Quake 4 details leaked News

The first details of Raven Software's plans for Quake 4 have snuck out this afternoon after subscribers to PC Zone in the UK and the American edition of PC Gamer received the latest issues of the magazine and scanned in screenshots and preview information.

The scanned screenshots have already appeared in various locations - most have been pulled by now, but you can still find them with a little effort - but arguably the details lifted from the preview text are more exciting than visuals that, a very high level of visual quality notwithstanding, might as well be interchangeable with stills of id Software's Doom III. Hardly surprising, of course, given that id's coveted Doom III engine powers the Raven Software-developed Quake 4.

The most interesting revelation so far seems to be that in narrative terms Quake 4 is actually a direct sequel to Quake 2, and takes place just hours after the events of that game, and consists of a mixture of solo missions and battles that have you tackling the Strogg shoulder to shoulder with your fellow marines - most of whom didn't prove terribly useful in Quake 2.

The previews also reveal that you're part of a military campaign attacking the Strogg homeworld, that missions will take place both inside and outside, and that amongst the returning weapons will be the blaster, machinegun, nailgun and shotgun. We're also told that you will get to take control of vehicles from time to time, which would be a first for the series.

Question marks still remain over the multiplayer aspect though. Apparently it's similar to Quake III Arena, and the single-player vehicles will not be available for use against your fellow humans, but other than that details are still scarce. Expect to hear more soon though as further details of Raven's previously mysterious Quake project make it out onto the internet.