Quake 4 for Windows

Quake 4 is another installment of the legendary Quake series. It is set directly after the completion of your mission in Quake2.

Quake4 is primarily a single-player game. It utilizes the Doom3 engine, so expect some AWESOME graphics if you have the hardware to render it. There are high-poly counts, and plenty of smooth surfaces/meshes. Animations are smooth and well done, as are the textures (which are nearly all bump-mapped). It basically looks as if you are controlling players in a movie. You can easily find screenshots via google if you are interested.

Aiding the graphics are the sounds. This game is best played in some 3D sound system (I'm using hardware 5.1 surround). You can hear (and feel) rockets flying overhead. The dynamic sounds allow you to hear your enemies before you see them. All of the commands given to you are via the radio in your guantlet. Towards the middle/end of the game, you also get hints as to enemy movement if you listen carefully to Strogg broadcasts. If you don't have a decent set of speakers (at least 2.1) you will not get the full effect, and the sounds will more than likley become very muddled.

It, like Quake2, is a fairly long and in-depth game. The plot is well laid out, and your missions are clear. Your mission in a nutshell is to destroy the Strogg army on the Strogg's home planet using essentially any means necessary. I would say more, but that would risk giving away some pretty neat plot twists.

Unlike any other Quake games, you have team-mates. These include leaders, medics (who actually heal you), and techs (who fix your armor and upgrade your weapons). The gameplay ranges from slow to lightning fast.

Longtime players of the Quake series will definitely appreciate this game as it brings in elements from all of the other games (including some scenes of bio-mechanical experimentation). Both the nailgun and the hyperblaster make a reappearance. None of the weapons disappoint. Ammo is generously placed (as compared to Doom anyway); as long as you don't go blasting when it isn't necessary, you should be fine on ammunition. Other noteworthy artillery: shotgun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, rail gun, dark matter gun (the new BFG).

The controls are intuitive. That goes for not just *you* but also when you take control of vehicles, mechs and turrets. This is Quake though, if you aren't accustomed to the way its played, be prepared for a learning curve. The first few missions are relativly painless, the further you get the harder it gets. A player new to FPS type games will have trouble for a while (my guess is a week or so) while they get used to how to accuratley aim and move. I've had 8 years of fragging practice, so forgive me if I'm slightly off in the learning curve area.

Replayability varies, in my opinion, based on your personal feelings toward the game. Since it is linear, and all of the baddies respawn in the same places, you could very well get bored after playing it thru on all of the difficulty settings. The game is long (if you're not cheating, my guess is 50-90 hours), so you probably won't actually remember where everything is. Due in part to its online portion, I think that this game is versatile and will be very hard to get bored with. Expect to see Quake 4 take off on the in the internet gaming communities like Quake 2 did; lots of custom levels and many dedicated servers.

Quake 4 was designed with multiplayer in mind, you have some online options out of the box. QuakeWars (not released at the time of this review) is supposed to be the multiplayer version of the game from what I've read.

If you are into single player FPS, this is definitely worth getting. Make note that this game is VERY HARDWARE INTENSIVE; personally, I recommend the following hardware specs to enjoy the game: 1.6GHz processor, ATI 9600 or better, 512MB DDR RAM or better, and a large 7200RPM hard drive.