Jump to content

Quake 4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Quake IV)

Quake 4
Developer(s)Raven Software[a]
Publisher(s)Activision[b]
Director(s)Eric Biessman
Designer(s)Jim Hughes
Programmer(s)Rick Johnson
Jeffrey Newquist
Artist(s)Kevin Long
Composer(s)
  • Zachary Quarles
  • Kevin Schilder
SeriesQuake
Engineid Tech 4
Platform(s)
Release
October 18, 2005
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Xbox 360
  • Mac OS X
    • EU: March 24, 2006
    • NA: April 14, 2006[8]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Quake 4 is a 2005 first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It is the fourth title in the Quake series, after the multiplayer Quake III Arena, and a sequel to Quake II. Raven Software collaborated with id Software, who supervised the development of the game as well as provided the id Tech 4 engine upon which it was built. The game has an increased emphasis on single-player gameplay compared to previous installments;[9] its multiplayer mode does not support playable bots.[10]

Quake 4 went gold in early October 2005 and was released on October 18 for Microsoft Windows, and later for Linux, OS X, and Xbox 360. A special DVD Collectors Edition was released, including promotional material and the game Quake II with its expansions The Reckoning and Ground Zero. The Xbox 360 version of Quake 4 is based on the Special Collectors Edition, and includes Quake II. On August 4, 2011, the game was made available through Steam.

Gameplay

[edit]

Single-player

[edit]

Quake 4 has a stronger emphasis on single-player than its predecessor, which emphasizes multiplayer gameplay, and features a campaign that continues the story of Quake II. However, it lacks the bot matchmaking offered in Quake III without the use of third-party mods.

Multiplayer

[edit]

Multiplayer modes are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Tourney, Capture the Flag, Arena CTF and DeadZone. Players at QuakeCon reported the multiplayer gameplay to include elements similar to those in previous Quake games such as strafe-jumping or rocket jumping. Notable additions to play are the ability to send shots through the teleporters and the advancement of the game physics provided by the new technology including the ability to bounce grenades and napalm fire off of jump-pads.

Like the previous Quake games, the multiplayer has a client-server architecture. The network code has been altered from Doom 3, allowing for larger numbers of players on each server; Doom 3 has a four-player restriction, whereas Quake 4 has a standard 16 player limit.

Movement

[edit]

The player movement in Quake 4 is similar to that in Quake III Arena and Quake Live, but with the additions of ramp jumping and crouch slides. Crouch slides give players the ability to maintain speed by sliding around corners.[11] Ramp jumps allow players to gain extra height from jumping as they reach the top of an inclined object,[12] which while present in the original Quake and Quake II was not included in Quake III Arena.

Plot

[edit]
Corporal Matthew Kane prepares to take out the Strogg Nexus with his Rail Gun.

The Quake 4 single player mode continues the story of Quake II by pitting the player against cyborg alien race known as the Strogg. The game follows the story of a Marine Corporal named Matthew Kane who is joining the elite Rhino Squad.[13] Following the success of the protagonist of Quake II in destroying the Strogg's leader, the Makron, Rhino Squad is tasked with spearheading the mission to secure the aliens' home planet Stroggos. In the course of the invasion, the squad ship is shot down and crashes in the middle of a battle zone, separating Kane from his companions.[14] Kane rejoins his scattered team members and partakes in the assault against the Strogg.

After performing a number of tasks, such as destroying and capturing Strogg aircraft hangars and defense systems,[15][16] Kane and his remaining squad members make it to the USS Hannibal. There they are given their next mission: infiltrating one of the Strogg's central communication hubs, the Tetranode, with an electromagnetic pulse bomb in the hope that it will put the main Strogg Nexus in disarray. Kane is tasked with defending the mission convoy,[17] which takes heavy casualties. After many setbacks, including the destruction of the EMP device by a Strogg ambush, Kane is left to complete the mission, assisted only by Private Johann Strauss (Peter Stormare) and Lance Corporal Nikolai "Sledge" Slidjonovitch (Dimitri Diatchenko). Strauss figures out a way to destroy the core by shutting down its coolant systems. As Kane reaches the entrance to the Tetranode, however, he is greeted by two rocket-equipped network guardians, as well as the newly constructed Makron, which easily defeats Kane and knocks him unconscious.[18]

