10 Responses to " Quake 4 (Mac) Reviews "

1. E. Lindahl says:

   February 8, 2010 at 5:04 pm

   Review by E. Lindahl for Quake 4 (Mac)
   Rating:
   Q4 is really a long awaited continuation of the very successful Q2. Those of us that enjoyed Q2 immensely, and were very disappointed that Q3 had no single player, have been waiting long for another chance to reek havoc on the Strogg homeworld!

   The look of Q4 is a perfect blend of old and new. The designers did an exceptional job in designing the new game to be a fresh experience, while maintaining the essence from Q2. The same dark industrial look of Q2 is brilliantly carried into Q4. The Strogg supply boxes we have all come to know, and hide behind, are just one of the environmental elements carried over. Deadly red laser beams, massive hatches, pipes and bridges. The feel of being in the belly of an industrial war machine is palpable! The overall scale of the single player world is massive! Though most of the fighting takes place in dark, some times cramped interiors, there are many good sized areas and even a few battles that take place in large outdoor areas (With heavy war machines). Be warned though, if you hate elevators, there are many, many, many lifts!! I would give Q4 a 10 out of 10 for blending the old with the new to create a truly immersive single player environment!
   
   Compared to other games like Halo (Not really fair) about a 7 out of 10.

   As for the single player path, again this is a continuation and improvement on Q2. I have always been partial to the mission based single player path. Q2 was great in this respect, with the computer constantly updating you as to your next mission. Q4 is a quantum leap in this area! Yes you could get annoyed with the “Mouse in the maze” way that you are directed down the path, i.e. there is only really one way to go at any one time. But this is nicely tempered by the awesome effects and animations! Your fellow soldiers are very animated (Pun intended) it is worth hanging out when you get near them, they talk freely about the Strogg, how the war is going, and many have humorous personalities, like Strauss who is so full of himself, that to listen to him you would get the impression he is single handedly winning the war!! Most of the missions were interesting, and made for great plot driven action!!

   The story is dark, grim and gory!! In some ways more so than the original! The Stroggification of Kane went on (Imho) about 30 seconds too long! I mean we get the idea how horribly he was mangled by the Strogg, and just when you think they have finished making this point, they jab, stab and slice him up some more!!!.maybe I am getting old? But I think they could have toned it down a bit.

   The Strogg menagerie is again a perfect blend of old and new. Several of the old Strogg reappear in more deadly forms. All of them look superb, with this new 3D engine!! The Stroggified marine looks the most like a “Borg”, though it pays to remember that the Strogg came first!!! The Berserker, the dude with a long spike instead of a right hand and a mace for a left hand, is quick and deadly in tight spaces!! One of the creatures that truly freaked my @#$% out in Q2, when ever I ran into one I would start muttering “@#$%!! @#$%!! @#$%!!” because they would gallop up to you and start whacking you with that wicked metal cable/tongue, making that horrible sound!! **Shiver** This creature has been replaced by a bigger, burlier dog-thing. This creature, called a Teleport Dropper, inspires a different kind of terror..it comes with in range, and starts shaking it’s back like a wet dog. The effect is that it starts popping teleport balls onto the floor, which summon many Strogg freaks!!! The beast itself is fairly tough, so the longer it takes for you to kill it, the more Strogg freaks you will have to contend with!! The most wicked “Upgrade” goes to the Iron Maidens, they are vastly more wicked than in Q2. Though they are not physically that tough, they can teleport! But the really wicked thing about them is that they have a screaming
   
   “Banshee” wail that totally messes with your ears and brain!!!! If you get caught in the blast radius of one of the audio blasts, you lose your hearing (Temp) and your vision begins to blur/waver!!! It is best to keep out of their range, until the right moment!! Including some small “Boss’s” there are some 17 different Strogg types you will encounter, they are all very cool looking and wicked in their own way. The worst scenarios are when you have to battle 6 or more types at once!!! The most devastating Strogg unit (Boss’s aside) is the Tactical Strogg Elite Soldier. These guys are what Kane get’s turned into. The AI really works with these guys!!! They move in tight squads, use a variety of weapons and have deadly accuracy, imagine fighting yourself X 6!!! After dying horribly many times, I came to this conclusion, snipe as many with the railgun from a distance as possible, when one rushes you, switch to shotgun!!

