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Innovation is DEAD at ID Software

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 35
Date: November 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

ID was the creator of the FPS genre with Wolfenstein and the original DOOM. After DOOM there was DOOM II, then Quake, etc, etc. John Carmack is a terncho-genius and has pushed technology developers to the edge to support ever-better looking gaming expeirences. And then it ends like this. Pressing out tripe dressed in dazzling graphics. I got bored with DOOM3 1/3 of the way in. No story or a lame attempt haven't played since. Same dark narrow passages, same dingy boring design, blah, blah, blah. ID turned into their worst nightmare...potential genius drowned in corporate greed.

Buy Half Life 2 or F.E.A.R.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: October 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the game Doom 3 should have been, no pda's to pick up, no fiddling with the flashlight, just run, shoot, wet your pants, repeat. New generation graphics with "old school" FPS action, got to love it.

Good in its own. Fantastic artwork and animation, good action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game seems to have disappointed some folks. I guess they were expecting too much. It is a shooter plain and simple. Cool weapons (except the rail gun, slowest video game weapon ever), amazing scenery and artwork, great details, decent voice acting. Nope, its story is not academy award worthy, but it is a state of the art shooter with nothing to apologize for, except maybe the price. Its biggest drawback is in fact an un-engrossing story. In many games, you just can't wait till the end to see what happens. In this one, the same stuff kept happening, but it wasn't bad stuff.

It does have substantial operational and gameplay similarities to Doom 3. I presume this is because it uses many of the same internals and core software. But the story and artwork are much different, and the characters are as well. The human characters are far more detailed, seem to have personalities, and have great animation, especially on higher end machines. The story is similar in certain ways, but hey, its an "alien race bent on killing humans" story line, so how much variety is there.

Overall, this is a great title. If you have a good machine, then it will be beautiful to play, and pretty challenging too. Quake 4 is worth playing for sure, maybe even several times. The price is already down after the orgy that is the holiday season. If you are a fan of these genre of games, then you will enjoy this.

Quake Lives

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The last version I played of Quake before this was Quake Arena, which I liked, however I've always been a fan of FPS games so I looked forward to playing Quake 4 after trying out the demo.

The graphics are killer and the AI seems to be very reactive. There are some very immersive levels and the play is fast-paced and adrenaline-pumping. However, there are a few things that I didn't like about it.

1. The gameplay does not change much. Most of the levels are dark interior rooms with horrific, lumbering, enemies coming in predictable waves ala Doom.

2. It would have been nice to have more vehicle based missions. There was entirely too much running around waiting for some ornately grotesque creature to jump out of the darkness and not enough "mission-based" levels.

Overall, the game was worth the money, but there was room for improvement.

Not to be compared to Doom 3. An amazing game from the masters.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: November 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off let me say that I'm very, very tired of people who trash a game like this for a few reasons: 1.) they focus too much on graphics, 2.) they compare it to similar games which have a different focus, and 3.) they show no reverence for the people who paved the way for one of the best genres in the business.
I have been playing games since Nintendo and I've noticed a definite change in how people judge a game. Since the advent of the 32-bit systems like the PSX, people are becoming more and more concerned with how "realistic" a game looks. This is not all that matters, people. In fact, the importance of graphics are minimal when considering gameplay. The idea of trashing a game because of "jaggy edges," visible polygons, or bad backgrounds is ludicrous. While I have seen better outdoor environments than Quake 4 offers myself, this really takes a back seat when you consider what else a game has to offer. Backgrounds are just that: BACKGROUNDS. Atmosphere is really more important. When you look at the AMAZING lighting effects and jaw-dropping models for the enemies (the art direction is without peer), it seems picky to give credance to these minimal complaints.
All comparisons to Half-Life 2 and Halo are, to me, null and void. Halo is a multiplayer-based game, as is Half-Life. Both are squad-based shooters. These, I admit, are not my cup of tea, but I praise id Software for doing what they want - delivering a rich single-player experience, and giving game players, once again, that amazng feeling of being a lone space marine in the dark, out of ammo, injured, and wondering what the hell is making that ungodly sound just around the corner. This is what id Software DOES. The vehicle combat and squad-based sections are not the focus of the game, and if Halo/Killzone type gameplay is what you like, then those are the games for you.
Without id Software, we would not have the aformentioned games that you all seem to want to compare Quake 4 to. I have a lot of respect for id Software. I absolutely believe that they'e delivered their best game since Quake II with this one. Other shooters these days are getting less and less creative (Call of Duty and all its billions of sequels and "war based games come to mind). id isn't content to just churn out the same war games over and over again. As for the seemingly constant comparisons to other games with "better A.I.," I don't even know where to start. I've never seen A.I. It is industry hype of the sort I haven't seen since terms such as "blast processing." A.I. may very well be programmed into the game, but I rarely notice any difference between games, and that is because, in the end, it is all shoot, hide- run, shoot, hide, etc.
The new gimmicks of shooters, such as A.I., physics, and squad-based combat, are small steps in the evolution of the genre, and are of little importance to the game as a whole. I defy anyone to find enemies and artwork as intricate or staggering as some of the creatures found in id's games. As for the physics, graphics, and "A.I." in Quake 4, all are excellent. The Doom 3 engine has been put to the test, and Raven has done an extraordinary job. More importantly, the game is as fun and engaging as they come.

