Peeps,
I do consider myself to be somewhat of a FPS afficionado and all I can say about Q4 is WOW!!!!!!
Firstly, Let me get this out of the way:
X2 3800 @ 2500MHz Water Cooled
DFI NF4 SLI DR
1GB OCZ Plat Rev2 Ram
BFG 7800GTX OC
Audigy2 ZS
2005FPW
Surround Sound Speaks
SATA 150HDD
So I have been ranting on and on (especially recently it seems) about the quality, or lack thereof, in PC games as of late. I hate to say that largely, there is a huge lack of innovation in the PC gaming arena. Now...I will keep this rant on the topic of Q4 (and D3)because to be quite honest..it's the most convincing PC game experience I have had since DeusEx!!! If I had to sum up the Q4 experience in half a sentence:
"......everything that D3 should have been and more."
Let me explain.
To be sure (before the explaination) let me issue a huge apology to iD for the numerous sladerous posts I made about the engine (as if they care...honestly). I seriously thought that the engine was incapable of fast paced anything but it turns out that D3 was deliberately setup that way. So it turns out that my gripe was not with the engine...just the game design....whodathunkit!
Ok, Here is what I see as the primary problem with D3. Throughout all of the press releases leading up to D3 (and even the *cough* leak) we were told that the environments would have a huge amount of detail present. When the E3 levels were leaked, there was a sense of tension in the game due to the great scripted events and creepy atmosphere. I honestly thought that we would be see a game where there were a few really impressive monsters that would stalk you throughout the game. When the game finally shipped, I remember following the little droid-bot around and looking at the NPCs and the Mars base and thinking "HOLY SHIZNIT.....this is freaking AMAZING". The world was practically alive and extemely convincing and effective. The detail was shocking, the lighing....fantastic, the sound...oooooohhh....the sound, so creepy and immersive. But the game went to hell (hehe) when the lights went off. All of the detail suddenly disappered and you were too busy getting attacked from behind (like in San Fran) to really notice the world around you. The flashlight never made it out for more than a few seconds, and then all you had for light was the muzzle flash as you emptied your clip into the dark hoping to hit some hellspawn.
The enemies for that matter were also a bit reminiciant of 8 bit..."me baddie, me walk back and forth slashing. Maybe me hit you". Perhaps that was a bit harsh, but honestly, they just sprang forth and slashed and slashed. I am not sure about you, but if I were a hellspawn who had seen hundreds of my friends get killed by a human by running and slashing at him...I would likely change up my strategy...throw some boxes...hide behind a corner...run and get health...who knows. Anyway...it was just such a dichotomy between seeing these creepy-cool scripted, climbing on the walls enemy sequences...to having a 10 demons hacking you.
Fianlly...the pacing of D3 was simply....sub par, there really was nothing to break up the pace, it was one giant lonely campain from start to end...and the end was a long time coming.
Now onto Q4.
The graphics in Q4 are on par with D3 simply because it's the same engine (duh). What sets the graphics aside however is the level-design which really shows off what this baby can do. The shadows are great (as expected) but what I really found was the best part was the lighting schemes. Various places you go are lit in these eerie blue, green or orange hues that really create an ambiance that engulfs you. And the best part is that there really is enough light in this game to show off the detail of the levels.
The level detail as well is close to on par with D3. In some places better (imo) and in some places worse. But again...you can actuall SEE it and I have to say that I have never seen a more beatutifully imagined and designed world.....including City17. The Bio-Mech feel to the game seems to be inspired by Giger and I think he would be proud. Everywhere around you, cables spark, water gurgles, limbless torsos writhe in pain while sounds accompany all details. And the levels are far from static, explosions block old paths while creating new ones, levels come alive after breaching security, or activating a switch, walkways break, moving acid shooters wait to scald you with green ooze...it's all so...complete.
The enemies in this game (while not the brightest) present a formidable challenge. They will keep their distance, hide behind boxes, shoot in bursts...and even (maybe in my imagination) time attacks with others close by. There is not a huge variety of enemies, but they all have enough character that they standout from eachother. The bosses are really cool too though perhaps a bit derivitive....nonetheless, the Raven team has quakeified them enough to make them standout from other enemies from other titles.
The story is straght-forward though one major twist had me grinning from ear-to-ear! The twist (also a bit derived from other major FPS titles of recent) serves a conduit to even faster paced gameplay and more abilities.
The pacing of this story is what reigns supreme! Each sub-objective takes about 10-15 mins which means you are never asked to resume a game where you have to look at the objectives screen to remember what the hell you were doing! The NPCs give you clear directions, and act like people in a war would act (I have never been to war so if you want to argue...you win). Each objective serves a purpose as well for the overall offensive to make sense and yet you never quite feel like you are a one man army...your friends are around you for a good part of the game.
The combat sequences are also very cool, most of the time you can run around (forward..not backward like in serious sam or painkiller) and mow down enemies with contempt but at certain times, you are well advised to hide behind columns with a rail gun ready to land a perfectly timed headshot. I find that none of the enemies are soo difficult that you cannot dispatch them with a second or two of heads-up.
Fianlly....the simplicity is what really won me over. With so many games it becomes a 15 minute ordeal to simply map the buttons: Lean Left, right, bullet time, next inventory, next weapon, interact, use item...and on and on and on. In this game.....you need the following:
Shoot
Aim/Alt
Movement
Flashlight
Next/Prev Weapons
Jump/Crouch
And that's it!!!!! Simply amazing.....
So to sum it up...QUAKE 4 SUCKS.....haha...jokes.
QUAKE 4 RULES...seriously....if you haven't yet...go pick up a copy!