   The weapons are also a best of old and new blend!! All the favorites are here, sans the BFG, which has been replaced by an even cooler Dark Matter Gun!!! Which shoots mini-black holes!!! The immediate noticeable difference of the weapons is due to new gaming technology, they look cooler and sound awesome!! The game difference is accuracy and tech upgrades! As the game advances along, you run into marine techs who offer to upgrade your weapons (One at a time) and increase the rate of fire and or clip capacity!!! The game, for the most part, provides plenty of weapons and ammo as you go. I have always been a hoarder of ammo, and will usually stick to simple weapons like the shotgun and machine gun, saving my rockets, grenades and dark matter charges for the “Big stuff”. Grenades for the grenade launcher were the only ammo I felt disappointed in a lack of!. I love the grenade launcher!!!

   One major difference between Q2 and Q4 is the arcade like segments that break up the game, in spots. Over all I think this is a great addition, and gets you out of the killing things in dark corridors rut.. I was a little annoyed at the “You are locked into the vehicle for the duration” method of control, but that’s because I have been spoiled by Halo’s continuous seamless environment, where you can slip in and out of vehicles at will. That small criticism aside, I think it is a refreshing change to the killing things in dark corridors rut!! And adds a much appreciated dimension to an already wicked cool game!!

   I have not played Doom3, but I have heard that the, “something just dropped in behind me” thing get’s really old, quick. Q4 does not pull those kind of “Cheap shots”. In this regard it is virtually identical to Q2. The old, step into a room, activate the charging screaming ghouls, then step back and blast away!!…same as it ever was….and that’s okay!! I prefer that to the flanking BS, that even Halo would pull on you!! That having been said, you do get in larger rooms/areas where you are being shot at from multiple levels/directions.
   
2. Bikin' Brian says:

   February 8, 2010 at 5:29 pm

   Review by Bikin’ Brian for Quake 4 (Mac)
   Rating:
   I bought this game because it was the first Universal Binary game that I actually want to play (besides Enigmo 2), and when I got it installed I was puzzled as to why I could not play it on high-quality graphics in full (wide) screen mode. I tried all I could to get it to work and unfortunately it will only play in 4:3 mode and that leaves nearly 1/3 of my screen not being fully utilized. I contacted Aspyr tech support, and was told that they are aware of this being an issue with the Intel Macs and that they are working on a patch to resolve the problem. Well this means that I cannot really enjoy this game until the patch comes out, however long that will take.

   I am very happy that I bought this game, and once this has been resolved I will replace this review with a more accurate description of Quake 4. But in the meantime, don’t go out and buy this game if you don’t want to get full use out of it!
3. Lisa Wawrzyniak says:

   February 8, 2010 at 5:43 pm

   Review by Lisa Wawrzyniak for Quake 4 (Mac)
   Rating:
   Those of us who are fortunate enough to have a mac, and have ever played Doom 3 on it will know that Doom 3, id softwares last games was horrible. No plot, monsters jumping every which way out of closets, and who knows where else. Let me get this striagh, this is totally different. No dark hallways where you can see the gun in front of you, no more ambushes by zombies and demons and whatnot, Quake 4 is an awesome, incredible shooter. The voice acting and constant action combine to make a gaming experience that no other game can match. If you have a Mac, this is a game you must get.
4. T. Stokes says:

   February 8, 2010 at 6:16 pm

   Review by T. Stokes for Quake 4 (Mac)
   Rating:
   I got it yesterday, played it for hours. My mac does not meet the min. requirements for CPU:

   1.47Ghz G4 (upgraded Digital Audio G4 powermac)
   
   Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (PC version flashed for mac)
   
   1.0 GB PC133 RAM
   
   RAID 0 Array w/2 7200rpm drives

   I think my Radeon 9800 makes up a little bit for the missing CPU mhz, but this game is making me want a G5 or Core Duo mac a lot more. Too bad they cost so much.
   
