Warning Shot: Much like the Strogg cyborgs, this game is technically brilliant in its construction, but lacks the creativity, variability, and soul needed to make this an enduring classic. The game will appeal to those who simply want to be guided through a shooting gallery, blazing away at the evil Stroggs. Gamers looking for a fresh storyline (which doesn’t rely heavily upon ideas and innovations found in previous titles) will probably have issues with Quake 4.
Introduction / Deja Vu
In one of the most memorable cinematic intros I can remember in the Quake universe, the game begins with a massive capital ship arriving at the Strogg planet, ready to unload drop ships of marines tasked with the nasty business of putting boots on the ground of the enemy stronghold. Even now I can vividly see my tin can separating from the mother ship, music blaring, beginning a wild descent into a frenetic battle. On the way down my ride is damaged and forced to crash land well away from the landing zone. With music pounding, sounds of battle roar in my headset as the radio chatter conveys a desperate fight… As the player, I am totally immersed into this new world and feel pumped to be a part of this massive assault and an exciting new game! There is just one problem though… This intro is for Quake 2! While Quake 4 (Raven Software) has a VERY similar intro movie, it lacks the spirit of the original I’ve just described.
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Before you call me crazy, pull out your old Quake 2 disc and watch the intro movie. Whether it was intentional or accidental, the Quake 4 movie is almost exactly the same (pan on debris in space, show capital ship, show drop ship, damage drop ship, crash land, begin action). This would be forgivable if this were a remake of the old classic, but we are clearly told that this is taking place AFTER the events of the previous title. So, my first impression of a game I was HIGHLY anticipating is that with a whole universe of Strogg and mankind to draw upon, including a massive conflict on two planets, the best they could come up with was an intro pulled from Q2. I could somewhat forgive this mindset in Id’s Doom 3, as that was clearly meant to exhibit their new graphics engine (we can debate whether they took the right approach). However, now is the time to start using that engine for NEW material, not rehashing the old. Whatever the motivation, this immediately put me on high alert for other shortcuts taken in Quake 4.
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| The intro movie is visually flawless, but lacks the intensity and immersion of the original. |
Green goo dripping from the ceiling was well done, and helped give the game some character. |
Gameplay / Interface
If we paint this game in broad strokes, it uses a pretty standard keyboard layout right out of the box, and other than inverting my mouse I was able to start playing with no tweaks to the controls. As with most First Person Shooters (FPS), you are given a gun, shown the enemy, and sent off to eliminate them. I would be shocked if anyone reading this doesn’t know the fundamentals of the FPS, so suffice it to say that Quake 4 is definitely a well-oiled machine in terms of interface, screen layout, and all other building blocks that can potentially hip check an otherwise decent game. However, if you have a decent game and want to make it great, the key is to take those fundamentals and employ them in a creative and enjoyable fashion. In my opinion this game utterly fails with the former, and is hit or miss with the latter. It really depends on what you expect to get out of this game.
For my part, I expected 2005 technology would be used to carry on the story started back in 1997 and take it in a new and exciting direction. Instead, imagine if someone took the original movie Aliens and decided that it was such a great adventure they were going to do another movie, and it would feature another group of Colonial Marines, but they were going to go to the same planet, and they were going to get stuck there again, and there would be much death and mayhem, essentially mimicking the original plot. For some, such as myself, I would consider it an insult to what is arguably one of the best science fiction action movies on film. For others, the story is secondary to the fact that the Marines are back and kicking ass and taking names. In a similar fashion, if you can overlook plot, Quake 4 might have something for you…and certainly the game shares the "kick ass and take names" bravado of the Colonial Marines in Aliens!
The major flaw in this game is not the code, but the soul. Gone is the immersive Doom 3 atmosphere we found by sifting through emails of dead workers or hunting Dr. Betruger. Gone is the curiosity as to the "why" behind the story. Absent are any challenges or puzzles to further bind you to the simulated world around you. In similar fashion to Doom 3 from which this game’s code was derived, you are given small directives by your superiors, forcing you down an iron-clad path toward a pre-determined goal. Find this. Escort that. Destroy this. Slay the boss. Going back to 1997, you’ll find the exact same mentality in the design of Quake 2 (in the form of a hand-held computer giving you your tasks). I had hoped that with tons of money, a very successful graphics engine, a highly skilled team of programmers, and eight years to think about it, the Quake 4 team could have come up with something a little more "outside the box" or "off the rail" than what I experienced here. Surely someone at Raven has played Far Cry?
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| This Halo-esque vehicle end-run comes across a bit flat. |
Another objective complete. I either found his wrench, turned on the lights, or destroyed an enemy facility. |
One of the new features of this game engine is the vehicles. While some may tout this as something to celebrate, I don’t feel this any bonus at all, considering that vehicles have been around for a long time in other games, and honestly they are done much better elsewhere. Compare the tank in Battlefield 2 to the tank in this game and it seems more like a kayak spinning on ice rather than a powerful workhorse designed to support infantry or punch holes in enemy defenses. Unfortunately, the opportunity to try to make something happen with the tank is squandered, and it is simply used as a prop to carry you deeper into the Strogg world. Imagine the chaos and fun that could have been had if you had to enter a great tank battle between man and machine – a veritable killing field forcing you to get creative, formulate strategy, assemble your squad as support, and survive to fight another day. Instead, I am sent down a narrow path – with music that sounds eerily reminiscent of Halo, terrain and textures that seem vaguely similar to Halo, and even the tank’s shield recharges in a frighteningly similar way to Halo. I was very disappointed at the minimal creativity here, and I actually had to check the box to see if Bungie had some hand in the design (they didn’t). The other "vehicles" are essentially the one-man industrial walkers found in the previously mentioned movie Aliens. The slow and plodding beast throws the otherwise upbeat tempo of the game into neutral while you just try to drag yourself to the next level.
Yet, there are good things worth mentioning. After banging my head in frustration while playing Doom 3, I was very relieved to see the machine gun now comes equipped with a tactical flashlight so you can actually see what you are shooting rather than constantly swapping weapons with your Mag light (maybe someday the Marines of the future will have infrared goggles like soldiers do today?). As a huge fan of the original Q2 railgun I was happy to see it makes an appearance in this game. It now has some very impressive special effects as the depleted uranium rounds rip through the air around you. A solid railgun hit on a minor Strogg minion provides a very satisfying red mist as the enemy is vaporized. The nail gun from the original Quake makes a comeback here, as does the grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and all the standards of the mythos. The uber-weapon Dark Matter gun takes the place of the BFG from Doom 3 in the final slot. As weapons load outs go, Quake 4 is pretty good.
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