First, there was DOOM. It was good. Games were never the same. Then came QUAKE. It too, was good. Games were never the same, again.
Okay, enough with the big serious intro. Last week, the website for one of the most anticipated games of the year went live. That game, of course, is QUAKE 4. While DOOM started the whole deathmatch thing way back when (and crashed my school’s network, no less), QUAKE revolutionized it with retina-searing graphics, kickass weapons and just plain fun gameplay. The series hit a sort of bump in the road last time out (QUAKE 3: ARENA paled in comparison to UNREAL TOURNAMENT), but it looks to be back on track when the game hits shelves this Tuesday.
The story is this: Picking up where QUAKE II left off, the battle between Earth and Stroggos is in full swing, with humans bringing the fight to the alien menace. You play as Matthew Kane, a soldier with an impressive reputation as well as a mysterious past. Kane is a member of Rhino Squad, a team of marines led by Sergeant Morris. Morris informs you and the team while en route to Stroggos that the Strogg leader has been killed by an as-yet-unknown soldier (your character accomplished that in QUAKE II), though the Strogg are far from being defeated. Before Morris can finish, the dropship the team is in is shot down and crash lands on Stroggos. The next sequence has Kane waking up from the crash and joining the rest of the squad on the battlefield, where Morris assigns you the task of taking out an antiair gun.
According to id Software’s Tim Willits, what they wanted to do in QUAKE 4 was to make your squad, which is Rhino Squad, consist of unique personalities, and not just another RAINBOW SIX clone. You don’t give the orders this time, though (that’s Morris’ job). Instead of the straightforward ‘blow stuff up and find the key’ FPS, you’ll have points in the game where you have to track down your team after losing them, escort VIPs and secure points on the field of battle. Don’t think that your squad are just another bunch of no-names, they have assigned functions. One member will heal you, another crafts armor, and so on.
For more info, head over to the official site, where not only is there a more fleshed-out description of the game and it’s story, there’s the system requirements (hint: you need a good video card, since it’s based on the DOOM 3 engine), never-before-seen videos, the official QUAKE 4 trailer, wallpapers, screenshots, and more to come, including the winner of a contest id had going on where fans designed the logo for the game.