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The level areas are all quite similar, which promotes the feeling that youve visited any given area before, and a lot of the enemies are also similar though occasionally you do come up against a notably difficult boss. In some parts of the game you receive help from fellow soldiers, which proves handy because they usually do a pretty good job in assisting. The A.I. enemies are also fairly formidable; they attempt to evade your fire, as well as physically jump at you from ceilings, floors, and walls. As far as saving goes, you can save the game at any point, but the auto-save occurs often enough, usually at the beginning of a level or before a hard fight. It would have been cool if you could have ordered the marines around but at least you can kinda talk to them. There really isn't too much of an in depth storyline, but the game does give you the feeling that you are involved in this massive interstellar conflict. The other marines chatter about the war and the in-engine cut scene briefings with your superior officers serve to remind you of the scale of the war, but also gives enough life and background to the story so that the gaming experience doesn't feel disconnected.
I have to say that the voiceover is very well done. One issue though, I would really like to know what was with all these trips to the mother ship....I guess I was building up my frequent flyer miles. The Doom 3 engine provides a smooth user focused gaming experience with excellent visuals and physics that make you feel comfortable moving around. The graphics take advantage of the excellent lighting effects afforded by its engine, as do the model skins. While the corridors and indoor environments are reminiscent of Doom 3, the textures are at least different enough so that it looks like you are playing different game. But hey, why reinvent the wheel. For those of you who were looking for any of that slow motion action like in Max Payne, that will not be found in this game. Raven has gone to great lengths to dispel the notion that Quake and Doom use the same enemy A.I. routines (if any) and Quake 4 actually puts you up against "elite" Stroggs that use the same weapons as yourself, and will engage in squad tactics. Apart from that, whenever I had to leave my squad or someone who I was mandated to protect I always had the feeling that would be the last time I ever saw them alive. I will admit that this was not realized 100 % of the time.
In dark areas, your teammates actually turn on their flashlights. You can see that in the picture above. Not only that, but there are quite often some fairly large firefight scenarios. These provide you with a good opportunity to test out all of your weapons. You will need to be careful that you don't let the person you are protecting eat too much lead or they get heavy and stop breathing. That would mean you'll have to start over. The other marines are free to die but I try to keep the numbers in my squad as high as possible.
Quake IV is definitely a much more hectic game than Doom 3. While you'll still deal with a lot of shadowy areas, this is less about making you jump out of your seat and more about running and gunning (I for one am thankful for that). When matched with the game's amazing graphical design, the single-player becomes an exciting thrill ride that, on the default difficulty setting, should take you somewhere around 10 to 18 hours to complete. The game play is very good and if you have a high end gaming mouse, it will be surgically precise.
Quake IV has great sound that helps highlight the experience. The weapons sound appropriately tough, which is always key for a shooter. But the game is much more than the sounds of weapons and explosions. The voice work is sharp and believable, and helps give a little more life to the marines around you. The game's music definitely fits in with the atmosphere.
