somewhat disappointing.
ok, on the story side of things, Quake 4 does well at continuing where 2 left off.
But thats it............ visually, this might as well have been titled Quake 4: Doom 3 part 2, as I felt like I was back wandering the same halls layed out in Doom 3.
Yes, I know Q4 was made with the same engine but in all seriousness, Raven could have done MUCH more to seperate it from D3.
Gameplay was your standard FPS fare, Q4 did nothing to set any new standards. I felt that I was pretty much set on a track (like the Tram section heh heh) and not allowed to deviate in any way. I'll admit that Farcry spoiled me in this respect, but it doesn't change the fact that I felt like I was being led around by the nose.
Now to the technical aspects of the game.
1: who's brain cramp was it that led to the idea of players NOT being able to turn down, or kill altogether, the music track?!
don't get me wrong, I understand that some players like to listen to the game music while playing......... but for those of us who don't.........come on!
There was ONE volume level adjustment and it was for the MAIN volume, so if you turn IT down...... you turn down ALL the sound........piss poor coding guys!
the reason I bring this up was because the music would kick in and become really dramatic at the worst times, I.E. a character is talking to you and giving orders......... that character is drowned out by the music, so you have to guess at what you're to do by whatever little info to DID get.
2: controller option............. I should say LACK of such.
when I play FPS's I use the ****** Nostromo N52 instead of my keyboard, guess what.......... that didn't happen. I had NO way to map the keys on my N52 to the game, Hell Q4 wouldn't even recognize it.
3: Multiplayer. this was a minor disappointment. I say minor in that the folks here at gamespot DID alert me to the fact that it wasn't very good.
the maps I played in felt cramped and over crowded, the actual join up was slow and difficult, all in all I'd have to say that Halo multiplayer is the better deal.
4: Play time, heh, I bought the game on friday and finished it 2 days later on sunday. I did not play Q4 fo very long each day, maybe 2 -3 hours.
WHAT A JOKE! I wouldn't complain if there was a -reason- to play Q4 again, but after you play it once, you've pretty much seen everything (again Farcry spoiled me on this) .
I paid $30 + tax for Q4 (got it on sale), and I feel like I got ripped off.
I should have gone with my gut and ignored it until it hit the $10 mark.