When QuakeCon was held in Mesquite Texas back in the summer of 2001, Quake 4 was announced to be in production through a joint effort of id Software and Raven Software. The games single player campaign would continue the storyline from the highly successful game Quake II that was released back in 1997 and the multiplayer aspect would be a reflection of the equally successful multiplayer-only Quake 3 Arena that was released in 1999. After the game was announced, there were some pretty impressive game play features being rumored to be included such as vehicles, outdoor areas, squad mates and using the DOOM 3 engine to get gamers drooling at the chops. Four years after the initial announcement, Quake 4 has made it way to the store shelves and into the eager hands of anticipated gamers.

The game starts off as a platoon of SMC ships are deployed to the Strogg planet to join in the ongoing war. You take the role of the enigmatic Matthew Kane, who in the fashion of most FPS main characters, doesn't mutter a word other than a groan or grunt throughout the entire game. As you head towards Stroggos, much like the intro to Quake II, your ship is hit and you take a dive onto the surface of the planet in a heap of burning wreckage. It seems that if you crash land when entering a battle with Stroggs, it is a good sign that you will end up being a hero and save the day. Once you regain consciousness, you are immediately aware that you are in the middle of the battle and you need to meet up with your surviving squad mates. You are quickly updated on the progression of the conflict and are informed that a marine elsewhere has taken down the Strogg leader, The Makron, whom you may recall as the big bad at the end of Quake II.

The action of Quake 4 is both hectic and dazzling at the same time. Often times you will find yourself traveling with either a squad of marines or just one buddy tagging along to lend a hand. Medic squad mates will heal you up when you need to top off your health and engineers will fix your body armor and later on in the game, upgrade your weapons to keep you in tip top shape. Although you don't say a word, your team mates sure do love to chew the fat when they aren't covering your back. As you venture into the Strogg base, you will run into various friendly squads and need to perform various objectives such as turning on switches, destroying objects and finding alternate routes to get through the stronghold. All the while you are making your way through the corridors and trenches of the Strogg base, you will have your hands full with the various ghastly human-machine Strogg warriors that are trying to put you in the ground. Many of the enemies you come face to face with are upgraded, modern versions of the original Quake II enemies. The grunt soldiers come in several varieties and are much more hideous this time around, as are the Berserkers, Parasites and Iron Maidens. As great as the new versions of the enemies look and act, the grunt Stroggs have an irksome, nerve grating sound that they repeat when they are near. To put an end to that annoyance, you become well armed as you come across weapons to pick up. The classic weapons are there to put a hurting on the Strogg forces as well as some new entries to the arsenal like the Dark Matter gun and the Hyperblaster.

Being that Quake 4 is built upon the DOOM 3 engine, one of the best – if not the best – game engine presently in use, the graphics are nothing short of drop dead gorgeous. The surroundings you find yourself in throughout the game in various stages are spectacular looking in both the design and lighting. Flares and flames light darkened hallways; casting shadows that keep on your toes at all times. Unlike the engine's previous game, DOOM 3, Quake 4 does not take place entirely indoors. There are times that you will need to head outdoors to take care of business. Most of the time that you are outside, you will be using vehicles to accomplish your mission and to cover more ground. You have the use of a hover tank and a mech walker to take down some of the larger enemies that are patrolling the dusty, arid landscape as well as ride on convoy trains and trams as you man the machine guns in defending missions.

Aside from the single player portion of the game, Quake 4 also provides an impressive multiplayer. If you have played Quake 3 Arena in the past, you will be very familiar with the Quake 4 online play. The two games are identical in their gameplay and feel the same, control and physics wise, and include a few remakes of Quake II and Quake 3 multiplayer maps as well. The usual play modes are included, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, CTF and the new Arena CTF which allows you to use certain power-ups like Doubler, Guard and Scout, all reminiscent from the Quake 3 expansion, Team Arena that was released by id Software in 2000. Quake 4 doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to its multiplayer content, but when something isn't broken it doesn't need to be fixed.

Quake 4 is an all over great experience to play through with an appealing plot and no monster closets! The graphics are some of the best out of any game on the market and the action is a rollercoaster ride through an army of enemies. Granted you will need a pretty serious gaming rig to run the game smoothly while being able to see all the graphics have to offer, but it is still an enjoyable game with some of the settings turned down. Although there may be times throughout the game where you will feel as though things are getting repetitive and drawn out, the play gets changed up at the right times and gives you a refreshing perspective to keep you going. Even though there are many frightening and starling moments during the first little while of the game, the scares trail off quickly as the game turns toward more of an action focus and doesn't look back. Being one of the top FPS games released so far this year, any fan of the genre and definitely fans of the Quake series should jot this down on your list of games to pick up.