Over the course of my gaming life I've been on a journey. See, I'm not the biggest fan of "modern shooters", you know the ones, big emphasis on cover, slow movement speed, limited weapon slots, really boring enemies and level design; think the shooters that games like Call of Duty and Gears of War inspired. So, I made it a quest of mine to look for the best modern shooters, the ones that actually have substance and warranted using the aforementioned mechanics. So far I have found 6 of them, you can find them on this list: https://www.backloggd.com/u/mirphy/list/the-only-good-modern-shooters/
From the beginning paragraph, you're probably expecting me to say that Quake 4 is one of those good modern shooters, however, it isn't as simple as that. The game actually combines elements of both boomer shooters and modern shooters, in an amalgamation of ideas and mechanics...
...and it honestly works very well.
I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Quake 1 and 2's singleplayer experiences. Quake 1, while it had good ideas, overall felt like a lesser Doom to me, because it borrows a lot of ideas from that series but also does some things worse, such as level design, enemy usage and tone. No, I am not a fan of Quake's atmosphere. I'm a huge fan of games like Doom 64 and Super Metroid, so I think I have a fairly high standard when it comes to atmosphere, so that may be the reason for it. However, despite that, Quake is still fairly enjoyable, the first episode especially, and while I can't get into its atmosphere, I appreciate the intent and how it gives the game its own identity. Quake 2, on the other hand, suffers from mostly the exact opposite problems in comparison to Quake 1, it's overall a little more polished but the game is even easier than Quake 1, which was already a pretty easy game. Enemy placement is extremely bland, levels merge together and it overall lacks any identity. It's a fun game, I had more fun with it than the first game, but it's just so extremely bland, and is vastly overshadowed by its older sister game.
So safe to say, I was not hyped for Quake 4, I was interested, seeing how it was regarded more as a military shooter and looked upon less fondly, but I was by no means hyped, and oh boy, I was pleasantly surprised when my expectations were subverted, because Quake 4 is representative of everything great about Raven Software, the company who developed it. They are the kings of the 8/10 game, none of their games really push boundaries or revolutionise game design, but they are extremely fun, and have a fair amount of substance and heart. Quake 4 is by no means a perfect game, nor is it the boomer shooters the series is commonly thought of as, but it's such a fun and creative game that I can't help but love it, and I have confidence in saying that it is the best Quake game, or at the very least, my favourite.
The first hour of the game is really what brings it down for most people, including me; it's boring, not challenging at all and probably put a sour taste in the mouths of many Quake fans upon its release. You walk very slowly and are basically forced to use cover against generic hitscan enemies and it sucks; you only have access to 5 weapons at this stage of the game, one of which you only get in the last level before the turning point in this game, and they're underwhelming, to say the least. The grenade launcher is good, and so is the hyperblaster, but the Shotgun and "Machin3" gun feel very unsatisfying to use, so much so that I had to install a mod, it was bother me that much, and it was at this point where I was going to write it off as another boring modern shooter.
However, if you do end up playing this game, power through that section, because right around the corner is the Stroggification cutscene. It's what EVERYONE remembers about the game, and honestly? I think it's way deeper than just being "unnerving". It gives you an insight into how the Strogg are made, they are people, or at least used to be. They're monstrosities, created through the blend of flesh and metal, and they're out to turn everything into that, and this is a good way to flow into one of the highlights of the game: its existential dread. You see, every time you hear about the war going on outside of the battles you're fighting, it's almost always about something bad happening. This is a very grim war, most of the companions you meet end up dying; it's so heavy that even when you finish the game and have destroyed the Strogg's leader and communication network, it doesn't feel like a victory. This game brings back the Makron from Quake 2, and while I usually don't like reviving characters in any story, I think it works here, because if he came back before, he could come back again. The Strogg are a force to be reckoned with, almost a cosmical threat, and it does leave you wondering "Did I really win?", because even after you destroy the Nexus, the fight is still going on.
And boy, is the fighting a lot of fun. Once you become a Strogg, your movement speed is vastly increased, and the arenas, as small as they may be, are built like loops and encourage a more aggressive playstyle. It's helped a lot by the enemy design, which is pretty good. The AI isn't great, but it is pretty competent, and it further emphasises this tactical gameplay. It's no F.E.A.R., but it's damn good, and that's actually a good way to describe the gameplay; it's a combination of Doom and F.E.AR. Enemies can flank you and rush you out from cover, and most of them are projectile based, the few that aren't can be dodged, and you'll need to, because even on the 3rd skill, Lieutenant, they can melt you very quickly.
