Blood and guts smatters your face as you run headlong through a teeth-shaking explosion, only to be presented with a mounting pile of Marine soldiers - their inky red blood seeping into every nook and cranny of the rusty control center. This is the cinematic-like effect Quake 4 throws at you non-stop during this gory adventure, from the opening scene to the fantastic climax. Combine the gore of Doom 3, the speed of Unreal Championship and a blockbuster movie and you end up with ID Softwares greatest game yet.
Quake 4 certainly sets a benchmark for the upcoming horde of Xbox 360 shooters that are just around the corner, in terms of both gameplay and graphical prowess. The explosions look real, the various monsters and creatures look fantastic and the weapons are slightly outrageous. It ticks all of the basic FPS boxes then, but Quake 4 is a lot more involved and involving then it lets on.
The storyline is like a vice - it grips you and doesn't let go until the very end. The Marine struggle against the half-mechanical Strogg is showcased in a fantastic way, by following the story of the silent terminator-like Matthew Kane, whose combat experience against the Strogg earned him a place in an assault against a massive Strogg held planet named Stroggos along with his team, Rhino Squad. You are thrown straight into the thick of the action, and get a taste of what's to come from the initial carnage of the Marine landing. Bodies lie on the ground, bullets and missiles wizz past your head and massive mechanical behemoths tumble around the battlefield.
Finding your way around each detailed level isn't a chore though. Raven and ID Software have made navigating the terrain simplistic, as all good FPS games should be. Every level follows a very linear route, with the odd section of backtracking through previously visited locations. As warned in the helpful loading screen tips however, things are not always as you left them. Strogg erupt from the walls, floor and ceiling throughout the game. Raven Software really hasn't left a stone unturned when it comes to surprising the player in any way possible.
Though most of the game is just blasting holes through massive Strogg armies, there are some quieter sections too, where just a single Strogg can take you easily be surprise. You can go a few minutes encountering nothing as you traverse the Strogg environment, most of which is set indoors in dark rooms and corridors. Then, all of a sudden and with no warning whatsoever, a group of Strogg could crash through the armour plating on the wall or erupt from the floor. It is this type of gameplay thrown in with the constant run 'n gun which keeps the player on their toes.
As you explore the Stroggos planet, the enemy raise the bar and introduce a new kind of enemy to you - sometimes accompinied by a short cinematic sequence. Bosses are also featured in the adventure, such as the 40-foot tall Tower Guardian or the even bigger Makkron.
Matthew Kane is introduced to numerous gore creating weapons throughout his campaign on Stroggos, ranging from the weak Blaster Pistol to the Strogg splattering Dark Matter Gun. There are a healthy choice of firearms to choose from, all with different effects and situations for them to be used in.
The small selection of vehicles to pilot are as destructive as they come, ranging from the Hover Tank, to the Strogg Spider Walker, to the Marine Battlemech. Recharging shields and unlimited ammo are more than enough to dominate the battlefield with, especially when you are always outnumbered and outgunned.
The Multiplayer part of Quake 4 is impressive, but doesn't have the same effect as the previous Quake installments. It doesn't try anything new, but just sticks with the original recipe that made the Quake series so fun to begin with - big guns, powerups, teleporters and smatterings of gore.
The games are matchmade, meaning that you are put into a random room with random players, much like Halo 2. The options for Multiplayer are far from Perfect Dark Zeros customisable features, but it does offer the very bare bones, such as character model. You can frag other players as various characters from the storyline such as Kane, Marines, Strogg or even Kane as a Strogg Marine - linking in with the shocking story twist halfway through the game.
Quake 4 also comes with unlockable Achievements, as does most Xbox 360 games. The 1000 points are earnt by completing various tasks such as completing the story mode on different modes, keeping Marines alive through fights, using 1 weapon for a whole level, completing a level without taking a hit and by killing hundreds of other players online. There are achievements for every kind of FPS player here.
So Quake 4 stays loyal to its great heritage, but no game can be completely perfect. The graphics do not stand up to the surperb smooth effects of Perfect Dark Zero for example, and the small selection of alien-busting vehicles feel unresponsive and slugglish. The enemies aren'y particularly smart either, only using some of the cover available and dodging at seeminlgy random intervals.
The multiplayer also seems slightly unbalanced, with fast weapons easily overpowering the easily dodgeable slower ones. In many cases, the basic Machinegun is actually stunningly better than the famous Rocket Launcher.
However, despite these flaws, ID Software and Ravens creation easily pushes them aside. You hardly notice these little things when you are actually playing Quake 4, getting involved in the storyline and blasting your way through the levels and the hundreds of Strogg that stand in the way.
Overall score: 8 / 10
Summary: A very impressive game, that enthralls the reader with its complex storyline and PC-like mulitplayer fragging.
More details
Originality
Not bad - some good ideas
Sound
Excellent - makes full use of my speakers
Longevity/Expected Longevity
few months
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