that you are on the Strong home planet and so all levels are going to feel Strog-ish....naturally!! The only tweak I had to do with this game was get a community made patch that made the bodies stay. I don't like it when bodies disappear in games so quickly. Ok I did this with Doom 3 too, but those demons evaporated in fire and could get away with it, but Quake 4 use a matrix type style disintegrate bodies after they die style and I personally thought it looks pants. Not only that, but unlike Doom 3, the enemies in Quake 4 charge at you all at once and there are many many more of them, so if you sit by a corner and take cover, shooting all that's runs around the corner, you end up with a lot of Strong bodies......it really does show how much you are killing and adds to the "its war" effect. Talking about the war, the invasion on the Strong home planet, really does feel like its happening. Air craft are being shot down, explosions everywhere, damaged buildings, waves of enemy attacks, tanks, walkers, turrets, everything you expect to be in a massive war zone is here. Including the bodies of both Strong and marines scattered everywhere.
PLOT SPOLIER - Many know already that after running about as a marine you eventually get captured and turned into a Strog. The process is not pleasant, it almost made my stomach turn! Having your legs cut of by a crude rip saw and implants welded onto you etc Though just before the Strog machines can activate your brain implants to make your mind fully Strong you get saved just in time. This is were the story gets interesting!!
Once a Strog you are the last hope of winning the war, you are used bit like a tool by the marines in their plot to win. Being strong gives you many advantages, stronger, faster, can pass through Strog defenses etc. I found my self fighting differently, I was not afraid to simply charge in and splatter anything that gets in my way, taking revenge on the Strog for what they did to me!!

The game play is fairly long, but again, so action packed!! I have played the game about three times now and enjoyed the experience every time. Music is good too that kicks in from time to time. You are not always alone and are helped by many different marines along the way. The strog are just brutal, sick, war machines and its portrayed very well in the game.....you just hate the Strog....their not just a target to shoot at like many games. Ok, this this review is long enough now, so go buy this game, you cant regret it!!

I couldn't put this game down until I had completed it. If you have played Doom 3, Half Life 2 etc then this is a wise purchase!! The graphics are amazing and so is the game play overall (Some levels are annoying in the fact you have to travel back on yourself). Blast your way through the levels working by yourself, with AI team members, or take control of vehicles. I found the game to be fairly challenging on normal. If you are an experienced FPS player you may want to start on a higher setting. Couldn't run the game on full as very high quality render settings require video card with 512MB. The graphics are amazing on high with everything else on full so you wont miss out on too much. I'm running P4 3.6Ghz, 1Gb Ram, Sapphire x850xt.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 50 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Clearly centred towards Single Player campaign
This is a great game. The graphics are amazing, the weapons are excellent (as are the mods which you recieve to weapons in-game) and I love fighting beside my AI team. Read more

Published 14 months ago by Arun

4.0 out of 5 stars Far better than I expected (single player review only!)
So I picked this game up for a pittance due to morbid curiosity after reading widely-ranged website reviews and seeing it slammed on message boards. Read more

Published 19 months ago by P. Saltfleet

1.0 out of 5 stars ultimately ... boring
I'm not an hugely experienced gamer, but even I found this game to be a linear, unthinking, spoonfeeding lump of game. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Hambletta-Maud

3.0 out of 5 stars Carnage
This was my first proper foray into the Quake series and I'm pretty impressed. It has a very Starship Troopers/ Warhammer 40k/ Halo feel with gameplay that's still reminiscient of... Read more

Published on 11 May 2009 by Mr. A. M. Laffey

5.0 out of 5 stars Great game, fun to play and a fantastic multiplayer - just needs more strategy.
Overall, this game is fun to play, satisfying and with a great multiplayer to keep you back for more. Read more

Published on 22 Mar 2009 by Jamie Matthews

3.0 out of 5 stars Quake 4...What's so good?
In order for most video games to continue into a sequel, they must have been good to begin with, then as a result, the sequel must be better or equally as good to the prior... Read more

Published on 17 Dec 2007 by B. Nagle Adamson

2.0 out of 5 stars IS IT REALLY Doom3? A MIXED BAG...
Similar graphics, better maps, updated AI, another set of lame weapons, nice controls, less demons.
When hit, instead of knocking you back, your vision blurs. Read more

Published on 27 Sep 2007 by NeuroSplicer

5.0 out of 5 stars With a remarkable Graphics engine this game takes you through the thrilss and spills of interplanetary war
Overview:
Those who don't know the quake series will have little to fear when entering this game, it is easy to get into and requires little prior knowledge of the series... Read more

Published on 9 April 2007 by Crusader1089

4.0 out of 5 stars Do not argue with me, Quake 4 is the best dumb fun out there.
I have been hooked to the Quake series for a long time now. But for me, Quake 4 is undoubtably the best Quake made in history (Well until Quake Wars will finally arrive). Read more

Published on 8 April 2007 by Owain

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad
A futuristic FPS where you get to shoot alien bad guys and turn the tide in the Human V's Strogg war. Sounds like fun. Read more

Published on 3 April 2007 by Mr. J. Parker

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 50 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Search Listmania!