Quake 4 demo

Is this better than Duke Nuken Forever?

Probabley not

What a wonderfully cynical news item.

it sums up the demo perfectly....pretty rubbish

What would EG be without its cynicism?

I played the non-updated version of the demo a few days ago, and I liked it much more than the Doom 3 demo. It felt more like there was something actually happening, although it did seem like a terribly old-fashioned, corridor-based, zero-AI shooter in many other respects...

One thing I did notice was that the sound is much better than Doom 3. Woo.

Ah.. Good old Stroggland. Do they wear clogs?

Q4 = a quality fps game.

Pisses all over HL2, imho. For starters it's less of a linear physics demo, and more of an actual game.

That's actually funny!

Drumbaby... "Pisses all over HL2, imho"

LOL, seriously, LOL... Thats just plain wrong. Quake 4 demo really is pure crap and Im sure the game can't be much better.

Quake 4 does almost everything what can be expected of a sequel to Quake II. Anyone who can't appreciate the latter, even now after all those years, will prolly never catch the meaning and the fun of a 'no-brains/oldskool/pure' shooter. I wouldn't even try to compare it to HL2; that game simply has other accents, which didn't turn out as the big steps for the fps-genre I thought about (f.e. I appreciated the multi-layer levelsetup of Far Cry a lot more than the physics of HL2).

But Q4 mp is a bit lame, yeah.

Actually the first two levels of Quake (which It sounds like the demo is based on) are piss. Fortunately the game picks up after that.

It's a solid single player shooter. Saying it's better than Half Life 2 is bit stupid however.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed that demo. The game has been added to my christmas list.

Let me start by saying that Q4 has its moments and it doesn't totally suck by any means - I thoroughly enjoyed playing through it. But...

"Unlike HL2, this is not an extended linear physics demo" - truly hilarious. Q4 too is linear, and it doesn't demo anything other than id's remarkable Doom 3 engine (without any sort of physics) and their equally remarkable obliviousness to concepts of story, immersion, variety or dialogue.

What's even more pathetic for Q4 apologists is that this news item does NOT in any way concern HL2. Why do you guys jump at any chance of dissing HL2 whether it is required or not?

Actually both games aren't that much fun IMO.
Quake is old-school boring and HL2 is just plain boring.

Far Cry was by far the most fun (minus those freaks that is).

Wow, Quake 4 sure stirs up a lot of interest! I count 700 comments already!

@rdexter : Of course mate my remark was meant to be an exaggeration - obviously there is some physics in there. Also I am not criticizing the engine itself, only the game - but the way it was phrased it might have misled.

@Fluffy: cheers - welcome back. Long time no see.

I think if you are looking for entertainment, head over to the comments on interview with 50 Cent game devs. Should be the first article in 50Cent search results.

Especially focus on the last 50-60 comments. Ride of a lifetime. Or else, there is always me!!

I know it is long and tedious, but take your sweet time. Should keep you busy for days. Trust me, you won't regret it!!!!

So you tell me that you don't hate me after reading my posts? That's a relief!!

Luckily for you, Qualified is apparently not interested in that thread any more!! (thank goodness). You will live.

C'mon man, I think it was MY phrasing that misled. You certainly didn't sound like a wiseass or I would have replied in a different tone don't you think?

Ryuken:

Quake 4 does almost everything what can be expected of a sequel to Quake II. Anyone who can't appreciate the latter, even now after all those years, will prolly never catch the meaning and the fun of a 'no-brains/oldskool/pure' shooter. I wouldn't even try to compare it to HL2; that game simply has other accents, which didn't turn out as the big steps for the fps-genre I thought about (f.e. I appreciated the multi-layer levelsetup of Far Cry a lot more than the physics of HL2).

That would of course be fair enough but since Quake 2 was released in 1998 or whenever, we've had games like, well Half Life, Half Life 2, Far Cry, Deus Ex and a myriad other games where even if the story wasn't particularly complex or original, it was still presented in a way that involved the player and made them feel like they were part of a bigger picture.

