Forget not offering a single interesting idea done better than other mid-2000's FPS contemporaries like Half-Life 2, Halo 2, or even this title's own cousin in Doom 3; Quake 4 in a vacuum has no soul, no atmosphere, and not a single thing in its favor beyond being technically competent.
The phrase "This looks like a fake video game" is perhaps overused, but never have I felt so strongly that this was the case as I have with Quake 4. It's an A.I.'s idea of what a video game is, so much so that it might not even have enough flavor to be slotted into a 4 second shot in an episode of CSI. It's a 7 hour slog of what is essentially a child playing with the dullest set action figures as possible. It's like fast-forwarding past all of the fun satire and charming production design of Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers film so you can watch the last 20 minutes of overly bloated alien shooting at 0.5x speed.
Quake 4 is all of these things, and ultimately somehow is a complete Nothing video game. The setting and plot are less inspired than Brute Force and it fails to follow up on any of Doom 3's ideas or technology to such a degree that in hindsight I'm tempted to think I was too harsh on that game.
Sure, it doesn't brick my hard drive, the guns do damage and make sound, and playing Quake 4 doesn't kill my cat, but I'm convinced the only thing notable about this game and the only reason anyone gives it any thought is the fact that it says "Quake" on the box and that Raven Software and id Software are otherwise known for video games that actually engage on some level and have sparked joy and innovation.
I'd like to say something witty like "more like Quake 4 out of 10." but astonishingly, it does not even reach those heights.
Quake 4 is a video game for people without tastebuds.
The phrase "This looks like a fake video game" is perhaps overused, but never have I felt so strongly that this was the case as I have with Quake 4. It's an A.I.'s idea of what a video game is, so much so that it might not even have enough flavor to be slotted into a 4 second shot in an episode of CSI. It's a 7 hour slog of what is essentially a child playing with the dullest set action figures as possible. It's like fast-forwarding past all of the fun satire and charming production design of Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers film so you can watch the last 20 minutes of overly bloated alien shooting at 0.5x speed.
Quake 4 is all of these things, and ultimately somehow is a complete Nothing video game. The setting and plot are less inspired than Brute Force and it fails to follow up on any of Doom 3's ideas or technology to such a degree that in hindsight I'm tempted to think I was too harsh on that game.
Sure, it doesn't brick my hard drive, the guns do damage and make sound, and playing Quake 4 doesn't kill my cat, but I'm convinced the only thing notable about this game and the only reason anyone gives it any thought is the fact that it says "Quake" on the box and that Raven Software and id Software are otherwise known for video games that actually engage on some level and have sparked joy and innovation.
I'd like to say something witty like "more like Quake 4 out of 10." but astonishingly, it does not even reach those heights.
Quake 4 is a video game for people without tastebuds.
HaroKid
1 year ago