Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
It's the mid-21st century. Humanity is waging an interstellar war against the Strogg, a hostile alien race from the planet Stroggos that assimilates every biological race they come across; their hellish process of fusing flesh with metal to create more of their twisted kind has come to be known as "Stroggification". The war has been long and painful, but there's hope— a single Marine by the name of Bitterman fought his way through several Strogg installations, destroyed Stroggos' Big Gun planetary defense system that prevented Space Marine Corps (SMC) ships from getting close, and killed the Makron, leader of the Strogg, in a tense final battle. The Strogg haven't been discouraged by these massive setbacks, but it paves the way for the SMC to launch a massive second invasion of Stroggos in order to finally bring about the end of the war.
The game begins in the midst of this invasion; the remains of a destroyed ship and the mangled, lifeless bodies of the Marines that were aboard float in space close by as SMC carriers exit warp speed near Stroggos orbit, joining dozens more that are headed for the planet. You are Corporal Matthew Kane, the newest member of the SMC's elite Rhino Squad, and you and your squadmates are being loaded onto a dropship aboard one of these carriers, destined to make planet-fall to help defeat the Strogg once and for all. As a result of somehow being the sole survivor of the Strogg's attack on Space Station Armstrong (which is the reason why he was put on Rhino Squad), Kane is held in high regard, despite being the new guy... aside from Tech Marine Johann Strauss, who thinks that someone like Kane could get them all killed.
The squad is briefed by their commander, Lieutenant Scott Voss, on Bitterman's accomplishments, as well as their first goal upon stepping foot on Stroggos: create a safe place for a Mobile Command Center to land. However, their own landing is put in jeopardy when Strogg missiles lock on to their dropship as it enters orbit. Despite the pilot's best maneuvers, a missile strikes the dropship, forcing a crash landing onto Stroggos' surface. Some people die, but Kane is only knocked unconscious and gets out of the wreckage when he wakes up; Sergeant Dell Morris, only feet away, is pleasantly surprised that he survived. He also receives some healing from Rhino's Medic, Jeremiah Anderson, before setting off to fight the Strogg and aid his squad in their mission, finding and helping other Marines along the way.
After eventually finding a wounded marine and retrieving Anderson to heal them, you meet up with Alejandro Cortez who shows off their sharpshooting skills and is happy to have won the bet with Rhodes that you would survive. He points you to the nearby airlock where you may begin the next chapter.
Air Defense Bunker is the debut chapter of Quake IV; the Blaster and Machine Gun are introduced here. You also get your first encounter with the Strogg Guards. Additionally, the Grunts and Berserkers are also introduced, and you have the chance to learn how to avoid their dangerous melee attacks through standard gameplay.
This Chapter contains examples of:
- Badass Back: During your first meeting with Alejandro Cortez, he kills a Strogg without even turning to look at him.
- Combat Medic: Anderson is a helpful fighter in addition to his duties. This applies to any medic from here on out.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: A distracted Red Shirt meets this fate from the game's first Berserker. Ironically enough, his last name is Pierce.
- Nonindicative Name: The Machine Gun is more like an assault rifle with its current magazine size. This gets Averted once Kane visits the Hannibal and receives an Extended Clip Mod.
- Single-Biome Planet: It's implied that Stroggos is a Polluted Wasteland due to the Strogg's exploitation of its resources. From orbit, we can see the planet is covered in a shades of orange and on the surface, the terrain is very desert-like but without foliage.
- Spider Tank: The Harvester seen in a cutscene right before the level begins. You get to actually fight them later in the game during Vehicular Combat segments.
- Standard Sci Fi Setting: Established in the cutscene preceding the level. You have carrier ships with Warp Drive, dropship attacks on a planet, and Humongous Mecha battles planet-side. Once you gain control of Kane, you have a hand-held blaster with infinite ammo that can charge up to hit harder. There are some deviations, like ballistic weapons still being very common.
- Video Game Setpiece: While Kane is drifting in and out of consciousness, he sights an SMC Walker and Strogg Harvester striding over the battlefield. Fortunately, when you gain control of Kane, the Harvester is just for show and can't harm you.
- War Is Hell: The introduction cutscene makes this abundantly clear. First, a disintegrated ship is accompanied by mangled corpses. Then Rhino Squad crash lands on Strogos with casualties after taking a hit from an Anti-Air missile. A Marine also has a hole blown through him while trying to snap Kane out of his disorientation from said crash.
