| Quake 4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Raven Software[a] |
| Publisher | Activision[b] |
| Director | Eric Biessman |
| Designer | Jim Hughes |
| Programmers | Rick Johnson Jeffrey Newquist |
| Artist | Kevin Long |
| Composers |
|
| Series | Quake |
| Engine | id Tech 4 |
| Platforms | |
| Release | |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Quake 4 is a 2005first-person shooter game developed byRaven Software and published byActivision. It is the fourth title in theQuake series, after the multiplayerQuake III Arena, and a sequel toQuake II. Raven Software collaborated withid Software, who supervised the development of the game as well as provided theid 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 has a stronger emphasis on single-player than its predecessor, which emphasizes multiplayer gameplay, and features a campaign that continues the story ofQuake II. However, it lacks the bot matchmaking offered inQuake III without the use of third-party mods.
Multiplayer modes areDeathmatch,Team Deathmatch, Tourney,Capture the Flag, Arena CTF and DeadZone. Players atQuakeCon reported the multiplayer gameplay to include elements similar to those in previousQuake games such asstrafe-jumping orrocket 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 previousQuake games, the multiplayer mode has a client-server architecture. The network code has been altered fromDoom 3, allowing for larger numbers of players on each server;Doom 3 has a four-player restriction, whereasQuake 4 has a standard 16 player limit.
The player movement inQuake 4 is similar to that inQuake III Arena andQuake 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 originalQuake andQuake II was not included inQuake III Arena.
TheQuake 4 single player mode continues the story ofQuake II by pitting the player against cyborg alien race known as theStrogg. 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 ofQuake 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 theUSS Hannibal. There they are given their next mission: infiltrating one of the Strogg's central communication hubs, the Tetranode, with anelectromagnetic 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-personcutscene, 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 theHannibal.
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 theHannibal. Celebrating with Rhino Squad afterward, Kane receives word that he has new orders.[22]
TheXbox 360 version ofQuake 4 was released at the launch of the Xbox 360 and isXbox 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.comBest and Worst of 2005 list. In addition, the Xbox 360 port ofQuake 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 releasedQuake 4 forOS X on April 5, 2006, initially only forPowerPC basedMacs, but later as auniversal binary compatible with bothPowerPC- andx86-basedMacs.[23]id Software continued its tradition of supportingLinux, withTimothee Besset of id releasing a Linux version of theQuake 4 binary executable. The binary could be downloaded for free from id's servers and it requires a licensed copy ofQuake 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 forDoom 3,Clint Walsh andChris Vrenna were hired to work on the theme music forQuake 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.
In 2021 theQuake 4 game DLLs were adapted for use with theopen source dhewm3 enginederived from the releasedDoom 3 source code; this has since been used to port the game toAmigaOS.[27]
Quake 4went gold in early October 2005 and was released on October 18 forMicrosoft Windows, and later forLinux,OS X, andXbox 360.
A "Special DVD Edition" was released, including promotional material and the gameQuake II with its expansionsThe Reckoning andGround Zero. The Xbox 360 version ofQuake 4 is based on the "Special DVD Edition" and includesQuake II. On August 4, 2011, the game was made available throughSteam.
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 ofQuake II.[28]
Sometime in 2018, it was revealed that there were plans for aQuake 4 expansion calledAwakening but it was cancelled for unknown reasons. Former Raven artist Vitaliy Naymushin released several 3D models that were to appear in the expansion.[29]
Like its predecessors,Quake 4 can be modified. This led toQuake 4 versions of popular mods from previous versions ofQuake, such asRocket Arena,[30] andQuake 4 Fortress (theQuake 4 version ofTeam Fortress Classic).[31]Quake 4 Fortress was abandoned before its creators considered it complete; instead they released an alpha version complete with source code.[32] In the competitive gaming scene, there were two principal mods, Q4Max[33] and X-Battle.[34] The onlineQuake 4 competitive community was split between the two mods.[35][36] A number of the online leagues switched between X-Battle and Q4Max, such as ClanBase EuroCup[37] and GGL.[38] Despite this split in the online community, the offline professional LAN tournaments run by CPL,[39] ESWC,[40] WCG,[41] QuakeCon,[42][43] and WSVG[44] all used Q4Max. Members of both the Q4Max and X-Battle teams joined forces with Adam 'SyncError' Pyle ofid Software and developed another mod, Delta CTF,[45] which broughtQuake II-styleCapture the Flag toQuake 4.[46] Another notable mod is SABot,[10] which successfully implemented multiplayer bots inQuake 4 less than a month after theSDK was released,[47] despite this being a feature that some reviewers criticisedQuake 4 for not including.[48]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | PC: 82%[49] X360: 76%[50] |
| Metacritic | PC: 81/100[51] X360: 75/100[52] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | PC: B−[53] X360: B+[54] |
| Eurogamer | PC: 7/10[55] X360: 6/10[56] |
| GameRevolution | C+[57] |
| GameSpot | PC: 8.0/10[58] X360: 6.6/10[59] |
| GameSpy | PC:  [60]X360: [61] |
| GamesRadar+ |  [62] |
| GameTrailers | 8.9/10[63] |
| IGN | 8.2/10[64] |
| VideoGamer.com | 8/10[65] |
Quake 4's PC version received a "Silver" sales award from theEntertainment 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 databaseMetacritic giving the game an aggregate review score of 81/100.[51] Websites and magazines such asIGN andUGO praised its single-player campaign, graphics and Hollywood voice-acting, but complained that its multiplayer was too much likeQuake 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 gaveQuake 4 a good review for both singleplayer and multiplayer gameplay.[68]
The original 2005Xbox 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 is1UP.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 asHalf-Life 2 and noted that the game ran poorly on the 360.IGN scoredQuake 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 inQuake 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 forPC Gamer US's "Best Multiplayer Game 2005" award, which ultimately went toBattlefield 2.[70]
In part due to the similarities to theQuake III Arena multiplayer,Quake 4 was used in a number of professionalelectronic sports tournaments.
The following competitions have heldQuake 4 events:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
