Gaming Quake 4

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I hadn't noticed a thread for this game here, so I thought I'd make one.

I've been playing Quake 4 quite a lot recently and I've found it to be a pretty surprising game. I didn't really expect to like it, even after reading several reviews. But it's grown on me in a big way...and I'm not even at the "become a Strogg" point yet.

There are a couple of things about Quake 4 that I find interesting, mostly due to history. For example, I have never really liked the Quake games in general. The first game bored me to tears. And I always felt that Quake II was really just a technology showcase more than anything else - the singleplayer, at least.

The only Quake game I enjoyed at all was Quake 3: Arena, which I played fairly regularly for a little while. It seemed to ignore a forced single-player game and focus on the action, which was good, because it removed the superfluous stuff and provided a fairly solid action game.

And then there's Doom 3, which I mention because Quake 4 uses the Doom 3 engine. I was highly disappointed by Doom 3. Yes, the graphics were a new step forward, but the gameplay was incredibly stale - nothing had changed or really been improved at all, from the original Doom.

Quake 4 seems to be the best of both worlds in a sense - it uses the Doom 3 engine to good effect (by providing plenty of variety in environments, as well as lots of larger outdoor areas), while simultaneously providing a far more engaging gameplay experience than Doom 3. The story in Quake 4 isn't amazing, but the gameplay is significantly better than Doom 3; not only is the game more action-orientated, but it's also quite a lot more varied.

While Quake 4 isn't the deepest of games, I almost feel that it's making up for the mistakes that Doom 3 made. And I'm kind of surprised to have seen a few negative reviews out there - regardless of any issues the game may have, the controls are incredibly tight and the progression is pretty damn good all the way through. I've never really felt annoyed or frustrated or bored while playing this game, which is certainly a good thing.

So, who else here owns or has played Quake 4? And what is your impression of it?

From what I've played, it's probably one of the better games in the early Xbox 360 lineup. It's certainly a great addition to the console's initial batch of games and I think it generally provides a good demonstration of what the system is capable of, both in terms of graphics as well as using the controller for first person shooters.[/font]

[Charles]

I downloaded the demo from the marketplace a while ago. I was initially interested in getting the game but most reviews complained about gamebreaking slowdown; they said the frame rate dives so low that the game becomes unplayable. Have you noticed anything at all like this?

[James]

[quote name='Charles']I downloaded the demo from the marketplace a while ago. I was initially interested in getting the game but most reviews complained about gamebreaking slowdown; they said the frame rate dives so low that the game becomes unplayable. Have you noticed anything at all like this?[/quote]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Well, I have only been playing the game on 480p and I haven't had a hint of slowdown. The game is incredibly smooth on that resolution.

However, I imagine that if you try to play the game on higher resolutions it might have problems. So I suppose it depends on your setup. Maybe 720p is the sweet spot.

But I've really been enjoying it. Did you end up playing the demo?[/font]

[Charles]

[QUOTE=James][font=trebuchet ms]Well, I have only been playing the game on 480p and I haven't had a hint of slowdown. The game is incredibly smooth on that resolution.

However, I imagine that if you try to play the game on higher resolutions it might have problems. So I suppose it depends on your setup. Maybe 720p is the sweet spot.

But I've really been enjoying it. Did you end up playing the demo?[/font][/QUOTE]

Well yeah, I don't know how fast your download speed is, but for some reason it takes me anywhere from twenty to fourty-five minutes to download a demo. So, I always play them after going through the trouble.

The demo was incredibly brief though. I think it contianed abridged (at least I hope so) versions of the very first two stages. I played it again as a refresher and the game moves at a blazing clip but whenever I turned it seemed jerky. The second level moves outdoors into desert trenches where there's a lot of action, so the frame rate took a noticable dive there. We're talking about a demo though; there have been several demos released on the marketplace with strange problems.

I play in standard definition and don't see myself upgrading my television anytime soon so maybe when the price comes down I'll get on it. I'd have probably bought it out of impulse if March hadn't been so saturated with games I wanted.

[James]

[QUOTE=Charles]Well yeah, I don't know how fast your download speed is, but for some reason it takes me anywhere from twenty to fourty-five minutes to download a demo. So, I always play them after going through the trouble.

The demo was incredibly brief though. I think it contianed abridged (at least I hope so) versions of the very first two stages. I played it again as a refresher and the game moves at a blazing clip but whenever I turned it seemed jerky. The second level moves outdoors into desert trenches where there's a lot of action, so the frame rate took a noticable dive there. We're talking about a demo though; there have been several demos released on the marketplace with strange problems.

I play in standard definition and don't see myself upgrading my television anytime soon so maybe when the price comes down I'll get on it. I'd have probably bought it out of impulse if March hadn't been so saturated with games I wanted.[/QUOTE]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I don't know if they changed it at all for the PAL version, but I haven't noticed a single hint of slowdown in Quake 4 at all. Perhaps you could rent it first or something?

Come to think of it, I haven't seen slowdown in [i]any[/i] Xbox 360 game I've played...although I've only really played three or four games so far.

The interesting thing is, several reviews commented about slowdown...but I'm nearly halfway through Quake 4 and I haven't seen a single sign of it, even when there's a lot of action on the screen.

In any case, it might be worth trying the rental just to see if it's any better.

I almost feel that this is what Doom 3 [i]should[/i] have been.[/font]

[silpheedpilot]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray][SIZE=1]Ah. Quake 4. The first game for 360 I bought. I was going to buy it for PC but at the time of the XBox 360s release there wasn't anything that was all that eye-catching that you couldn't get on the PC but I succumbed to the pressure and bought Q4 on the 360 and I've never been happier.

I'm a pretty big Quake fan and I've been playing them avidly since each came out in their respected dates. Q3:Arena. Had some good times with that game.

In anycase when I played Q4 I never really saw any slowdown and if I did I disregarded it as I do for all slowdown unless it is absolutely game hindering.

But I think you're right, James; Doom 3 should've been Quake 4. Doom was always an action game not a 'I'm going to attempt to scare you' game.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]There must be some difference between the NTSC and PAL versions, then. I'm now [spoiler]at the point where you get turned into a Strogg...or just after it[/spoiler] and I haven't seen a single hint of slowdown at all. The game has run incredibly smoothly.

I've really been enjoying it so far. Even the tank sections have been relatively good (though probably not as good as the tank-based areas in Halo 2). I must say though...I've been enjoying this game as much as I enjoyed Halo 2 initially, or probably more. Some aspects of this game [i]almost[/i] reach Half-Life 2 quality, although not quite.
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