   I play at 800×600, low quality, shadows off. Very playable in the indoor levels, very slow in outdoor large-scale battles. Framerate goes as high as 60 fps indoors, as low as 8 fps during heavy fights in/outdoors. Id says a patch (v1.2 ?) is coming soon “that will increase framerates at lower resolutions” which means on my computer
   
   Good news: online multiplayer is FASTER than single player mode IF you have 6 or less opponents online with you. It’s great, like Q3A was.
   
   4 stars overall, -1 from 5 for the heavy hardware requirements.
5. Sharon L says:

   February 8, 2010 at 6:37 pm

   Review by Sharon L for Quake 4 (Mac)
   Rating:
   As a middle aged woman, who is just returning to college, I’m really not your typical game player. I have Quake 4 for my Mac laptop, OSX 10.5.6, and it runs just fine. I’m not really into gaming that much, I was just curious what all the fuss was about. I’ve sort of surprised myself by really getting into it! The graphics are good, the sound great, and the general game atmosphere is pretty ominous, and sometimes downright scary! I’ll admit, sometimes I just have to stop for a minute. I don’t really have much to compare it too, although I have played Alien vs. Predator on my PC, and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. So my review? It’s a fun way to take a break from actually working on the computer.
6. Gerrit H. Dalman says:

   February 8, 2010 at 7:13 pm

   Review by Gerrit H. Dalman for Homeworld 2 (Mac)
   Rating:
   Homeworld 2 is sequel to PC Gamer’s 1999 Game of the Year, which was never officially released on the Macintosh (…). Like it’s predecessor, Homeworld 2 is a stunningly beautiful strategy game driven by an enthralling and moving story. The innovative 3D approach inspired a series of similar games for Windows, but this is, fittingly, the first to make it to the Mac.

   Long after the events of the first game, the Hiigaran people find themselves once again in a prophetic war of galactic-scale. The plot is captivating and does a phenomenal job of tying the individual missions together. The story unfolds through smoothly integrated scripted action with in-game dialog and complementary cut scenes between missions. The latter do not detract from the atmosphere either - they are uniquely artistic with simply animated grayscale visuals.

   There is no overstating it: this game is stunning. The nebular backgrounds are lit by nearby stars, fighters leave elegant trails as they maneuver, engines glow ominously, and stylish ship hulls are dramatically lit. Even the violence of weapons, fire, and explosions are stunning.

   It even sounds as good as it looks. Homeworld had an award-winning soundtrack and the sequel has a great one too. Sound effects are high quality and active stereo makes you really feel a part of the action. Orders from fleet intelligence and fleet command are well acted and the responses from your ships are varied enough to prevent annoyance.

   You command the fleet to victory from the mothership with few allies and a determined foe. The basic mechanics of the game are like most strategy games. You have to harvest resources in order to research new technologies and build more ships to help you achieve victory. The sci-fi environment and plot tie-ins even make that model seem more natural and less tedious than in most strategy titles.

   Unlike other games in the genre, the action unfolds in true 3D space. You can - and must - maneuver vertically as well as laterally. This makes battles much more interesting. There is still “terrain” to be exploited in the form meteors that can provide cover and clouds that can be harmful or hide from the enemy. All of this makes the tactical play very unique.

   As difficult as the number of units and 3D environment could be to control, Homeworld’s approach made it pretty simple and the sequel is even more so. By automatically forming squadrons of fighters, for example, you don’t have to worry about banding dozens of individual units. The interface makes selecting ships, assigning formations, and issuing move and attack orders easy. A tactical view makes seeing the big picture a snap and moving vertically is as simple as holding a single key.

   There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get started you’re likely to be hooked for a while. Even after completing the single player missions (which should take some time) you can replay them to improve your fleet or try a different tactic.

   Though multiplayer games are a lot of fun, they are restricted to other Mac users only, since the Windows version uses GameSpy. That also leaves the Mac version without a built-in game browser. Though supported by GameRanger (…), not a lot of people are playing online yet. You also have the option of playing multiplayer games against one or several computer controlled fleets just to test yourself. Realistically though, most of the replay value comes from repeating the campaign missions.

   Homeworld 2 is an impressive game. Missions load very quickly and performance is great even near the low-end. Despite it’s level of detail I was able to turn the graphics all the way up on a machine that drags Halo and Battlefield 1942 through the dirt without suffering a performance hit until literally hundreds of spacecraft were visible.

