Quake III Arena

"Great Multiplayer action, despite its minute flaws"

One of the greatest PC gaming companys has finally released a much anticipated sequel to the Alimighty Quake 2, Quake 3 Arena. Obviously, the hype surrounding this frag-fest would be insurmountable, but would it deliever? The answer is Yes, despite a few minor flaws.

Gameplay: 10/10

This makes the game. It is quite possibly the most addictive multiplayer game EVER. Even though level design is a bit underpar, its a blast going around and shooting anything that moves. There are some very minute flaws in this catagory, but nothing thats going to bring down the score. If you want fast paced fragging, then this would be your dream.

Story: NA

I really do not believe it would be fair to rate story in this game. It is not ment to totally engross you in a story of betrayal and all that crap, it's you and a bunch of guys kicking the crap out of each other.

Graphics: 8/10

Now, I know what your saying ," What is this guy talking about, it has the best graphics ever!!!!". Well, it does, but there is one major problem: requirments. I have an AMD K6-2 350 with a Voodoo3 2000 and 64 Mbs of RAM, and the game runs well below 30 FPS, so I HAVE to knock it for that. After I made some slight adjustments (I changed setup to Fastest and changed res to 1024 x 768) it was smokin fast just with less environmental detail, but the players still looked unbelievable. In my opinion, they should have simply modified the Quake 2 Engine so I could use my MiniGL.:-)

Sound: 8/10

Great sound effects, but the music needs a little improvement. Bring back the Quake music, Trent Reznor was great.

Design: 9/10

I know what you are saying : " What is this catagory?". Well, this is for weapon and character design. Weapons.......... well, this is one of the flaws. It's Doom weapons. DOOM. Sure, there all in 3-D and there is the rail and lightning guns, among others, but its to similar. This is the biggest flaw it loses out to Unreal Tourney in. Unreal T has GREAT weapons, with GREAT detail, and Quake just can't keep up. But character design is by FAR the best ever in a game. That sounds like quite the complement, but it is so original for a FPS it's unbelievable. It was great seing the Doom hero back, and in 3-D. sure, it might not have personality, but it has great design. Only the weapons bring down the catagory.

Demo or Full OR Unreal Tournement?

This is your choice. My recomendation? Download both demos, play them to DEATH, and then choose. If you have a PC thats less than my power, than Quake 3 is not for you. But if you have a good Computer and want to have alot of fun, go out and buy Quake 3 now.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/99, Updated 12/15/99