Activision and Raven let loose some
teaser info about the latest in the classic Quake
series.
With all the attention focused on the development of DOOM 3 over
the past few years, the team at Raven Software has been able to
enjoy some peace and quite working on Quake 4, which is also using
the cutting-edge DOOM 3 technology. To date, there's only been a
few nuggets of information released about the game, which is actually a sequel to Quake
II.
Today, Activision passed along a slightly expanded synopsis for the
game written by Raven's Eric Biessman, along with one of the few
screenshots we've seen to date:
Earth is under siege by an alien race. The Strogg are cybernetic
warriors -- a mechanical frame and decaying body parts stabilized
by flesh consumed in a systematic annihilation of other species and
civilizations. In a desperate attempt to survive a Strogg attack on
Earth, an armada of Earth's finest warriors is sent to take the
battle to the Strogg home planet. Earth's initial assault force is
nearly annihilated immediately, but one marine manages to
infiltrate the base, bring down their planetary defense systems,
and kill the Strogg's collective brain and leader -- the Makron.
Earth assumed the destruction of the Makron would end it all, but
it didn't.
That's where QUAKE II leaves off and QUAKE 4 begins.
The Strogg are quickly regrouping. However, with the Strogg's
planetary defenses still destroyed, Earth's forces can deliver a
full and final assault. This time, you're not alone. You are
Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad, and part of Earth's
next invasion wave. An army of soldiers are fighting with you and
an arsenal of weapons and vehicles are at your disposal in this
heroic and epic battle between worlds.
The mechanized Strogg race are once again your
main opposition in Quake 4.
Considering we already knew the game would continue the Strogg
storyline from Quake II, there's not a lot of new information in
this synopsis, although we now have the name of the man behind
whatever guns Raven can dream up for the sequel: Matthew Kane. It's
also hard to miss the similarities between this screenshot and most
of DOOM 3 -- it'll be interesting to see if Quake 4 has a similar
focus on dramatic lighting and indoor areas, or if we'll get to
spend a little more time outdoors with the vehicles announced to be
part of the action.