   Homeworld 2 is a must have for any strategy gamers out there. I highly recommend it for anyone with an attention span longer than ten minutes and an interest in space, science fiction, or who just wants to see something beautiful on their screen. But as Lavar Burton says, “you don’t have to take my word for it.” (…)
7. Isaac Marx says:

   February 8, 2010 at 7:30 pm

   Review by Isaac Marx for Homeworld 2 (Mac)
   Rating:
   I don’t have much to add as far as the content of this game, but I would like to say that I have been playing Homeworld 2 steadily over the last few days on 10.4 Tiger, and so far I have not encountered any problems whatsoever. So to all you potential buyers out there, don’t let the previous reviewer scare you - Homeworld 2 runs just fine on Tiger. You now have no good reason not to buy this game.
8. D. Allen says:

   February 8, 2010 at 8:18 pm

   Review by D. Allen for Homeworld 2 (Mac)
   Rating:
   HW2 is all of the things everyone else says: It’s visually stunning, without crushing your processor, the music and sound effects in general are amazing, and the actual gameplay is quite enjoyable. The pace is generally slow and stately, with bursts of frenetic combat. You definitely feel the hugeness and majesty of space while you’re playing it, and that, combined with the fact that you never see a human face or figure, create a strange sort of detached, lonely intensity to the game.

   The controls are demanding, no matter what anybody says. Maneuvering your fleet from one point to another in the 3D space is a real hair-puller-outer, never mind trying to use the waypoint systems, and the fact that you have to micromanage I find more frustrating than challenging. Things like having your workers automatically repair damaged units nearby and the like, which games like WC3 have managed to make a matter of course, don’t seem possible with this game. The fighting units are not particularly diverse…they seem to go big, bigger, biggest, with the minelayer and the capture vessels being the only ships with unusual functions (and the minelayer seems to be a favorite target of the enemy AI, so you never really get to see it do its thing).

   The missions in the Single Player mode are really compelling, but don’t cry out for a replay once you’re done, and the Melée mode doesn’t stray much from the typical RTS formula of build up your forces and technology and then go fight. I don’t play online so I can’t testify as to the value of the game in that area. And I have yet to find the community of modmakers and custom-map makers that other RTS games like Warcraft, Total Annihilation and so on have inspired, which would definitely give some legs to this game.

   In summary, the imagery and sound are superb. If the developers of this game had been a little more engaged in the gameplay dynamics and the replayability of the game it would be a 5-star AAA game all the way. But as it is, I can’t recommend paying more than $20-$30 at the most for this game. I have seen this game for as little as $15 used, and at those prices it’s definitely worth it.
9. Kirk S. says:

   February 8, 2010 at 8:19 pm

   Review by Kirk S. for Homeworld 2 (Mac)
   Rating:
   I’m an RTS (Real-Time-Strategy) fan, and am quickly getting bored of the same old games being rehashed as either a StarCraft or Age of Empires clone. But to my delight I found Homeworld 2 a very unique gaming experience: 3-D! I downloaded the anemic demo, and was surprised to find that the game is more extensive, although not extremely hard. The hot-key and mouse (my best purchase for my Mac was a two key mouse-you should get one anyway!) input has a high learning curve, but once you get it, you’ll find it was worth the wait.
   
   The disadvantage is that there are few HW2 games posted on GameRanger…I hope to see that change once the word gets out that Homeworld 2 is a refreshing game in a genre that is full of “copycats.”
10. Ben Michaelson says:

    February 8, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    Review by Ben Michaelson for Homeworld 2 (Mac)
    Rating:
    I would first like to commend ASPYR for their awsome port over to Mac, with some of their games I find they didn’t do a good jo or left things out, not in this case. The graphics are top notch and the enviroments are absolutly gourgeous. As for the story it could do better and the gameplay does get a little repetetive but the way the engine works is absolutley awsome. Another problem with the gameplay is(and I know making a 3D universe for a RTS is difficult) I found the camera angles to sometimes get a bit annoying and often made me use the sensors to play the game (sensors are kinda like the mega map). Overall though it’s a top notch title and a top notch port.