Quake 4 is an attempt to blend the old with the new, but this otherwise enjoyable game is plagued with small annoyances.
Quake 4 picks up where Quake 2 left off. The battle between humans and the strogg seems to be within its closing chapters, and as Corporal Matthew Kane, it is your task to help put an end to the conflict once and for all. The fight will not be easy, as indicated by the opening scenes. Your ship is wrecked far from your intended drop zone, squads are scattered, and dead and injured soldiers fill your view in nearly every direction. You eventually regroup with your squad and get back to the task of taking the fight to the strogg, at which point the plot continues to get thicker and more intense.
As thick as the story seems from the beginning, the action is actually rather straight-forward and simple, usually following the "get from point-A to point-B while blasting everything in between" format. Though definitely done before, this layout actually provides a very entertaining playground, complete with weapons that you'll enjoy firing and an enemy force that you'll love killing.
The control scheme is completely yours to rework, and you will feel comfortable with them almost right away. The sound is also well done. Guns all blaze with an original bite, the music score adds tension where it is needed, and the strogg all fall with a satisfying moan.
Of course, the real highlight of the newest Quake game is it's graphics. This time around, developers chose to use the same engine that made Doom 3 sparkle.
As a side note, for those who haven't played Doom 3 before, the game suffered from an intense case of repetitiveness. Players were annoyed with the rarely changing environment consisting of futuristic, metal plated walls that created corridor after dark corridor.
The corridors make a (shining?) return in Quake 4, especially in the later levels of the game. You will likely find yourself impatiently sighing at the idea of going through level after level of poorly lit hallways and facilities, constantly searching for the next set of unlocked doors. Luckily, the relentless enemy onslaught will keep you awake and on the edge of your seat, even if the environment is not capable of doing so.
To the game's credit, there were attempts made to make the gameplay seem fresh. Several vehicle oriented levels give you the ability to make big booms with big guns, and there is even a segment of a level in which you must survive by making timed moves from conveyor belt to conveyor belt while in a strogg facility.
Of course, the single player game was intended to be only a portion of the value found in Quake 4. The multiplayer portion of the game was created with confidence that the massive Quake community would make one giant switch to the newest installment. However, it is incredibly obvious that this is not the case from the moment that you view the list of available online servers. Only a few hundred servers are available to play on, and those existing servers generally host only a handful of players, at best. The multiplayer community has not taken in Quake 4 with open arms, and with good reason. The multiplayer game only updates the graphics and feel of the Quake 3 game, which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, considering the availability to continue playing Quake 3 on modern systems as well as the more innovative multiplayer modes found in more recent games, the online aspect of Quake 4 seems hardly worth more than an occasional 15 minute fling.
All things being considered, the good does outweigh the bad. As long as you're not expecting a constantly fresh feel in either the single player or multiplayer modes, you're going to enjoy this game. Its gameplay provides an intense, no B.S. experience at bare minimum, and at a bargain price on most retail shelves, first person fans will find it worth every last penny.
-Merc Moses