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November 26, 2005 | 11:12 PM PST
by: Chad Mullikin
It’s been quite some time since the world was last graced with a Quake title. and since the series absence the FPS genre has evolved a great deal, with many genre-defining titles such as Halo and Half-Life 2. The Quake series may have been out of the limelight some time, but the online popularity of Quake 3’s multiplayer kept the series in the eyes of the gaming public and each year id software holds an event were gamers from all around the world gather for a massive LAN party. This event is known as QuakeCon.
Can Quake 4 retain its former throne as one the FPS genre's premiere series, or is it just another pretty face in a now-crowded genre?
Gameplay
Starting off where Quake II left off, Quake 4 puts you in the boots of a certified bad ass named Matthew Kane. Kane and his allies, the Rhino Squad, continue the on going war against the Strogg invasion: a deadly race of mutants hell-bent on killing off the human race by ripping them limb from limb.
Luckily for Kane, he has a number of weapons at his disposal in order to take on the invading mutants; weapons that range from a mere plasma pistol to the ever powerful nail gun. Each of the weapons in Quake 4 are upgradeable and well-designed for the game. Later on in the game you will find out that Kane himself has a little more to offer than you typical marine.
Similarities between Quake 4 and id’s own Doom 3 are apparent from the get go. The game is dark, but not quite as dark as Doom 3, plus this time the flashlight is mounted to the gun. You will find yourself creeping around a dark corner many quite a bit in Quake 4 and being attacked by the Strogg as well.
You’ll spend the majority of the game on foot either outside or inside poorly lit rooms, but there are a few instances where you will find yourself piloting vehicles such as a hover tank and a mech. The controls for both vehicles are similar to being on foot, but the feel is drastically different, aswith the hover tank you get the sense that you are hovering and not walking.
Quake 4 of course also includes a multiplayer mode filled with the-now-standard multiplayer game types for FPS games such as capture the flag, deathmatch, and team deathmatch. Playing online is smooth and fast paced, but it really does nothing to set the genre a blaze, but it does the standard stuff very well.
In addition to the campaign and multiplayer modes, Quake 4 also includes a bonus DVD that has a making of feature as well as a playable version of the classic Quake II.
Like any FPS on the Xbox or the 360 the game controls like a champ with the standard control scheme of left analog stick moves your character, right analog moves camera, R trigger is fire, etc. Controls are completely customizable as well so if you don’t like where a button is you can easily map it to another one on the controller. You will also be able to turn the auto aim function on or off.
Be very, very quiet, we are hunting for mutated rabbits
Something that might take some getting used to is the new bumper buttons on the 360 controller which are located right above the regular triggers. In Quake 4, you will find yourself with a plethora of weapons in your inventory and the fasted way to switch between them is with the bumper buttons, simply press the right or left bumper to cycle through the weapons in your inventory, if you are looking for a specific weapon however, it may be best to use the d-pad which will give you a menu with all the weapons.
Graphics
Graphically Quake 4 may not be as pretty as it originally looked when it was first shown a year ago, but that is only because there have been games to surpass that beauty. That said, by no means is Quake 4 an ugly game. In 720p resolution on an HD-TV or standard SDTV, Quake 4 just simply looks good. Beautiful lighting effects, an awesome sci-fi art direction, and the character models all look very life-like and real, sans a few animations here and there.
Well, at least they're horrific semi-monsters in this.
Audio
Immersive is the one word to describe the audio in Quake 4. With Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the game will literally shake your room. You will hear subtle little details such as ship engines in the distance, explosions and gun fire are also in your face intense.
The voice acting on the other hand is merely alright. A few of the characters stand out well, but a few characters have foreign accents that make it hard to understand exactly what they are saying. Lip-syncing isn’t horrible, but it isn’t dead on, but it really doesn’t do anything to hamper the experience. If anything, it gives it more of that Starship Troopers sci-fi epic feel.
