"A great classic"

Quake is id Software's second and most popular series of first person shooters. While at first sight it may not be worth your time, it still a great game. Quake is a legendary game which pretty much started the craze of multiplayer shooters.

Gameplay - 7/10

While Quake is your average first person shooter, it was the very first one to feature complete freedom of movement. By freedom of movement I mean that it is the first FPS game that allowed you to look up and down and all around freely.

Your selection of weapons is pretty limited, as there is only four types of ammo. There's the common shotgun, double barreled shotgun, nailgun (which shoots nails at machine gun rate), the perforator which shoots nails even faster, a grenade launcher, and a thunderbolt (shoots super powerful lightning bolts). Your most basic weapon is a bloody axe.

It may be simple gameplay, but Quake is a classic and very fun to play. The single player game has four difficulties to choose from, and the fourth one is so difficult that they hid it.

There is four episodes in the single player game, and each one is progressively more difficult than the previous one. Quake is a fairly challenging game.

After you finish the four original episodes, Quake has much more to offer. As is usual with id Software games, you are able to create new levels or download other people's levels. Also available is the multiplayer option to fight other Quake gamers for fun.

There is also total conversions and skins available for download from many internet sites. Total conversions change the graphics in the game and often make a complete mission with a story line and usually a single player experience. Skins allow you to change the appearance of your player in multiplayer games.

Story - 5/10

An enemy codenamed ''Quake'' is using slipgates to insert death squads inside the base which you are stationed to kill, steal, and kidnap. It is unknown where he is from, but it is believed that Quake is not from Earth, but another dimension. They say that Quake is preparing to unleesh his real army.

You are in charge of ''Operation Counterstrike.'' You are to find Quake and stop him/it.

While scouting the neighborhood, you hear shots back at the base. Quake heard about ''Counterstrike'' and attacked first. Returning to the base you see that it is overrun and you are probably the only survivor. In the base you know there is a slipgate that is set to Quake's dimension. You set off to use it and get revenge on Quake.

Note: story taken from manual, copyright 1996 id Software

Audio - 8/10

Quake's sound effects are great. With stereo audio hardware, you can hear which direction a growl or the grating of moving stone comes from. This directional sound makes it easier for you to see enemies before they hit you from the side or behind. Every enemy has its own individual growls or sound effects, like the chainsaw of the ogre when he tries to cut you up.

The music is also very good, as it was done by Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. Some of the music is eery and perfectly sets the mood for this game.

To sum it up, Quake is a game with which you'll want to turn the volume up to get the full experience.

Video - 7/10

It may be old, but Quake still has great graphics. In it's own time, it had amazing graphics. While at the lowest resolution the graphics are pretty ugly, it's still ok. If you have a powerful enough PC, you can crank the resolution way up to 640x480 or higher and that's where it really shows its graphical quality.

Quake has an overall dark palette of colors, very few brights and very few outside areas. The setting is a dark one though, and the areas are mostly good looking.

The only gripe I have is that the monsters and players look blocky and funny.

Replayability - 9/10

You have plenty of reason to play again and again, with the hundreds of levels that you can download, the total conversions to have a new type of experience, and the multiplayer option. Quake is a very long lasting and satifsying experience that lasts for years.

To buy or to rent? - I got a copy of Quake for only $4.96, so it is definitely a great bargain. Go buy it, now. It is a wonderful game and at $4.96, it's a steal.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/01, Updated 10/30/02