M
I do consider myself to be somewhat of a FPS afficionado and all I can say about Q4 is WOW!!!!!!
Firstly, Let me get this out of the way:
X2 3800 @ 2500MHz Water Cooled
DFI NF4 SLI DR
1GB OCZ Plat Rev2 Ram
BFG 7800GTX OC
Audigy2 ZS
2005FPW
Surround Sound Speaks
SATA 150HDD
So I have been ranting on and on (especially recently it seems) about the quality, or lack thereof, in PC games as of late. I hate to say that largely, there is a huge lack of innovation in the PC gaming arena. Now...I will keep this rant on the topic of Q4 (and D3)because to be quite honest..it's the most convincing PC game experience I have had since DeusEx!!! If I had to sum up the Q4 experience in half a sentence:
"......everything that D3 should have been and more."
Let me explain.
To be sure (before the explaination) let me issue a huge apology to iD for the numerous sladerous posts I made about the engine (as if they care...honestly). I seriously thought that the engine was incapable of fast paced anything but it turns out that D3 was deliberately setup that way. So it turns out that my gripe was not with the engine...just the game design....whodathunkit!
Ok, Here is what I see as the primary problem with D3. Throughout all of the press releases leading up to D3 (and even the *cough* leak) we were told that the environments would have a huge amount of detail present. When the E3 levels were leaked, there was a sense of tension in the game due to the great scripted events and creepy atmosphere. I honestly thought that we would be see a game where there were a few really impressive monsters that would stalk you throughout the game. When the game finally shipped, I remember following the little droid-bot around and looking at the NPCs and the Mars base and thinking "HOLY SHIZNIT.....this is freaking AMAZING". The world was practically alive and extemely convincing and effective. The detail was shocking, the lighing....fantastic, the sound...oooooohhh....the sound, so creepy and immersive. But the game went to hell (hehe) when the lights went off. All of the detail suddenly disappered and you were too busy getting attacked from behind (like in San Fran) to really notice the world around you. The flashlight never made it out for more than a few seconds, and then all you had for light was the muzzle flash as you emptied your clip into the dark hoping to hit some hellspawn.
The enemies for that matter were also a bit reminiciant of 8 bit..."me baddie, me walk back and forth slashing. Maybe me hit you". Perhaps that was a bit harsh, but honestly, they just sprang forth and slashed and slashed. I am not sure about you, but if I were a hellspawn who had seen hundreds of my friends get killed by a human by running and slashing at him...I would likely change up my strategy...throw some boxes...hide behind a corner...run and get health...who knows. Anyway...it was just such a dichotomy between seeing these creepy-cool scripted, climbing on the walls enemy sequences...to having a 10 demons hacking you.
Fianlly...the pacing of D3 was simply....sub par, there really was nothing to break up the pace, it was one giant lonely campain from start to end...and the end was a long time coming.
Now onto Q4.
The graphics in Q4 are on par with D3 simply because it's the same engine (duh). What sets the graphics aside however is the level-design which really shows off what this baby can do. The shadows are great (as expected) but what I really found was the best part was the lighting schemes. Various places you go are lit in these eerie blue, green or orange hues that really create an ambiance that engulfs you. And the best part is that there really is enough light in this game to show off the detail of the levels.
The level detail as well is close to on par with D3. In some places better (imo) and in some places worse. But again...you can actuall SEE it and I have to say that I have never seen a more beatutifully imagined and designed world.....including City17. The Bio-Mech feel to the game seems to be inspired by Giger and I think he would be proud. Everywhere around you, cables spark, water gurgles, limbless torsos writhe in pain while sounds accompany all details. And the levels are far from static, explosions block old paths while creating new ones, levels come alive after breaching security, or activating a switch, walkways break, moving acid shooters wait to scald you with green ooze...it's all so...complete.
The enemies in this game (while not the brightest) present a formidable challenge. They will keep their distance, hide behind boxes, shoot in bursts...and even (maybe in my imagination) time attacks with others close by. There is not a huge variety of enemies, but they all have enough character that they standout from eachother. The bosses are really cool too though perhaps a bit derivitive....nonetheless, the Raven team has quakeified them enough to make them standout from other enemies from other titles.
The story is straght-forward though one major twist had me grinning from ear-to-ear! The twist (also a bit derived from other major FPS titles of recent) serves a conduit to even faster paced gameplay and more abilities.
The pacing of this story is what reigns supreme! Each sub-objective takes about 10-15 mins which means you are never asked to resume a game where you have to look at the objectives screen to remember what the hell you were doing! The NPCs give you clear directions, and act like people in a war would act (I have never been to war so if you want to argue...you win). Each objective serves a purpose as well for the overall offensive to make sense and yet you never quite feel like you are a one man army...your friends are around you for a good part of the game.
The combat sequences are also very cool, most of the time you can run around (forward..not backward like in serious sam or painkiller) and mow down enemies with contempt but at certain times, you are well advised to hide behind columns with a rail gun ready to land a perfectly timed headshot. I find that none of the enemies are soo difficult that you cannot dispatch them with a second or two of heads-up.
Fianlly....the simplicity is what really won me over. With so many games it becomes a 15 minute ordeal to simply map the buttons: Lean Left, right, bullet time, next inventory, next weapon, interact, use item...and on and on and on. In this game.....you need the following:
Shoot
Aim/Alt
Movement
Flashlight
Next/Prev Weapons
Jump/Crouch
And that's it!!!!! Simply amazing.....
So to sum it up...QUAKE 4 SUCKS.....haha...jokes.
QUAKE 4 RULES...seriously....if you haven't yet...go pick up a copy!
M