Quake III Arena

"Beautifully done brutally!"

Quake III: Arena is id softwares magnum opus. A Great game that gets most of the things right. Unless you have been living under a rock, then you have probably heard in one way or another of the legendary id software. id software, and John Romeros knowledge of Brutal FPS physics is uncanny. They proved that graphically games can be pushed to the limits with their Doom, and previous Quake franchises. This latest offering from id just smashes every single of the companies previous titles to the wayside. With its polished graphics, exceptional online components, and addictive gameplay.

Graphically speaking, Quake III: Arena should automatically establish the computer gaming media as a true art form. Quake III: Arena runs on John Carmacks latest graphics engine. Just by looking at the detail of the models, and the amount of polygons carmack managed to squeeze in every piece of the enviornment....I must say that the Quake III engine was very beautiful. The graphics are an eyecandy, and the architectual design in every level indicates that the game designers have paid every attention into crafting the game into a graphical masterpiece, and an artistic success.

However don't mistaken the graphics as the games main attraction. The gameplay is just as good. If you haven't noticed by the title, Quake III: Arena drops the weak 2-minute story structures present in their previous games in favor of a more streamlined "Tournament" story thread, not unlike Unreal Tournament. If I were you, I might as well skip this story as well, as chances are it won't hold anybodies attention for a second. The real meat and bones of the game is based on fragging the hell of your opponents in small corridor-full arenas.

The Game can be played Online, and offline, and either way the game is all fun, but true deathmatch buffs will usually favor the game because of its online capabilities(Which I'll get on to later). In the games single-player mode, you are given the simple task to eliminate opponents and advance to newer "tiers" where more opponents await. Unlike Unreal Tournament, in which the games single-player mode usually gives you some specific missions, Quake III arena just leaves you off for a tried and true deathmatch. Speaking of deathmatch, the games weapons are all pretty standard.

Expect the id software staples such as the machine gun, Gauntlet, Railgun, Plasma Cannon, Rocket Launcher, Shotgun, and the fricken BFG!!!! Many people love to bash Quake III because of it lacking alternate fire like Unreal Tournament, and the fact that Quake III doesn't have as much weapons UT or Counterstrike. That fact doesn't really matter, because Quake III's weapons are all fairly balanced and work well in almost any area. However in most games expect people to make beehives over the Rocket Launcher...because the Rocket Launcher is probably one of the only weapons that offer that much spread. Another problem is the lack of a good sniping weapon. Sure we have a railgun, but you can also use the Zoom mode for other weapons as well. Those aren't too big of a problem though. The Weapons are kept simple and to the point.

If you defeated the campaign mode, and had a couple of practice sessions with the games fantastic CPU-controlled bots, then you can go on to playing people online. Finding opponents is easy thanks to the games popularity. There are a number of stapled favorites to play online like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag modes, which are all good fun. Expect some lag playing in servers with low ping though. Not everything is perfect.

If you cannot play online, then all the good deathmatch modes can be played in the games skirmish mode...for all you lonely asses. The CPU bots cannot think like normal humans, but they make for tough sparring practices.

All in all QuakeIII: Arena is a fantastic, bloody, and brutal example of what can be created combining good graphics technology with excellent playbalancing. I had more fun playing this game than the first UT game, and thats saying something. Congradualtions id software on another successful masterpiece....now get on to Quake4!!!!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/04