In a joint press release, developers Software, and publisher have announced that Quake 4 is complete, and has officially 'gone gold'. This means that all parties concerned have agreed that the game is in a release-worthy state (or usually means this, as gamers can no doubt attest). The final version of the game will now be sent to a big factory somewhere, and duplicated squillions of times before being shipped to stores. The press release offers a North American release date of October 18th, so the release should follow within a week or so of this, likewise other regions in coming weeks.

Built using the 3 engine, Quake 4 puts players in control of marine Matthew Kane, who will be participating in several missions to destroy the evil Strogg race once and for all. The story-based single-player focussed game begins minutes after the conclusion of Quake 2, with Earth's armada bound for a show-down on the planet Stroggos. We're promised lone, team-based and vehicular combat - including hover tanks and giant walkers. All in all an action-packed romp is expected of Raven's sequel, which was overseen by id Software.

Of course, the real question will be how Raven's opus compares to the groundbreaking traditions of past Quake titles, given the fresh expectations of gamers in the world 2 et al.

"On October 18, Quake is dialling it up to 4.0 on the Richter Scale with this new chapter in Earth's war against the Strogg," boomed Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "Fusing an epic war-story driven single player campaign, and fast-paced Quake III Arena inspired multiplayer, Quake 4 delivers a gaming experience fans will be raving about for years." We're looking forward to putting it through its paces.

By Luke Guttridge