A good game that could have been better.
Game play — (7) the game plays like any other first person shooter that is currently available and doesn’t try to improve on it either. There is sadly no melee attack which would be useful when surround by an enemy or if the enemy is running towards you and the weapons that are available are unoriginal and boring. There is the usual pistol, Machine Gun, Shotgun, and explosives like rockets and the last weapon which is a Dark matter gun. A big issue with this game is its darkness, like we saw in DooM 3 the levels are covered in complete darkness and most of the time require the uses of a touch which is only available for the pistol and Machine gun. This isn’t much of a problem to start with when the enemies are easy to kill but when enemies like the Gladiator arrive, guns like the Nail gun and Rockets are needed to be used and with the increasing darkness most of the time the only option is to fire blindly into the dark.
The levels are a huge let down at the end of the game, the reason is because there are three towers which must be climbed up to active the switch to open a portal. But the is no lift straight to top instead it requires trending up corridors until you reach the top, active the switch and come all the way back down, but wait there more once you’ve done it once it has to be repeated twice more at two other towers. The enemies are very well programmed though and if need be will hide behind boxes until it is safe to fire, but most of the time the charge at you while firing bullets all over the place. Most of the enemies are updated versions of ones that were seen in Quake 2 and all act in the same way, but there are still many different original monsters which seen to increase in power and strength the further into the game you progress. The biggest problem of all is the frame rate when a lot is happening. It can be hard to play and very annoying witch sometimes results loss of heath or even death. Loading is also a factor, it can take what seems like forever to load a new level and if you die while playing in the level then the loading starts again. Very poor for a next generation game.
Graphics—(7) the graphics are well presented and look similar to what was seen in DooM 3, which is what stops it from looking like a next generation game. The detail is more like the original Xbox quality then Xbox 360 quality. Up close some of the control panels and walls do look detailed but Backgrounds are the weakest point in this game graphically. The reason is they don’t look in the slightest real, it is more like paintings which have been placed at the back and have no 3D feel to them at all, much like the old FPS of the mid 90’s. There isn’t much difference in level design, as the levels all look the same. If the level is outside then it is just desert and rock, and if it is indoors then it is just steel and metal. Although in the middle of the game there is the waste vent were there is hundreds or dead bodies all over the place it is very well detailed and realistic looking but does go a bit over the top with it and is a little bit sickening and unnecessary But there are some very good lighting effects and shadows, and the characters also look well presented and believable.
Sound— (6) The sound is hard to comment on, there is music in the game but most off the time its droning mumbling noise you can hear in the background and doesn’t offer any kind of atmosphere like the music found in the Resident Evil games. It does pick up some tempo at times when been attacked or a mission is in progress but still doesn’t excite the player.
Sound effects are boring, most of it is bangs, gun fire and machine ticking over but not much more then that.
The voice acting is very good, well recorded and clear.
Multiplayer—The multi player is very good but is random for who you play. It is in the form of are small area where you fight for survival and try to get more kills then anyone else. The is some times a lag in game play which proves unfair if you are killed as a result. The is no split screen play.
Achievements—Medium to Hard, Most of the achievements are for online play and are things like 100 kills for a very small amount of gamer points.
Value—(7) If you are a huge Quake fan then you might be able to see past its many problems but I would strongly recommend you consider renting it first or buy the PC version. At £50 it is a lot of money for a game that falls short almost every time.