Edit: I've played through most of the human section on General, the highest skill, and I can confirm Lieutenant is the definitive way to play the game. General Just ups the enemy damage to an absurd amount without changing the AI.
This is on top of stellar weapons, despite my initial criticism; you have your rifle, shotgun, plasma weapon and grenade launcher, as previously stated, but you also have a "nailgun", which can lock onto enemies and do a lot of damage; very useful if your target is moving around a lot. There's also the lighting gun which returns from Quake 1, which is incredibly useful as it can attack multiple enemies, as well as a railgun, a rocket launcher and a BFG-type weapon. Most of the guns have secondary functions which give them added utility, like the rocket launcher having a guiding feature or the rifle having a semi-automatic scoped mode. This is mostly nothing new for the series, but they're all balanced so well that it's still a point of praise, despite being derivative.
A point of criticism for many was the vehicle sections and the two turret sections in the game, however, I actually find that the vehicle sections are a point of praise. The turret sections are boring, and the first one in particular is pretty tedious, I won't argue that, but the vehicle sections offer up some variety to the gameplay, and while their movement isn't perfect, it's definitely not nearly as bad as many people make it out to be. It was so refreshing to go from being so extremely slow to flying across landscapes that I can't bring myself to hate it, and plus, there's only 2 of them in the game, and they aren't that long, so even if you don't like them, they won't be staying for too long.
Despite the clunkiness of the vehicle sections, the game is still very well paced. I wouldn't've minded longer fights with bigger arenas because the combat is so good, it would legitimately make this game even better. It doesn't have as good level design as the highs of Doom, it doesn't have the extremely polished enemy encounters of F.E.AR., hell, if you still dislike this game over the original Quake, I wouldn't blame you. Not everyone is going to like this game, Quake 4 is not the boomer shooter the series is known for being, and it isn't a generic, watered down modern shooter of the present day. But it is a Raven game, a perfectly solid title that offers a fun experience with a decent amount of substance, so much so that I might end up replaying right after I finish this review, which is high praise since I basically never do that nowadays. It's sad that so many games that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s for PC have yet to see the light of day on modern consoles, but for those PC players, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
From the beginning paragraph, you're probably expecting me to say that Quake 4 is one of those good modern shooters, however, it isn't as simple as that. The game actually combines elements of both boomer shooters and modern shooters, in an amalgamation of ideas and mechanics...
...and it honestly works very well.
I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Quake 1 and 2's singleplayer experiences. Quake 1, while it had good ideas, overall felt like a lesser Doom to me, because it borrows a lot of ideas from that series but also does some things worse, such as level design, enemy usage and tone. No, I am not a fan of Quake's atmosphere. I'm a huge fan of games like Doom 64 and Super Metroid, so I think I have a fairly high standard when it comes to atmosphere, so that may be the reason for it. However, despite that, Quake is still fairly enjoyable, the first episode especially, and while I can't get into its atmosphere, I appreciate the intent and how it gives the game its own identity. Quake 2, on the other hand, suffers from mostly the exact opposite problems in comparison to Quake 1, it's overall a little more polished but the game is even easier than Quake 1, which was already a pretty easy game. Enemy placement is extremely bland, levels merge together and it overall lacks any identity. It's a fun game, I had more fun with it than the first game, but it's just so extremely bland, and is vastly overshadowed by its older sister game.
So safe to say, I was not hyped for Quake 4, I was interested, seeing how it was regarded more as a military shooter and looked upon less fondly, but I was by no means hyped, and oh boy, I was pleasantly surprised when my expectations were subverted, because Quake 4 is representative of everything great about Raven Software, the company who developed it. They are the kings of the 8/10 game, none of their games really push boundaries or revolutionise game design, but they are extremely fun, and have a fair amount of substance and heart. Quake 4 is by no means a perfect game, nor is it the boomer shooters the series is commonly thought of as, but it's such a fun and creative game that I can't help but love it, and I have confidence in saying that it is the best Quake game, or at the very least, my favourite.
