Quake 4

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on August 23, 2005

First Impressions: Kicking ugly Strogg butt never looked so good.

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Forgive me if there are a lot of typos in this preview, because I am slobbering all over my keyboard as I write this. And I'm not the only one; the mere mention of the word УQuakeФ causes an instant Pavlovian drool response among FPS gamers around the world, so expect an epidemic of drenched keyboards as the long anticipated release date of Quake IV comes ever closer.

For those cynics out there who are scoffing, УBig deal. Another sequel to an old franchise,Ф you probably don't appreciate that we're talking about an id Software sequel here Ц and yes, that makes all the difference in the world. With each title it releases, id has consistently refined and redefined the FPS genre and the gaming industry as a whole with John Carmack's genius in developing next-generation graphics engines and exciting games. With last year's stunning Doom 3, id proved they still have what it takes to shake up the industry Ц not bad for a tiny development house with only about two dozen employees.

But with such an impressive history comes outrageously high expectations; with Quake IV, success will be measured by nothing less than another ground-shaking FPS revolution. And from the looks of it so far, gamers won't be disappointed.

Unlike previous Quake titles which were created in-house, id has handed development over to their good friends at Raven Software. This is actually a good thing because Raven also has an outstanding FPS rщsumщ along with the incredible ability to squeeze something extra from id's technology. id is still overseeing Quake IV by providing input and general guidelines, but Raven has been given creative freedom to make their own unique style of game. Call it combining the best of both worlds Ц which, incidentally, describes Quake IV's gameplay design philosophy perfectly.

The idea from the start was to combine the best from the Quake universe, which meant the intense single-player campaign of Quake II and the fast-paced multiplayer action of Quake III Arena. In fact, Quake IV is being developed by two separate teams, each focusing on the separate gamemodes.

Campaign Quake

The single-player campaign will pick up the story immediately after the end of Quake II; Makron is dead but the evil Stroggs are still stirring up trouble. In a Quake first, your character will actually have a name, Corporal Matthew Kane, a tough-as-nails marine with a mysterious past and a new addition to the elite Rhino Squad of Special Forces. Having you play as an actual character rather than a nameless killing machine was done to help pull you deeper into the experience; and to help make you feel as if you will be part of a real squad, each member of your team will be unique individuals with their own backgrounds and personalities. You will come to know your squadmates quite well, since you will fight side-by-side with them for about a third of the game.

They won't be cannon fodder either. Raven is spending considerable time tuning squad and enemy AI; as a result, both will be well aware of their environment and will duck behind cover, take advantage of environmental features, call for support and so on. So unlike Doom 3, don't expect enemies to dumbly run right at you; you're going to have your work cut out for you.

However, your work will be made easier thanks to the handy tools no marine should ever be without. All of the classic Quake weapons will return, such as the rail gun, mini-gun, nail gun, rocket launcher, hyperblaster, and the ubiquitous shotgun. Sadly, there is no BFG, but id is promising a brand new superweapon for your killing pleasure. You can also pick up weapon mods to add new attributes to certain weapons; for example, modding your rocket launcher adds a guided missile feature.

In contrast to Doom 3's dark, claustrophobic hallways, Quake IV will have large open maps both indoors and out Ц and you won't have to worry about flipping back and forth to your flashlight because this time the lights will stay on (apparently Stroggs are better at paying their electric bill than demons). As an added benefit, having larger maps means vehicle combat has been added. You will face enemies in hovertanks and mech-like walkers, but can also man these vehicles yourself to lay down the hurt.

All of the Strogg enemies from Quake II return, including Grunts, Gunners and Berzerkers (who have a nasty new ground attack). For those not familiar with these ugly s.o.b.'s, the Strogg are similar to Star Trek's Borg in that they capture humans and assimilate them by forcibly adding cybernetic enhancements and a control chip to make them mindless drones. In fact, your character will have the misfortune of experiencing this first-hand as he will be captured by the Strogg and mutilated in a painfully graphic torture scene that is viewed in the first-person. Your limbs will be chopped off and replaced with cybernetic enhancements and you will even have the chip shoved into your brain. Luckily, before they can turn the chip on, you will be rescued by your fellow marines. Whew! Unfortunately, they can't reverse the process but as a result of your УStroggificationФ you will now be able to run faster and jump higher Ц and thanks to the chip, you will be able to interface with Strogg technology and understand their language, making you a key strategic asset in defeating these nasty buggers.

From what we've seen so far, the single player campaign looks and feels like an updated version of Quake II Ц which is exactly what the developers are aiming for. The same fast-paced action we all know and love combined with smart squadmates and vehicle combat? Oh yes, this is going to be sweet.