When Kane awakens, he finds himself strapped to a conveyor belt in the Strogg "Medical Facilities", a structure used for turning those captured and killed by the aliens either into protein food or additional Strogg units. In a long and gruesome first-person cutscene, Kane is taken through this "stroggification" process which violently replaces much of his anatomy with bio-mechanical parts. Before the final controlling neurochip implanted in his brain can be activated, though, Rhino Squad bursts into the facility and rescues Kane.[19] After escaping through the Strogg medical facility and Waste Disposal plant, fighting off zombie-like half-stroggified humans along the way, Kane is forced to combat his former commander, Lieutenant Voss (Michael Gannon), who has been fully stroggified into a powerful mechanized monster but retains his own consciousness long enough to warn Kane.[20] After defeating this threat, Kane and the remaining marines finally make it back to the Hannibal.

The commanders realize that Kane's Strogg physiology has opened up new possibilities for defeating the Strogg, as he can be used to infiltrate locations and teleportation areas previously impenetrable and/or fatally harmful to human forces. The new plan is to directly target the Strogg Nexus Core, a huge centralized brain-like structure which controls the alien forces. The Marines are tasked with infiltrating the three data towers adjacent to the Nexus: Data Storage, Processing, and Networking. There, they will deactivate the Nexus' shield and power up the teleporter used to access the Nexus and send Kane in. Once inside, Kane will travel to the center of the Nexus to destroy the Core Brain and its guardian.

After infiltrating the facility and realigning the data nodes powering the teleporter, and destroying its fearsome "Guardian" creature,[21] Kane reaches the Nexus core. There he meets the Makron in a final showdown and kills it. This accomplished, he destroys the Core and returns to the Hannibal. Celebrating with Rhino Squad afterward, Kane receives word that he has new orders.[22]

Development

[edit]

The Xbox 360 version of Quake 4 was released at the launch of the Xbox 360 and is Xbox Live compatible. There have been major issues with frame rates for the console adaptation, earning it the award for Most Aggravating Frame Rate/Best Slideshow in the GameSpot.com Best and Worst of 2005 list. In addition, the Xbox 360 port of Quake 4 has very long load times and Xbox Live glitches that result in problematic multiplayer experiences, as documented by game review sites as well as on Activision's support pages for the Xbox 360 version. This version was initially priced the same as the PC Special Edition DVD and features the same content. Aspyr Media published and released Quake 4 for OS X on April 5, 2006, initially only for PowerPC based Macs, but later as a universal binary compatible with both PowerPC- and x86-based Macs.[23] id Software continued its tradition of supporting Linux, with Timothee Besset of id releasing a Linux version of the Quake 4 binary executable. The binary could be downloaded for free from id's servers and it requires a licensed copy of Quake 4 for Windows or OS X in order to run.[24] The Linux installer was made available two days after the release of the game itself.[25] The game's budget was $15 million.[26]

Having worked on the theme music for Doom 3, Clint Walsh and Chris Vrenna were hired to work on the theme music for Quake 4. Vrenna produced while Walsh composed the theme music.

The rest of the music was composed by Raven's audio leads, Zachary Quarles and Kevin Schilder.

Quake 4 was re-released for the Xbox 360 and PC on June 19, 2012, with publication handled by Bethesda. In Europe, the game was launched in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Benelux territories. It was released in the United Kingdom on June 22. Unlike the original Xbox 360 version, the Bethesda re-release does not include the port of Quake II.[27]

Like its predecessors, Quake 4 can be modified. This led to Quake 4 versions of popular mods from previous versions of Quake, such as Rocket Arena,[28] and Quake 4 Fortress (the Quake 4 version of Team Fortress Classic).[29] Quake 4 Fortress was abandoned before its creators considered it complete; instead they released an alpha version complete with source code.[30] In the competitive gaming scene, there were two principal mods, Q4Max[31] and X-Battle.[32] The online Quake 4 competitive community was split between the two mods.[33][34] A number of the online leagues switched between X-Battle and Q4Max, such as ClanBase EuroCup[35] and GGL.[36] Despite this split in the online community, the offline professional LAN tournaments run by CPL,[37] ESWC,[38] WCG,[39] QuakeCon,[40][41] and WSVG[42] all used Q4Max. Members of both the Q4Max and X-Battle teams joined forces with Adam 'SyncError' Pyle of id Software and developed another mod, Delta CTF,[43] which brought Quake II-style Capture the Flag to Quake 4.[44] Another notable mod is SABot,[10] which successfully implemented multiplayer bots in Quake 4 less than a month after the SDK was released,[45] despite this being a feature that some reviewers criticised Quake 4 for not including.[46]