The first hour of the game is really what brings it down for most people, including me; it's boring, not challenging at all and probably put a sour taste in the mouths of many Quake fans upon its release. You walk very slowly and are basically forced to use cover against generic hitscan enemies and it sucks; you only have access to 5 weapons at this stage of the game, one of which you only get in the last level before the turning point in this game, and they're underwhelming, to say the least. The grenade launcher is good, and so is the hyperblaster, but the Shotgun and "Machin3" gun feel very unsatisfying to use, so much so that I had to install a mod, it was bother me that much, and it was at this point where I was going to write it off as another boring modern shooter.
However, if you do end up playing this game, power through that section, because right around the corner is the Stroggification cutscene. It's what EVERYONE remembers about the game, and honestly? I think it's way deeper than just being "unnerving". It gives you an insight into how the Strogg are made, they are people, or at least used to be. They're monstrosities, created through the blend of flesh and metal, and they're out to turn everything into that, and this is a good way to flow into one of the highlights of the game: its existential dread. You see, every time you hear about the war going on outside of the battles you're fighting, it's almost always about something bad happening. This is a very grim war, most of the companions you meet end up dying; it's so heavy that even when you finish the game and have destroyed the Strogg's leader and communication network, it doesn't feel like a victory. This game brings back the Makron from Quake 2, and while I usually don't like reviving characters in any story, I think it works here, because if he came back before, he could come back again. The Strogg are a force to be reckoned with, almost a cosmical threat, and it does leave you wondering "Did I really win?", because even after you destroy the Nexus, the fight is still going on.
And boy, is the fighting a lot of fun. Once you become a Strogg, your movement speed is vastly increased, and the arenas, as small as they may be, are built like loops and encourage a more aggressive playstyle. It's helped a lot by the enemy design, which is pretty good. The AI isn't great, but it is pretty competent, and it further emphasises this tactical gameplay. It's no F.E.A.R., but it's damn good, and that's actually a good way to describe the gameplay; it's a combination of Doom and F.E.AR. Enemies can flank you and rush you out from cover, and most of them are projectile based, the few that aren't can be dodged, and you'll need to, because even on the 3rd skill, Lieutenant, they can melt you very quickly.
Edit: I've played through most of the human section on General, the highest skill, and I can confirm Lieutenant is the definitive way to play the game. General Just ups the enemy damage to an absurd amount without changing the AI.
This is on top of stellar weapons, despite my initial criticism; you have your rifle, shotgun, plasma weapon and grenade launcher, as previously stated, but you also have a "nailgun", which can lock onto enemies and do a lot of damage; very useful if your target is moving around a lot. There's also the lighting gun which returns from Quake 1, which is incredibly useful as it can attack multiple enemies, as well as a railgun, a rocket launcher and a BFG-type weapon. Most of the guns have secondary functions which give them added utility, like the rocket launcher having a guiding feature or the rifle having a semi-automatic scoped mode. This is mostly nothing new for the series, but they're all balanced so well that it's still a point of praise, despite being derivative.
A point of criticism for many was the vehicle sections and the two turret sections in the game, however, I actually find that the vehicle sections are a point of praise. The turret sections are boring, and the first one in particular is pretty tedious, I won't argue that, but the vehicle sections offer up some variety to the gameplay, and while their movement isn't perfect, it's definitely not nearly as bad as many people make it out to be. It was so refreshing to go from being so extremely slow to flying across landscapes that I can't bring myself to hate it, and plus, there's only 2 of them in the game, and they aren't that long, so even if you don't like them, they won't be staying for too long.
Despite the clunkiness of the vehicle sections, the game is still very well paced. I wouldn't've minded longer fights with bigger arenas because the combat is so good, it would legitimately make this game even better. It doesn't have as good level design as the highs of Doom, it doesn't have the extremely polished enemy encounters of F.E.AR., hell, if you still dislike this game over the original Quake, I wouldn't blame you. Not everyone is going to like this game, Quake 4 is not the boomer shooter the series is known for being, and it isn't a generic, watered down modern shooter of the present day. But it is a Raven game, a perfectly solid title that offers a fun experience with a decent amount of substance, so much so that I might end up replaying right after I finish this review, which is high praise since I basically never do that nowadays. It's sad that so many games that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s for PC have yet to see the light of day on modern consoles, but for those PC players, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
AUG
2 years ago