False Dawn

Ah, a new game for a new review. Isn't it nice? We're leaving behind that stuff, radioactive wasteland for... stuffy, dark corridors. Filled with cybernetic killing machines. That want to turn you into one of them.

Huh. Games are kind of dark these days, huh?

Well, that's the style, I guess, especially when it comes to games from id software, who you may or may not know as the creators of the infamous DOOM and Quake series. Well, the mod up for review today is for Quake 4 (alas, the only Quake I own) by the name of False Dawn, which instead of being a simple addition to the main product takes the game's forumla, flips it the bird, and does its own thing like any self-respecting rebel would. But first, the important stuff:

Author: Little Gears (A 3 man development studio)

False Dawn link

Here's a quick rundown of Quake for those not in the know (This is a little bit of "Need to know" stuff for the story, so some spoilers for Quake 4 here): Humanity is fighting a brutal war across the stars against a race called the Strogg. Imagine the Borg, except instead of just grafting the cybernetics into you they cut away pieces of your body and replace them, and what they can't cut away they tear open and fill with sharp metal bits, all while you're awake and aware. The protagonist of Quake 4 undergoes this "Stroggification" process midway through the game, but fights back and ultimately defeats the Strogg leader and the weird brain thing that controls them all.

Set 20 years later, False Dawn reveales that that wasn't the end of the war. The Strogg have been pushed back by humanity. And, after seeing how well the last guy did after undergoing Full Body Pizza Cutter surgery, humanity collectively stroked it beard and said "You know, I think that could work."

So after going into the military barbershop for what you presumably thought was a haircut, you walk out more machine than man and get sent on a mission in enemy territory to destroy a super-weapon they have under development. Lucky you. You can now make toast with your- uh, well, I really shouldn't say.

Anywho, upon arriving at the facility in question you need to gain access to the weapon by acquiring three different doo-hickeys that do space stuff to open the metal door in your way instead of, I don't know, bringing some explosives. But here is where one of the features of the mod comes into play: The ability to choose your objective.

Now, you need all three gadgets to get through the door, but you can retrieve them in any order. From a central hub in the base you select the path you want to take to get whichever doo-dad you like the sound of most, and each path leads to a different area of the base. Pick any of the directions in any order: How you assemble the items is entirely up to you.

Now onto the next one: Enemies. This is a mod based on an id software game. That means you'll be mowing down hordes of enemies every time you turn the corner, making the base just one huge orgy of blood, gore, and poor life choices (Just like the old days of gaming). But there's a catch: Now, unlike the vanilla game, your enemies have armor. That doesn't mean Mook A has a lot more health than B because he eats his spinach every day, this is actual armor. The tougher enemies covered in metal plating won't even be mildly inconvenienced by your standard machine gun or pistol. To take these behemoths down you need to utilize your special weapons, like the rocket launcher and nailgun, if you want to make any progress. But, as it goes without saying (Which is why I'm saying it... what?) the ammo for those harder hitting guns is much rarer to find. Sure, it's enjoyable to vaporize a squad of grunts with the lightning gun, but a few seconds later when their best friend comes around the corner with two arm cannons and tank treads where his legs should be, you'll realize that your fleeting moments as a Zeus impersonator would have been better spent picking them off with your assault rifle instead.

This creates a tense atmosphere where, unlike the base game, become aware of every shot you take, carefully rationing out each bullet to ensure you have enough come time for the inevitable final battle. You'll be at the edge of your seat as you poke through every dark corner in search of more ammunition because at the rate this mod throws enemies at you you'll never stay topped off for long. But this wouldn't be Quake any other way.

And, finally, the health system. Much like vanilla Quake you have a meter for health (You. If it's gone, you die) and for armor (The parts of you that now come with a two-year Stroggification warranty. Protects your health). But, again, the catch: The Strogg don't believe in health packs, so you won't find any lying in random places around the base. No, instead you restore your health with Stroyent.

Stroyent is that strange substance found in those beating hearts affixed tot he walls that have the helpful green meter stapled to their surface. You get the Stroyent from them and store it, the amount you have being denoted by a third meter underneath your health and armor. When you get hurt it automatically spends itself to restore your health and armor, health taking more Stroyent to restore than armor.

But you can't store as much as you like and the Stroyent dispensers are uncomfortably far apart in certain sections, meaning you have to watch your health as much as your ammo. And your enemies pack a punch. Every action you take, because of these tweaks, needs to be measured and thought through, making for a slightly more tactical shooter than the base game itself, which is just fire and guts and guns and explosions (Even though by all rights that should be more than enough).

My only small complaints are the brightness and the strange filter placed over your vision. The recommended brightness seemed, to me, far too dark which was only compounded by the grainy static that never left my vision. Perhaps it was some attempt on their part to make it more apparent that you are now a walking blender with guns (Or maybe I'm just dumb and missed an option in the menu) but whatever novelty it has quickly wears off when you can barely see anything more than five feet in front of you.

That said though, this mod is well made. The story isn't very engrossing and at times the voice acting makes you want to mute the game (Only at certain times, though, most of it is at least decent) but the new gameplay mechanics for an old game are more than welcome in the way they force you to switch up your playstyle if you want to survive.