Since it uses the Doom 3 engine, its not very surprising that the visuals remind me of Doom 3. There are even some cinematic moments in the style of Doom 3 (i.e. seeing behind bullet-proof glass a Strogg sneak up behind a fellow soldier and bludgeon him to death against the window) but they seem kind of hollow from the lack of build-up; the events just kind of happen and don't really take you by surprise. It might be because there isn't much to draw your attention to it before it happens. Doom 3 was pretty good about building suspense. Quake 4, in some parts, isn't.

The missions are pretty hollow. The sense of urgency is just not there. They are usually "Go from point A to point B", and the others are "Go from point A to point B, and guard this technician." You seem to be more of a spectator or an escort instead of a soldier doing damage to his enemy. Optionally, you might have to push a button when you get to point B. Even though pushing that button means a reactor will blow up, you don't get to see it like you would in Quake 2, which is unfulfilling. Instead, you get more radio chatter that tells you to continue to point C.

While the maps, texturing and lighting are absolutely stunning, you end up backtracking through them more than is allowable in a game.

The firefights are pretty fun, but relatively invariable. Engage enemy, strafe and fire, cover, reload, strafe and fire, cover, reload... The action is styled much like Doom 3, where if you can't get through guns blazing, then you can't get through at all. No options to sneak-attack, or even just sneak around. No options for battle tactics like distraction (launch a grenade to the other side of the room so they would displace and investigate it), or the hide-until-they-go-back-on-patrol maneuver I exercised profusely in Halo 1 and 2, or even the classic divide-and-conquer. Once they see you, its on, and always on until they're dead. The grunts will dodge by jumping right or left, but most of the other enemies just bum-rush you. Because there's really only one way to advance through the game, you'll end up executing the passe fight, die, reload-last-save sequence over and over.

Then there's vehicles. Poorly done vehicles. The controls are not very intuitive and often frustrating. They're hovercrafts that apprently pitch and roll to every damn bump in the terrain, which is a pain in the ass when trying to line up a shot and the things don't stop on a dime when you let off the gas (no, there's no brake).

And striders. Oh, wait, they're called harvesters. After playing Half Life 2, anything big and tall that walks around on skinny legs will reminisce of striders. They seriously should have rethought the design of those things.

I'm only through the first "act", of which I am guessing there are three, but I've put enough time into the game to think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on. At the end of this act is a turning point, some might consider it a plot twist, but the circumstances surrounding it leave me very, very puzzled. I won't spoil it, but those that have played Quake 2, I'm sure, will also be very "wtf?" at that point. Although, if this new development modifies game mechanics in such a way where things aren't so tedious and/or repetitive, I'll come back and say so.

For some reaosn, I'm having fun with it. Now that I think about it, it must be the nostalgia.

Oh, and the MP is drawn precisely from Quake 3. Its ok for me cuz I liked Q3A FFA better than Q2. Sorry guys. On one of my first online deathmatches I placed first with 15 in 10 minutes, second place having only 10, with two Impressives with the railgun. And yeah, that was with the Xbox controller, not a kb and mouse.

[ 12-10-2005: Message edited by: Flux ]

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it's just doom3 without the scare tactics...and that's about all doom3 had going for it.

it feels clunky and dated- compared to the immersive experiences put forth by games like HL2 (or even the original), FEAR, et al, it just seems crappy.

..my Q2 server is beckoning.

(I can't run Q4, hehe)

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In Quake, you're supposed to be alone, running and gunning down everything in sight. You're not supposed to be part of a team, you're not supposed to escort NPCs... Q1 & Q2 didn't have teammates, why does Q4?

Just because every other game out there has squad based play with 'smart' NPCs to help (and hinder) you, doesn't mean that EVERY game needs to...

---Begin OT Rant---

The same goes for Halo, Serious Sam, Unreal*, and the rest of the lot. They're too n00b-friendly - they lower the bar for competitive play. I like getting schooled in a game I rarely play, or watching truly amazing players dominate a server. You just don't find that as easily with these newer releases.

Case in point, I very seldom play Quake3, but I can usually do really well in a random Internet FFA, having not played in 6 months. QuakeWorld and Quake2 aren't like that at all. I get schooled on some of the DM servers still kickin, and I play those games much more often.

Perhaps it's just the age of the games? The Quake/2 players still around are "hardcore?" But then, Quake2 is only 2 years older than Quake3 (which is already 6 years old!)

Just my $.02. I think QuakeWorld and Q2 are the best Deathmatch titles ever released. But it depends what level of play you enjoy.. and I know there are superb Q3 players out there. Besides, all these games are out there to provide amusement, and I think they do that.

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Q2 was noob friendly compared to QW, and QW was noob friendly compared to Doom2. . .

You're just a cynical old curmudgeon, like the rest of us, old before our time.

QW Threewave, best thing to come out of Canada since beer.

[ 12-12-2005: Message edited by: AcidWarp ]

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“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

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[1] http://jdolan.dyndns.org/mailman/listinfo/quake2

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GFK ~ If you've been following this afternoons messages, it's looking like we'll start around 8-9EST.

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GFK, did the list give you trouble? You're not listed on the subscribers page, and I didn't see you there tonight.

Burble, did you get that email? Check your comcast account.

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Is it suppose to send a confirmation e-mail? Because I never received it.

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Still nothing....

God damn Apache.

It's looking like some sort of game tonight on a 2nd beta of qmass2dm3. Check your mail around 9 if you're up for a game 8)

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