Details of Raven Software's Quake 4 have been few and far between until now. Readers of PC Gamer in the U.S. have had access to the first few images of Quake 4 and to a few details about the game. The images were quickly scanned and posted on gengamers.com, although they were removed just as quickly when word got out.
The most remarkable feature of the game, as depicted by the images, is the similarity with Doom3, no surprise there since Quake 4 will use iDs Doom 3 engine.
The Quake 4 details revealed include some surprises regarding Raven's choice of storyline. The developer has decided to make Quake 4 a sequel to Quake 2, picking up the storyline just hours after Q2 events unfolded. In the game you will have solo missions but a large part of the gameplay will involve large battles where your fellow marines will be essential to your survival.
According to the Quake 4 storyline then, you will be part of an expeditionary force sent to attack the Strogg homeworld. Your arsenal will include some of the traditional Quake weapons such as the machinegun, shotgun, nailgun and blaster. Another innovation for the series will be the ability to command vehicles in various stages of the game, even though these will most probably not be available in multiplayer mode.
Multiplayer will, apparently, be very similar to Quake 3 Arena, although the developer will definitely have kept some plans secret for the time being. Expect further details on multiplayer and in general about the game, to begin appearing following the recent previews.