GameSpot: As far as we can tell, Quake 4's multiplayer does indeed go after the speed and feel of Quake III's multiplayer, and it seems to do a pretty good job of re-creating it. The map that was available for play was a very open-ended one that resembled nothing so much as a smaller version of the classic free-for-all map Q3DM12 (aka "The Dredwerkz"). True to Quake 4's single-player game, the multiplayer map's decor was highly industrial and lined with wall-to-wall rusted metal, while the default player models were all human space marines. In fact, the most cynical critic would have to admit that even if the gameplay seems very similar to that of Quake III's deathmatch, Quake 4 looks great. The texture work on both the rusted metals of the corridors and the uniforms on player models seems highly detailed, and despite that the game was pushing normal-mapped character models and whizzing sparks and gunfire every which way, the game seemed to run at an extremely fast and smooth frame rate (though to be fair, the game was running on an insanely high-end PC).

PC.IGN: Other levels showed off the vehicles. First we saw a marine hovertank making its way through a massive aquaduct. The turret of the tank is armed with a massive cannon and a machine gun. You'll need both weapons to take on the flying enemies who are pelting you from above. The enemies launch two types of missiles at you. Those that have orange trails can usually be dodged; it's the blue-trailed ones that home in on you that you'll really need to worry about. Thankfully, they're announced by a "missile lock" whine. The other vehicle we got to see was the marine walker. Imagine an armed, power suit of the type seen in Aliens. The interface for the walker is great. It shows the protective frame around your head and torso, and a series of system readouts on a computer screen in front of you. Off to your right, you can see the shoulder-mounted machine gun. A missile launcher lies just out of view on your left shoulder. The walker in this case is trying to make its way across a well-guarded bridge.

Gamecloud: First off, people who might be afraid that the DM modes in Quake IV would be a repeat of the slow gameplay of Doom III's deathmatch mode can rest easy. Quake IV deathmatch is fast and furious on the multi-level map we played today with 15 other players. As we said, the visual style of the game is like Quake II; gunmetal Strogg. However, the gameplay is very much Quake III Arena, complete with jump and acceleration pads at certain points on our map. You have two base weapons at the start; a small machine gun and Quake IV's melee weapon; a bloody circular saw. Other weapons include the standards like the shotgun, rocket launcher and Quake II's railgun. There is also a plasma weapon, a lightening gun and a grenade launcher. In summary there are plenty of ways to kill an enemy in Quake IV.