"The series is steadily going downhill...but it's still fun"

I loved quake. The original. It had it all. A fun single player, a better online game, and countless mods available, including the king of them all: Team Fortress. But what really got me into quake was the feel of it.

Then came quake2. Fun Single Player, Funner Deathmatch, and a good selection of mods, including Action Quake2. But quake2 was missing that touch of personality that the orignal quake had, which is why it wasn't too big with me.

So along comes Quake3: Arena. Unlike the last two, Quake3: Arena(or Q3A) throws out the single player game, in favor of deathmatch. Does it have the feel that made quake a hit? Sadly, no it doesn't. It's still fun to play though.

Graphics: 8 outta 10. Sure the game has the most advanced 3d engine right now, but if you look at everything...you've seen all of this before. The only saving grace for the maps here are the space maps, and compared to the ones in UT they are weak. The reason why the game gets an 8 here are the models. Some of these guys are freaky. Orbb is a big eyeball that wlaks on it's arms with a gun strapped to it's back, TankJr looks like a boss for quake2 that was cut out at the last second and for the rest, well they're just wierd. A nice nostalgic throwback is that some of the models are familiar. You can play as the guy from Doom, Both the Quake2 Male and Female marine and (most importantly) The original Quake guy! These models animate beautifully, and it's becuase of these models the game gets an 8 here.

Sound: 6 outta 10. Quake3 weakest area. The sound effects are perfect but the music just sucks. Some of the music is pretty good, for instance the final level against Xaero, but most of it sounds too alike. I would of really liked to hear some of the orignal quake's sound effects in the Gothic maps, and the slipgate sound when you go into a portal.

Gameplay 6 outta 10. Yes only an 6. The reason why? It doesn't have the feel. The deathmatching if fast and furious, a bit TOO fast for me. Quake3 suffers from that ''Die every 3 seconds'' thing. Also, online the people with the fast internet connections completely dominate. You don't stand a chance on a 56k. The bots, they have that nearly perfect aim, and don't act at all like human players. There's also a lack of original weapons, something the quake series is long overdue for. They also lack balance, your starting weapon the machinegun is completely worthless forcing you to get a better weapon so you can hold your own.

The Mods: 10 outta 10. This is Q3A's saving grace, there are some damn amazing mods being released for this game! Take a look at quakerally or q3f(team fortress for q3a). The mods are why I bought this game. If you are going to buy Q3A, download a few of these mods, they are pretty damn fun.

It's a fun game, it just can't keep up with all of UT's features and innovations.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/20/00, Updated 07/20/00