Quake 4 fails to do this and your point about it being an old-school style shooter doesn't really hold up because Raven have attempted half-heartedly to crowbar in some semblance of plot progression and the game needs (and deserves) to be considered in that respect.

" That would of course be fair enough but since Quake 2 was released in 1998 or whenever, we've had games like, well Half Life, Half Life 2, Far Cry, Deus Ex and a myriad other games where even if the story wasn't particularly complex or original, it was still presented in a way that involved the player and made them feel like they were part of a bigger picture.

Quake 4 fails to do this and your point about it being an old-school style shooter doesn't really hold up because Raven have attempted half-heartedly to crowbar in some semblance of plot progression and the game needs (and deserves) to be considered in that respect. "

If you don't feel like playing a part of a 'bigger picture' in Q4, then you must have played another game. The pace is quite fast and there's always something that's happening. Unless you see the 'involving' part purely as something that has to be innovating. But such an opinion would exclude a lot of games, yes, also quite a lot of good games even.

Raven attempted some HL-esque stuff here and there yeah, but I only saw it as some kind of relief between the firefights, it was most certainly not the main focus of the game. I think it's definitely clear they hold more true to the QII-concept, meaning: shooting and blowing stuff up in a tad more timid way compared to Serious Sam or Painkiller. And come on, just like in nearly every shooter this IS a generic setting and an unimportant story, why would you need more? Why even, would Raven f.e. give you now the true intentions/background of the Strogg? Because they've put some marines here and there which are replacing the old briefing-messages of QII? All of a sudden that makes it a story now? Is that the real reason you keep on playing? No, you'll be more willing to shoot your way through the levels just to see what kind of stuff they'll throw at you next, not because you're anticipating an unexpected plot twist or some kind of big explanation to a weak plot. Pure shooter, remember? Little to no adventure/RPG wannabe-elements. It's a feeling people will keep enjoying when they only want to race through levels by having something big to shoot with(and/or at). Standard-fare but sometimes (I love other kind of fps's too of course) I only want just that and the brand 'Quake' has always stood for such kind of gameplay.

rdexter:

...For me it's involving because for once I am NOT the über-hero everyone is bowing down to and relying upon (at least not until the later stages) but I am more or less an ordinary bloke who needs to do his job(s) in order for the bigger thing to function (to win the war).

Doom3, HL2, FarCry were all still oldschool in that respect. One dude walking alone for endless hours, and saving the world as a side-effect. And don't tell me the stories of these titles were in any way more engaging or clever... uhm.. which stories BTW...?
Firstly, there is no universe in which I would have included Doom3 in my list of games in which the plot played a big part

With regard to your first point though, I dunno if I agree; I still felt like I was the uber-hero except it was an uber-hero who was expected to do some menial tasks in addition to the world-saving, ass-kicking action hero stuff.

Your second point doesn't exactly contradict what I said though. I agree wholeheartedly that HL2 didn't have the deepest or most original plot and I implied as much in my post. The clever thing about HL2 (as with the original HL) was that Valve did a really good job of creating the impression that you were part of a broader, more intricate world. That world may or not be more fully realised in Valve's design docs, but it doesn't matter. What is in the game was suggestive enough to inspire countless Steamp Forum threads and a website dedicated to plotting the universe's timeline and speculating about what will happen going forward. And yeah, you're the unstoppable hero of the games but - in HL2 at least - you haven't saved the world, just one city; there are at least 16 more to go.

Ryuken:

The problem with your viewpoint is that Raven have tried to make plot and narrative a more integral part of the Quake experience and they've botched it. They have tried to introduce a twist to the tale but other than a new third-person model, some extra health points* and the ability to read some (but, strangely, not all) Strogg signage, the 'twist' didn't introduce much to the game. Personally I think it was a lost oppurtunity to do something really interesting with the game: instead of having Kane rescued just in time, why not have the Stroggification process complete and then have the player switch sides to fight his former comrades? Why not present the conflict from a different point-of-view?

I also take issue with this notion you have that plot (or, if you prefer, narrative) and action are mutually exclusive. As rdexter has said, HL2 is very much an old-school run and gun shooter even though there are strong narrative elements.