Multiplayer Quake

What's looking even sweeter is multiplayer, which will be the key component to the game's success. Even if the single player turns out to be the best FPS ever made, if the multiplayer sucks the game will be considered a failure. After all, Quake is one of the most popular multiplayer titles in the world and is used for professional competitions, including id's own annual QuakeCon. So needless to say, the developers are focusing a lot of attention on making sure you have the time of your life fragging your friends.

And all indications are you won't be disappointed. Veteran players will feel a little deja vu because multiplayer will essentially be an updated version of Quake III Arena. Returning are: vertical and horizontal jump pads; teleporters; the same insanely fast-paced Quake III style of physics in combination with Doom 3 physics technology (like ragdoll effects); and even updated versions of some classic Quake maps. The developers have even included the return of Уbunny-hoppingФ, using the rocket launcher or grenade launcher to let you jump higher (sorry, younger gamers; Master Chief wasn't the first to invent this) and you will still be able to use the nail gun to scale walls. In fact, they had to add a corner in one capture the flag map because they found that players using these tricks could enter the opponent's base and grab the flag faster than the defenders could respond, which made things considerably unbalanced. It's good to see developers exploring ways players can take advantage of map exploits and fix them before they hit the market.

You will be able to play as Marines or Strogg in classic deathmatch, team deathmatch, CTF and Arena. Also added is Tournament mode, which is a set of competition brackets that pit players against each other one-on-one until two finalists are determined for the championship game. Players who are eliminated can still watch in spectator mode, or practice in another arena while they wait for the others to finish. Currently, the game supports up to 16 players but this may increase in the final build.

One thing you won't see in multiplayer is vehicles. The developers wanted multiplayer to be all about skill, the one-on-one battles to see who has the best aim, the fastest moves, and the best environmental awareness. While having vehicles is fun, it changes the balance of the game from who has the best skill to who can grab the vehicle the fastest. Considering Quake IV will replace Quake III at professional competitions, it's not surprising that they're trying to keep things as balanced and skill-based as possible.

At the end of each game you can view your stats, which consist only of kills, deaths and accuracy with each weapon. That's it. No assists, no medals, no wimpy kudos for healing teammates (which you can't do anyway). It's all about kill or be killed, folks.

You will have nine weapons at your disposal, which include the main ones from single player along with the return of the lightning gun (sort of an electrical flamethrower); the gauntlet, a melee buzz saw-like weapon; and the rare Dark Matter Gun, which only has one shot but results in a gratifying instant kill if you hit your target.

Although multiplayer is being designed for serious competition, don't worry if you aren't a serious gamer; even casual gamers will be able to thoroughly enjoy the fun value of the Quake multiplayer experience.

Techno Quake

Needless to say, with the game running on the Doom 3 engine, everything looks damn beautiful. From the highly detailed normal-mapped character models to the pretty flame and explosion effects to the rusted metal walls stained with blood, this is one of the prettiest games you will ever see. Although it is being released about a year after Doom 3, don't expect any huge graphical enhancements over its younger sibling; development on Quake IV ran at the same time as Doom 3, so you won't see any dramatic updates. But don't be disappointed; the Doom 3 engine is still tops on the market and is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination. Besides, the big benefit is that gamers shouldn't have to worry about upgrading their PCs; if your machine was able to run Doom 3, you should be able to run Quake IV.

Although development ran parallel to id's shooter, Raven created all new textures and used very little artwork from Doom 3 except for minor background items like ventilation grates. This not only gave the game its own distinctive look and feel, but also gave Raven an immeasurable amount of creative freedom to add their own unique flavor to the game.

However, although Raven is known for the deliciously gory G.H.O.U.L. physics dismemberment system, this technology will not be included in Quake IV Ц in other words, there will be no gibbing. Now before you start organizing an angry protest to oppose this seemingly irresponsible decision, know that id wanted Raven to focus on creating good gameplay rather than get distracted on adding superfluous Уgee whizФ features. So instead of adding G.H.O.U.L., they used the cool ragdoll physics already included in the Doom 3 engine. It is a bit disappointing that gibbing is not included, but if leaving it out means tighter and more intense gameplay, I'm all for it.

Besides, someone will likely make a gib mod within a few weeks of release. The developers have always recognized the value of modders (in fact, both id and Raven have hired modders) and so Raven has improved the SDK to make it more user friendly.

Xbox 360 players, unfortunately, will not be able to take advantage of mods (at least not without grey market mod chips) but they will still be able to enjoy the same gaming experience as their PC brethren. Both the PC and Xbox 360 versions are being developed simultaneously and Raven says the 360 will have the same textures and graphics as the PC and won't be a Уwatered-downФ console version as was the case with Doom 3. If they can pull it off, this would be a huge step in closing the gap between consoles and the PC. The 360 version will be released soon after the PC, however, so console gamers will have to have to have a bit more patience before they can find out for themselves.