Just a Quake 3 update

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 15
Date: November 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is graphically stunning. The textures are beautiful; the backgrounds are amazing; the fire and explosions are realistic. BUT - the gameplay is horrible. If you are a Quake 3 fan, you'll love this game because it is the exact same gameplay as that old title. But is it worth the price to essentially just buy a graphical game update? No way. On top of that, the single player mode is just plain bad. It is contrived and inflexible, leading you through the levels like you're on a leash. If you want a good single player game (with an outstanding online multiplayer game as well) I suggest Half-Life 2.

Wait until this drops to the $20 range and then it might be worth it.

Great game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was very impressed with Quake 4. I believe its made by the same folks who created Doom 3 -- which was extremely disappointing: if I had to walk down one more lousy hallway and go figure -- I can shoot AND use the flashlight in this game!!! This is the game that Doom should have been. Graphics are great. AI is great - the enemy ducks and dives for cover. Also, lots of diversity -- inside, outside, driving, etc. I have played just about every FPS and I would rank this way, way up there. Right behind Half Life 2 (greatest game ever), and on par with Far Cry.

My kind of game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Personally I like FPS like this. I just want straightforward no frills gameplay to blow off steam and Q4 fills the bill. Looks very similar to Doom 3 with more color and better lighting. Not as compelling as HL2, and a little overpriced. I'm only a third of the way into it, but I've had no glitches. I still play Q2 even though it's dated. If you liked Q2 you'll like this. Never got into Q3-arena type stuff bores me.

If you like all the others, this is great

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I can't help it. I like where you go in blasting the heck out of monsters without too much thinking and some neat puzzles to solve along the way. This is great. If you enjoy Doom, Half-life4, Etc, this is another great goof off.

Great mindless fun and visual eye candy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was in the market for a mindless shooter that would deliver great visuals, great audio, and lots of shooting, and Quake 4 delivered on all accounts. It's not a perfect game, but it was perfect for what I was looking for at the time. Here is my take on it:

Good:

- Visuals. Even though this game is a year old, I was still impressed with the graphics. I love the opening planet invasion sequence. When you first land, you're ordered to enter the complex and rendevous with the team. But before just charging in, I stopped for a minute and looked up and saw alien fighters swooping in and out, large explosions, planetary guns firing off into space, and more. It was a real visual treat.

- Audio: The audio is fantastic. Bombs going off in the distance, aerial bombardments, gunfire from far off enemies. It's a cacophony of war sounds. The audio really helps keep the adrenaline flowing.

- Performance: I'm not experiencing any of the slowdowns people are reporting. I've turned on all the features including 2XAA. My system is a year old as well: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 1 GB RAM, eVGA 6800GS.

- Atmosphere: It's not quite as dark as some people have been saying. Yes, there are certain sections that are dark, but that's pretty realistic considering the power has been knocked out in certain areas of the complex. Also, there are several levels that take place outside, which is a nice change of pace.

- Squad AI: These guys actually know how to fight! They take cover and cover each other. And although, this might seem a little amateurish, they will often point the way. If you're in a dark corridor and don't know where to go, look at your squad mates and see which direction they're pointing. This will help about half the time. There are lots of sections where they rely on you to find the way.

- Enemy AI: I think the enemy AI is better than almost every game out there that I've played with the exception of FEAR. If you're new to really good AI, you'll be fairly impressed. They take cover and try to outflank you. The only thing they don't seem to do that the AI in FEAR does is they don't actually try to create cover by knocking things over.

- Weapons: They start out pretty standard: pistol, machine gun, shotgun, grenade launcher, but you start to get cool new weapons like the nail gun and lighting gun. I'm also putting this in the Pros section because they sound awesome.

- Vehicles: The troop transport is really cool and fun. See below for more on the bad ones.

Bad:

- Cut scenes: Some seem a little unnecessary and could have been accomplished through in-game dialogue. But again, with a lot of the "bad" things I list here, there is an upside. Quake 4 is such a non-stop adrenaline rush, these cut scenes provide an opportunity to catch your breath.

- Vehicles: These are really a mixed bag. There is one where you actually only sit in it for 30 seconds and take one shot, which is kind of weird. And I didn't enjoy the tank. It slid around too much. But I did enjoy riding on the back of the troop transport manning the machine gun. That was loads of fun just mowing down Strogg. So this one isn't all bad.

No comment:
Multiplayer: I don't play multi-player
Likeness to Doom: I've never played Doom

Quake 4 is perfect for what it is: a mindless but fun shooter with lots of great visuals and audios.

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