Quake 4

The Good
The game feels like a cinematic experience, there are very few cutscenes and most of the important stuff happens ingame.

The Strogg have kick-ass new models and look pretty menacing, although there are a few bad ones.

Level design is pretty good, considering that you spend most of your time indoors.

The game does some neat things with the Doom 3 Engine, like if a rocket or grenade explodes near you, the screen blurs and you won't be able to hear much.

The Bad
Most of the new weapon models don't look too good, although there are some exceptions.

The vehicle parts of the game are boring and are not needed.

The Bottom Line
A great action game, you won't see anything new in this game, but what it does is good.

The Good
The single player story mode started off ok but eventually got pretty boring. This is one of few games I actually gave up on. I quickly got bored with it and decided to just play it online.

The multiplayer deathmatch's aren't as 1/2 as much fun as Half-Life 2. There are some features however that are different from other online multi-player games that almost make the game interesting. For instance I really like the movement in this game. You can actually do a couple of cool things with some practice.

One of cool tactic was crouch surfing, which is when you hit a launch ramp and as you land you hold down crouch. This causes you to go really fast in a crouched position. Very effective tactic that is useful in a crowded area with crossfire everywhere.

Another advanced movement skill was strife jumping. It is when you would run to an edge and as you approach you turn your look to the side and side strife towards the edge. Then as you jump you whip your look (mouse) straight ahead. This causes you 2 soar appr. 10% farther. Doesn't sound like much but there are many situations you can only strife jump from one place to another.

There weren't to many server crashes online but I also noticed there weren't many people either. There were more empty servers than anything. It was nice to see some Quake 3 Arena deathmatch maps though.

The Bad
I really don't like how "cartooney" the ammo in this game was. It would have looked a lot cooler if the ammo looked like ammo, instead of these big bright boxes. At least in the older Quakes it looked like an ammo case.

The Bottom Line
An OK FPS multiplayer game, just don't bother with the story.

The Good
Quake 4 is a great game. Id has collaborated with Raven Software to produce a very engaging FPS. While the story isn't the primary focus of the game some FPS titles have forsaken the story in order to further the shooting ("Black") and it's nice to see one here. Players take on the role of Matthew Kane, who is the supposed mythical Marine who took down the Strogg Commander; The Macron. Kane is now assisting in the invasion of the Strogg homeworld; Stroggos. You'll be delighted at how visceral the shooting is. The Machine Gun in this game is probably the most enjoyable gun I've ever used in a game. It's not the damage it does or the way it looks it is the meaty cracks it emits when you fire it and the way Kane seems to be struggling to hold it still while he is firing. Other weapons in the game are interesting like the Nail Gun which fires projectile nails that burst on impact and the Dark Matter gun which fires little black holes. Enemy AI is passable but it is the enemy design which is the star of the show and the level of detail Id has put into making the Strogg seem like a ruthless, desperate force is fantastic. The Strogg shout orders in their own language or mutter disturbing tidbits of Stroggian dialect. They move like Cyborgs, ducking and rolling in a totally inhuman fashion. Light and Shadow are employed very well in Quake 4 and the soundtrack is top notch mixing over the top, heroic military like tracks with deeply atmospheric tunes that would sound at home in Doom 3. Unlike Doom 3 you have a small squad assisting you most of the time. You have access to medics and tech support who heal you and repair your armor. You want to keep these guys alive. In addition to squads you can also drive tanks and use turrets mounted on the back of trucks. I'm not really a fan of throwing these vehicular combat sections in for the sole purpose of shaking things up but at least they break up the shooting.

The Bad
The first time I was playing Quake 4 a friend of mine came up to me and said "Hey, is this Doom 4?." Because Quake 4 uses Id Tech 4 and Id was obviously happy with the engine as it was you'll find Quake 4 and Doom 3 look almost identical at times. While the way light and shadow works has been refined the games look a little too identical. While the squad based system is a welcome addition it is too simple. You have no control over your squad and if they die they are dead, thats it. Other times Quake 4 places too much significance on your squad. At some points if they die whether by friendly or enemy fire you fail the mission. Overall Quake 4 feels too simplistic. Doom 3 was great as a graphical showcase for a revolutionary engine developed by Id. With other Xbox 360 games like Advanced Warfighter eclipsing Quake 4's atmosphere and graphical prowess you realize that Id Tech 4 was great in Doom 3 but becomes less exemplary as time marches on.

The Bottom Line
Quake 4 is a great game. Although it is dated in almost every aspect it features some of the best plain shooter mechanics you'll find at this time. The inclusion of simple squads, vehicular combat and more expansive environments fail to take emphasis off the dated graphics and game play style that threatens to become boring after a few hours. The story is simple yet satisfying and manages to keep everything moving at a fair pace. Don't come to Quake 4 expecting a revolution in the genre of First Person Shooters but expect a nice, stylised FPS experience that will satisfy you eventually.