*did it annoy anyone else that the Stroyent Health stations where on every other wall pre-Stroggification and were few and far between post-?

Hey people come off it. This whole debate about Q4 being in the same league as, or worse, better than, the top shooters - now would we be having it if it really belonged there? Face it - nice enough game, but no cigar.

" The problem with your viewpoint is that Raven have tried to make plot and narrative a more integral part of the Quake experience and they've botched it. They have tried to introduce a twist to the tale but other than a new third-person model, some extra health points* and the ability to read some (but, strangely, not all) Strogg signage, the 'twist' didn't introduce much to the game. Personally I think it was a lost oppurtunity to do something really interesting with the game: instead of having Kane rescued just in time, why not have the Stroggification process complete and then have the player switch sides to fight his former comrades? Why not present the conflict from a different point-of-view? "

That wouldn't have been as fun if you ask me. Stroggs are clearly the more diverse fragmeat, they're just big and (mostly) stupid too. Although the Makron was too easy to defeat (just stick to the corners of the upper platform) I don't think that taking it up against smart marines or some general would have been as satisfying in the end. I would have rather preferred such an ending in FEAR where human opponents have been the main challenge throughout the whole game. And like I said, I don't give much about the Strogg intentions or even what language they speak (if you do care, visit the official site for their alphabet... ahem). Their design is just slick enough that you love shooting them but I really don't need 'more Strogg-basics' to enjoy the game. Only once did I heard a marine say 'Why are they doing this?'. At that moment I thought 'yeah, maybe I want to know some time' but I realised that the 'story' and the gameplay are so straight-forward that it wouldn't matter anyway just because the whole premise (not just one transformation event which could have had potential to some) is too simple.

Maybe one could have expected more of the transformation but Kane was 'just' (the transformation itself was a blast to behold) being altered to an elite grunt and they are simply the most humanlike of all the Strogg. That was already clear from the E3-trailer. And if one event during the whole game of even one half of the game could be a reason to call it a nice or an involving story... no, I repeat myself: Raven copied some stuff from some known games but there is still that enormous QII-influence.

" I also take issue with this notion you have that plot (or, if you prefer, narrative) and action are mutually exclusive. As rdexter has said, HL2 is very much an old-school run and gun shooter even though there are strong narrative elements. "

Damn, then we definitely have other opinions. The only thing I wanted to do with the npc's in HL2 after some time was blast them to hell. You don't have the means to even ask what the hell happened after HL1 and how everything 'transferred' to a East-European city. Alyx is a babe and she and other npc's had great voicecasting and nice facial animations but that's useless if your own character is burning to ask them important questions but he can't. Why would I even care for them then? The gameplay itself was fun but once I minded the story I only found disappointment and a Valve designer who was mocking me. Nothing was logical and the end was a smack in the face, nothing like the first HL or the even more brilliant Opposing Force where in both games the G-man at the end felt more 'right' than in HL2. In fact, HL2 in terms of story is nothing else than 'buy HL3 to find out why the hell you're actually playing'. Valve clearly gave the impression to do something big storywise, but I found the extreme linearity of the world and the nearly completely non-interactive npc-encounters they created less forgiving than in the previous HL-games. At times HL2 felt like it would explode (in a good way I mean), and at the Strider-encounters it almost did but I had a better time (and a bigger motivation-storywise) in HL and OF. Still, I wouldn't dare to compare any bit from HL2 to Q4 and vice versa.

" *did it annoy anyone else that the Stroyent Health stations where on every other wall pre-Stroggification and were few and far between post-? "

It was remarkable yes, but otherwise the game wouldn't have been as challenging. In an unrealistic 'shoot-em-all' game like Q4 I personally don't mind such irregularities. If you start asking yourself questions like 'Hey, how come there are all these medpacks/weapons on the floor right before a big confrontation' then you should be playing a realistic fps.

" Face it - nice enough game, but no cigar. "

Sure, I don't think anyone could disagree with that. Fun if you are smart enough to have the right expectations.