Sometime in 2018, it was revealed that there were plans for Quake 4 expansion called "Awakening" but it was cancelled due to unknown reasons. Former Raven artist Vitaliy Naymushin released several 3D models that were to appear in the expansion.[47] In 2021 the Quake 4 game DLLs were adapted for use with the open source dhewm3 engine derived from the released Doom 3 source code; this has since been used to port the game to AmigaOS.[48]

Reception

[edit]

Quake 4's PC version received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[66] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[67]

Quake 4 received generally favorable reviews regarding the PC version of the game, with game database Metacritic giving the game an aggregate review score of 81/100.[51] Websites and magazines such as IGN and UGO praised its single-player campaign, graphics and Hollywood voice-acting, but complained that its multiplayer was too much like Quake III's. GameSpot gave Quake 4 an 8.0 and it also said: "The single-player is great fun, but the uninspired multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired". PC Magazine gave Quake 4 a good review for both singleplayer and multiplayer gameplay.[68]

The original 2005 Xbox 360 version of the game fared slightly worse with critics when it was released but still received generally positive reviews, scoring 75/100 on Metacritic.[52] The only exception for that is 1UP.com, where they gave the PC version a score of "B−"[53] but the Xbox 360 version a score of "B+".[54] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave a mixed rating to the Xbox 360 port. It panned the single-player campaign for not being creative enough to compete with other games such as Half-Life 2 and noted that the game ran poorly on the 360. IGN scored Quake 4 8.1/10, saying "Quake 4 is one of those games that will appeal to console gamers who haven't owned a PC for years. The single-player campaign is varied and pretty interesting, getting better after you're Stroggified. The enemies go from dumb and running right at you to diverse and more interesting in the second half of the game, and there are a few cool boss fights worth your while. The gory graphics and excellent lighting are well done and they'll appeal to many gamers looking for a fast, shiny game to just let loose on".[69] GameSpot gave it a worse rating than the PC version: 6.6. They also wrote: "There's a good game in Quake 4, but it's buried under several layers of highly disappointing graphical performance issues".[59] X-Play gave the Xbox 360 version a 3/5 and the PC version a 4/5.[citation needed]

Quake 4 was a finalist for PC Gamer US's "Best Multiplayer Game 2005" award, which ultimately went to Battlefield 2.[70]

Competitive play

[edit]

In part due to the similarities to the Quake III Arena multiplayer, Quake 4 was used in a number of professional electronic sports tournaments.

The following competitions have held Quake 4 events:

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Ported to Linux by Timothee Besset.
  2. ^ Mac OS X port developed and published by Aspyr. Re-release published by Bethesda Softworks.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Van Leuveren, Luke (October 10, 2005). "Updated Australian Release List - 10/10/05". PALGN. Archived from the original on December 11, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "The War Begins: QUAKE 4 PC Deployed to Stores Nationwide". PR Newswire. October 18, 2005. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2021 – via The Free Dictionary.
  3. ^ "What's New? (21st October)". Eurogamer. October 21, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  4. ^ Goldstein, Maarten (October 20, 2005). "Quake 4 Linux Binaries Available". Shacknews. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Xbox 360: it's almost here!". Eurogamer.net. December 1, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Day One Launch Lineup — Strongest Launch in the History of Video Game Consoles". Microsoft. November 14, 2005. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
  7. ^ Jastrzab, Jeremy (February 27, 2006). "Updated Australian release list, 27/02/06". PALGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  8. ^ Rose, Alan (April 14, 2006). "Mac Quake 4 now shipping". Engadget. Yahoo. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  9. ^ McNamara, Tom (October 13, 2005). "Quake 4". IGN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "Stupid Angry Bot Released!". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  11. ^ "How to slide in Quake 4". Fatal1ty.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  12. ^ "Ramp Jumping Tutorial". Spontangames.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  13. ^ Quake 4 Designer Diary No. 1 – The Characters of Quake 4 Archived July 20, 2022, at the Wayback Machine GameSpot, July 29, 2005
  14. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Air Defense Bunker". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  15. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Interior Hangar". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  16. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:MCC Landing Site". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  17. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Canyon". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  18. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Nexus Hub". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  19. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Strogg Medical Facilities". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  20. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Waste Processing Facility". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  21. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:Data Networking Security". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  22. ^ "Quake 4 Game Guide:The Nexus". Gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  23. ^ Chartier, David (April 18, 2006). "Quake 4 Universal Binary shipping". Tuaw.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  24. ^ Wilson, Hamish (January 14, 2018). "Playing Quake 4 on Linux in 2018". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  25. ^ Barr, Joe (November 9, 2005). "Quake 4 for Linux". Linux.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  26. ^ Conklin, Aaron (September 16, 2005). "Soaring into year 15 Middleton-Based Raven Software is set two release two A-list Video Games in the coming weeks". Wisconsin State Journal. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  27. ^ "Quake re-released on Xbox 360". Eurogamer. April 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  28. ^ "Rocket Arena 4 Sees The Light". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  29. ^ "Q4F Gameplay Videos released". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  30. ^ "Q4F Alpha released". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  31. ^ "A look inside at Q4Max". Gotfrag.com. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  32. ^ "X-Battle 0.22, The Final Frontier". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  33. ^ "Quake 4 X-Battle Interview". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  34. ^ "Modder Than Hell: The Q4Max vs. Xbattle Wars". Clanbase.ggl.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  35. ^ SweepeR Michał Dudek (December 21, 2005). "ClanBase 1v1 Cups switch to Q4Max". Fnatic.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  36. ^ "GGL chooses XBM". Esreality.com. May 17, 2006. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  37. ^ "CPL goes with Q4Max". Gotfrag.com. 15 November 2005. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  38. ^ "ESWC Rules and Regulations". Mymym.com. 25 February 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  39. ^ "Invitational Quake4 AllStars featured at WCG Finals". Gotfrag.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  40. ^ Clau 3. "Cooller vs Toxic QuakeCon 2006 Final". Wegame.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ Major League Gaming Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ "WSVG Louisville 2007 using Q4 1.4.2 and Q4Max 0.78d". Gotfrag.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  43. ^ "Delta CTF Coming Soon". Gotfrag.com. 6 April 2006. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  44. ^ "Delta CTF 1.0 Released". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  45. ^ "Quake 4 SDK Released!". Planetquake.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  46. ^ "Quake 4 review". Ve3d.ign.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  47. ^ Naymushin, Vitaliy. "Cancelled Quake 4 expansion". ArtStation. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  48. ^ "HunnoPPC Working on Quake 4 port for AmigaOS 4.1". Generation Amiga. January 2, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  49. ^ "Quake 4 for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  50. ^ "Quake 4 for Xbox 360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  51. ^ a b "Quake 4 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  52. ^ a b "Quake 4 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  53. ^ a b 1UP Staff (January 24, 2006). "Quake 4 PC Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ a b Che Chou (January 9, 2006). "Quake 4 Xbox 360 Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  55. ^ Kristan Reed (October 21, 2005). "Quake 4 PC Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  56. ^ Kristan Reed (December 8, 2005). "Quake 4 Xbox 360 Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  57. ^ Joe Dodson (November 11, 2005). "Quake 4 Review". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  58. ^ [1] Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  59. ^ a b Gerstmann, Jeff. "Quake 4". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  60. ^ Sal "Sluggo" Accardo (October 22, 2005). "'Quake 4 PC Review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  61. ^ Will Tuttle (November 28, 2005). "Quake 4 Xbox 360 Review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  62. ^ Dan Amrich (June 22, 2007). "Quake 4 Review". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  63. ^ "Quake IV Review". GameTrailers. January 30, 2008. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  64. ^ McNamara, Tom (October 13, 2005). "Quake 4 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  65. ^ Tom Orry (October 30, 2005). "Quake 4 Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  66. ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009.
  67. ^ Caoili, Eric (November 26, 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017.
  68. ^ "Quake 4 Review by Matthew D. Sarrel". PC Magazine. February 2007. Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  69. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (November 21, 2005). "Quake 4". IGN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  70. ^ Staff (March 2006). "The Twelfth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer US. 13 (3): 33–36, 38, 40–42, 44.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quake_4&oldid=1258454810"