Sunday, November 26, 2006

Quake 4 (PC) Completed for the 3rd Time


This past Friday evening, while I was waiting for the Staff to get out of the office so we could go drinky-drinky, I finished up Quake 4 (PC) for the third time, my second on the Lieutenant (Hard) difficulty setting.

I really like how fast paced the game is, and I think Raven Software did a great job here. You're constantly moving forward, with little time to catch your breath if you so chose, however you can indeed take a pause and/or head back to collect health and ammo should you need to.

I still maintain that the game really needs a quick kill weapon, as the Nail Gun and even the game's Dark Matter Gun doesn't cut it. This lead to some really frustrating situations, mostly against Tactical Transfers (who can cut you down with a Machine Gun in literally a couple of seconds) and the odd time against Heavy Hovertanks.

My favourite section of the game is still right after you've been Stroggified and are attempting to escape the Medical Facility with your squad. The limited amount of weapons and ammo you have, plus the nice variety of enemies, really adds to the tension. That, and the Medical Facility is just plain creepy.

I also like how, even though very action oriented, you still have sections of the game which inspire a sense of loathing, caution, and dread.

Quake 4 is quite the enjoyable title, and I'm sure I'll get around to playing through it a fourth time. I tinkered briefly with the General (Very Hard) difficulty, however I didn't like how fast everything could kill me (and the lack of a decent healing option like the Soul Cube), so I'll probably stick with Lieutenant; it's still got some very good challenges.

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