The Quake name brand has always been synonymous with technologically sophisticated fast-paced shooters. The original Quake was the first shooter to truly support 3D technology (which was still in its early phases of development) and helped further propel id as a household name. Even though it was a technological breakthrough, with fast paced multiplayer action over the internet and a title the modding community could easily latch onto, it was largely a hodgepodge of different elements thrown together into a game. Quake II brought more cohesiveness to the series by introducing a stronger storyline and more consistency to the weapons. Then the whole single player story experience was ditched in Quake III Arena, which shifted all its focus to multiplayer action. Now enter Quake IV a game that has high expectations to fill.

As a first for the series, it is no longer pioneering fresh technology, but is instead inheriting its 3D engine from Doom 3. Additionally, instead of being developed by id, it has been left to the very talented hands of Raven Software, who have created some very successful shooters in the past (among them being Star Trek Elite Force). In Quake IV, we return to the story that was started in part II, where humans are fighting an interplanetary war against the Strogg, a cybernetic alien race bent on destroying humanity and assimilating it into its macabre machinery. There is even a reference to the player's earlier exploits in helping to weaken the Strogg in the game's intro. A lone marine was able to make it through the main base, take out the Big Gun, and kill the Strogg leader. But that wasn't enough. Now you, as an elite marine soldier named Matthew Kane, must finish the job by destroying their communications network. The story takes you on a thrilling ride through the Strogg homeworld as you fight vicious monsters of all shapes and sizes.

To be clear, Quake IV doesn't do much to progress the 3D shooter genre much further than what Doom 3 managed to achieve. Although there are plenty of winding tunnels and claustrophobic rooms to get through, this game is at its core, a standard straightforward shooting game. The storyline is pretty cohesive and there is tons of action, with frequently updated mission objectives. There are also plenty of great cut-scenes (one scene in particular that includes a lot of cutting) and it's interesting to see how characters regard you as the game progresses. Your character endures a significant transformation halfway through the game, but this change is mostly cosmetic and doesn't impact gameplay in a significant way. One of the things that truly sets this game apart from Doom 3 is the fact that there are times where you will fight along a squad of soldiers. One of those squad mates might be a medic who will heal you when your health is low, or a tech who will repair your armor. At specific points of the game, a tech will upgrade your weapons. While you still spent a lot of time as a lone soldier, it is still a sharp difference from Doom 3, where you pretty much spent the entire game by yourself.

The weapon selection in Quake IV is about what you would expect. With a few exceptions, practically all the guns from the previous games were brought over. Among them, of course, is the famous nail gun, laser pistol with infinite ammo, rocket launcher, and shotgun. The one weapon that will get the most use will be the standard machine gun because of its versatility. Ammunition is easy to find, it does moderate damage, has a sniper feature, and it is the only weapon besides the pistol that has a mounted flashlight. Unlike Doom 3, Q4 does not rely on monsters jumping out at you from the dark, but there are plenty of dark corners. The monsters don't react to your flashlight, and there's no battery to worry about, so it's usually easier just to leave it on. The biggest weapon in Q4 is not a BFG, but a DMG (Dark Matter Generator), with graphics that look deceptively similar, but very different effects. Instead of blowing everything up on the screen, it tries to suck everything in its blast radius into a sort of black hole. That makes for some very nice special effects. While it's a little disappointing that the majority of the guns do not have any kind of secondary fire, the player quickly learns to live with it. They might even forgive it once their guns get upgraded, especially when they learn to enjoy the chain attacks an upgraded lightning gun provides.