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| | Title:
Quake 4
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
First Person Shooter
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Publisher:
Activision
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Developer:
id Software
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Release:
TBA
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Online:
Yes
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ESRB:
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Bigger, faster, stronger, and more stroggified than ever. Quake IV is the dream game for any action console-gamer who plans on owning an Xbox 360. This is not just another make-over-shooter, or a cheesy add-on to keep gamers glued to the screen for a few more months while a larger title is in the works. This is the real deal. Id and Raven games are unleashing their brainstorming powers on this monster game, to make it one of the best all-around action titles ever released. Running on an advanced version of the Doom 3 technology and sporting some fancy graphics and wickedly smooth gameplay; Master Chief best watch his back, because the Stroggies are out for keeps.
The Driving Force
Unlike other Quake games where the player is simply thrust into battle; either to save Earth, to destroy hell-mutants from another planet, or simply to do battle in an arena for the sake of pride, Id and Raven have actually taken the story to all new heights. Starting with an actual character who heads the story.
It’s no longer just “The Quake Guy”. His name is Matthew Kane, and unlike his video game predecessors (I.E., The Doom Guy, The Wolfenstein Guy, The Quake Guy, or that guy from Duke Nukem...Duke Nukem,) he’s no superhero-superhuman...well not in the first-half of the game anyways.
The story is actually said to be a continuation from the on-going narrative based on the ending of Quake II. The Macron has been killed but the Stroggs aren’t done with murdering the human race. As Matthew Kane, the player works with fellow teammates to over-take the Stroggs on the battle front of the war. As the missions progress and the player gets drawn deeper into the struggle against the unrelenting forces of the cybernetic monsters known as the Strogg, something different happens in the story most players won’t be expecting; and something the developers aren’t keeping a secret: The main character, yes Matthew Kane, gets turned into a Strogg. Well, not entirely turned into a Strogg, but all the necessary limbs and such get replaced with artificial Strogg limbs, as well as cybernetic chip placed into his brain. But before the final process can take place, Kane is rescued by his fellow teammates. Thus, culminating in a Human/Strogg hybrid with super human speed, strength and agility. Players are even given the ability to see and/or read certain aspects of the Strogg language. Despite still having remnants of human ties, you become a Strogg fighting machine, re-built for war and fighting on the humans’ side. Interesting eh?
Halo’s Equal?
Well that’s just the start to this fascinating sequel to Quake II. (Since Quake III was made to be a multiplayer arena game, the story could only continue from where Quake II left off). Instead of just battling forces with your fellow marines in trenches, barricades, forts, dunes, corridors or open plains (all-the-while on-foot), players will finally be able to utilize vehicles in this game (Anyone else smell a bit of a rivalry in the air with Quake IV and the Halo series?). From land-walking Mechs to armored tanks, this game tosses in every aspect of a sci-fi war any Quake fan would love to play. But the humans aren’t the only ones who get big war machines to play with. The Strogg army has an assortment of counter-heavyweight mechanics on their side as well. I’m not going to give away all of their secret weapons, but you will have to face off against some of the largest, nastiest Strogg forces ever assembled. Hence, these battles were made to be intense, and they capture just that: A B.F.G. load of intensity. Air raids flying over-head, explosions going off near and far, bodies flying across the screen, and soldiers taking charge of the battle as it comes to them, or when they feel like taking it to the enemy.
Nothing like beer and chips on a Sunday afternoon with friends
Unlike previous Quake games, this one has your marine buddies backing you just about every step of the way. But instead of them just lounging around and following commands as you give them, (like in a couple of other war games) some of your soldiers will actually take charge in giving other soldiers commands. The experience of battle is no longer the disheartening task of taking out a planet’s worth of baddies all by your lonesome self. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of doing it, with the array and versatility of the weapon selection, players will definitely feel the transformation into a mean-lean Strogg killing machine.
Albeit, Raven is keeping fairly tight-lipped about the overall weapon selection at the player’s disposal. But we can definitely expect to see the return of the coveted Rocket Launcher, an assault rifle, the shotgun, and the rail gun. The BFG is something fans are going to have to wait and see whether or not it shows up in the way that they may be expecting it.
Simply Fraggalicious
As for the multiplayer features? Well, the heads over at Id let it be known that the Xbox 360 will be featuring a 12-16 player on-line mode. And with various types of the standard and new modes for the on-line play, Id and Raven are ensuring that the experience should be made for gamers looking for skilled battles with other players. Even though the vehicles in single player won’t be available in multiplayer, there have been alterations made in order so that the multiplayer experience will be closer to that of the one found in Quake III. Speed or acceleration pads along with jump pads and other neat tid-bits have added so that players rely more on their natural fragging skills rather than on snagging the nearest vehicle and running everyone over. This, in a way, enforces that players hone their abilities on utilizing their environment and choice of weapon(s), which should make for some extremely interesting encounters.
Id and Raven are working extra hard, around the clock to make sure Quake IV doesn’t disappoint. From the looks of it so far, Quake fans of all kinds will have a real gem to try and possess, especially once it seemingly launches with the Xbox 360, expected around the late third quarter of 2005. And it looks like it's worth the wait.
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