Final Word
Quake 4 may not be the cream of the crop when it comes to 360 launch titles, but it is certainly no push over. The only real problem with Quake 4 is the fact that there it does very little to separate itself apart from all the other FPS titles on the market and is somewhat of a run and gun game, which gets rather old quickly. However Quake 4 knows what it is and makes the best out of it, making it one of the best and prettiest run and gun shooters on the market right now.
Can Quake 4 retain its former throne as one the FPS genre's premiere series, or is it just another pretty face in a now-crowded genre?
Gameplay
Starting off where Quake II left off, Quake 4 puts you in the boots of a certified bad ass named Matthew Kane. Kane and his allies, the Rhino Squad, continue the on going war against the Strogg invasion: a deadly race of mutants hell-bent on killing off the human race by ripping them limb from limb.
Luckily for Kane, he has a number of weapons at his disposal in order to take on the invading mutants; weapons that range from a mere plasma pistol to the ever powerful nail gun. Each of the weapons in Quake 4 are upgradeable and well-designed for the game. Later on in the game you will find out that Kane himself has a little more to offer than you typical marine.
Similarities between Quake 4 and id’s own Doom 3 are apparent from the get go. The game is dark, but not quite as dark as Doom 3, plus this time the flashlight is mounted to the gun. You will find yourself creeping around a dark corner many quite a bit in Quake 4 and being attacked by the Strogg as well.
You’ll spend the majority of the game on foot either outside or inside poorly lit rooms, but there are a few instances where you will find yourself piloting vehicles such as a hover tank and a mech. The controls for both vehicles are similar to being on foot, but the feel is drastically different, aswith the hover tank you get the sense that you are hovering and not walking.
Quake 4 of course also includes a multiplayer mode filled with the-now-standard multiplayer game types for FPS games such as capture the flag, deathmatch, and team deathmatch. Playing online is smooth and fast paced, but it really does nothing to set the genre a blaze, but it does the standard stuff very well.
In addition to the campaign and multiplayer modes, Quake 4 also includes a bonus DVD that has a making of feature as well as a playable version of the classic Quake II.
Like any FPS on the Xbox or the 360 the game controls like a champ with the standard control scheme of left analog stick moves your character, right analog moves camera, R trigger is fire, etc. Controls are completely customizable as well so if you don’t like where a button is you can easily map it to another one on the controller. You will also be able to turn the auto aim function on or off.
Be very, very quiet, we are hunting for mutated rabbits
Something that might take some getting used to is the new bumper buttons on the 360 controller which are located right above the regular triggers. In Quake 4, you will find yourself with a plethora of weapons in your inventory and the fasted way to switch between them is with the bumper buttons, simply press the right or left bumper to cycle through the weapons in your inventory, if you are looking for a specific weapon however, it may be best to use the d-pad which will give you a menu with all the weapons.
Graphics
Graphically Quake 4 may not be as pretty as it originally looked when it was first shown a year ago, but that is only because there have been games to surpass that beauty. That said, by no means is Quake 4 an ugly game. In 720p resolution on an HD-TV or standard SDTV, Quake 4 just simply looks good. Beautiful lighting effects, an awesome sci-fi art direction, and the character models all look very life-like and real, sans a few animations here and there.
Well, at least they're horrific semi-monsters in this.
Audio
Immersive is the one word to describe the audio in Quake 4. With Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the game will literally shake your room. You will hear subtle little details such as ship engines in the distance, explosions and gun fire are also in your face intense.
The voice acting on the other hand is merely alright. A few of the characters stand out well, but a few characters have foreign accents that make it hard to understand exactly what they are saying. Lip-syncing isn’t horrible, but it isn’t dead on, but it really doesn’t do anything to hamper the experience. If anything, it gives it more of that Starship Troopers sci-fi epic feel.
Final Word
Quake 4 may not be the cream of the crop when it comes to 360 launch titles, but it is certainly no push over. The only real problem with Quake 4 is the fact that there it does very little to separate itself apart from all the other FPS titles on the market and is somewhat of a run and gun game, which gets rather old quickly. However Quake 4 knows what it is and makes the best out of it, making it one of the best and prettiest run and gun shooters on the market right now.
February 8, 2010
