More Blogs >>

Great Addition to the Quake Series

» Pros

Singe Player
+Indoor graphics
+Gameplay
+Computer AI

Multiplayer
+Quake 3 OSP-like gameplay, with a twist.
+Decent selection of maps (more to come with user-based creations.)
+Tournament mode
+Updated/New weapons
+New feel (pro for some)

» Cons

Singe Player
-Poor outdoor environments, very outdated.
-Repetitive in some areas

Multiplayer
-Crashes/Bugs (1.0)
-New feel (con for some)

» Review

Quake 4 brings a new feel to the Quake series. After Quake 3 came out with no single player, but amazing multiplayer, Quake 4 is hear to satisfy us with both worlds. The enemy "Strogg" race is pretty much a revival of dead marines, and evil leaders. The Marines try to stop them in Quake 4, so let the rest begin...

Firstly, I'll discuss about the single player. From the intro screen with the dead bodies floating in space, you know you're in for a ride. The game features some great moments, but also its share of bad ones. For one bad moment, you can just take a look at the skybox used for the game. It looks like they pulled something out of Quake 2, and applied it to Quake 4. Not too smart, considering it is now 2005, and 3d skyboxes are now in (Half-Life 2 defined the 3d skybox perfectly in my opinion.) Secondly, environments seem to be bland and just plain ugly. Textures on the ground seem to be rushed and blurry enough to hurt your eyes. It's ok, though, as there is some ground that helped fix this up.

Single player revovles around tightly-packed indoor environments. Let me tell you, for the time, these are the best indoor environments. Just like Doom 3 did, the fear brought into this game is amazing. Indoor environments have little details put into them, and at high detail, it really shines. The Doom 3 Engine is revived and shown how it was meant to be done in these indoor areas. But again, once you step outside, you just get pale from the ugliness.

The bosses were well-made, and Raven should be proud of them. Some of the areas give the plot a twist, you think you've died, but instead you are alive, only to find yourself tied up onto a ride of dismay. Let me tell you, when you get transformed into Strogg, you will never forget the process that it took to get you there. But it is nice to be Strogg and still be able to function for the marines, as you get to move faster and have the ability to strafe jump (if you're a Quake junkie, you should know what that is.)

Nobody buys Quake for the single player, though. It is all about the multiplayer, and Quake 4 does not disappoint. The main gametype played in the Quake series is obviously Deathmatch. Any amount of players, duking it out on maps with weapon pickups and whatnot. Any FPS gamer should know this. The multiplayer gameplay is quite different from previous versions.

One key difference is the use of "Sliding". You can now slide to various areas by holding down your crouch button once you land from a jump at high speed. This affects gameplay greatly, but in a good way (that is, if you like new gameplay additions.) Another change are the portals. Yes, you can still go through them, but so can projectiles (rockets, grenades, etc.) This makes for some interesting techniques, I have seen various teleporter frags that still amaze me to this day. Prediction is a high factor in multiplayer.

If you are a 1v1 junkie, Quake 4 brings in an updated version of the "Tournament" mode. Now instead of just letting 2 players 1v1 at once, up to 32 players can 1v1 at once! The mode actually fits its name now, as it creates a randomly generated bracket for players to play in. This brings for more practice, as everyone gets to play. Very nice addition by ID/Raven.

Overall, I feel this game is a great addition to the Quake line-up. Some Quake 3 players might be dissapointed with the new features, but any gamer should enjoy the fun factor of the game. That is why I am giving the game an 88/100.