Quake III Arena

"Blood Splattering on the Wall"

I'd never played any Quake games on the PC before I played this, so I had no idea what I was getting into. However, armed with my DC Keyboard and Mouse, I switched it on, clueless to its greatness, and this game is great.

Story:

I don't know the story behind it, but the aim of the game is simply to run around and kill everyone. Which is nice.

Gameplay:

While it is sometimes difficult to find something that the mouse is responsive on (because most things don't work), once you find something, then you're up for some fun. Really, you need the mouse and keyboard for this game if you're going to be able to become a Quake III Master.

The game involves you taking on a character which you make. There isn't much to work with, you have about 12 set bodies, but you can change the colours, I think. After that, you participate in a series of progressively harder battles to try to complete the game.

While playing with a controller, you can get around, move, jump shoot etc, but using a normal DC controller pales in comparison to using the keyboard and mouse, as the designers intended. With all the extra functions that there are that you can use with the keyboard, it doesn't make sense not to use it.

The game has different stages of difficulty, and some will seem really difficult, and almost impossible to do, whereas others will seem like a breeze, and you'll complete them in no time. Either way, its fun to kill everyone, and watch their blood splatter everywhere.

Visuals:

This game has gorgeous graphics. As good as its PC counterpart, with the best graphics card money can buy. I am truly lost for superlatives which describe how great this game looks.

Sounds:

There's some background music playing, and while it is fairly good, and really focuses you on the game, you don't really consciously notice it. Not a wasted thing, as it isn't the same atmosphere with it off, but you don't notice it much when you're playing.

The Sound Effects in this game are great. Hearing your opponents scream before they die, or hearing your rocket take a chunk out of someone fills you with that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Replayability:

If the DC wasn't hooked up to the net, Quake III wouldn't be nearly as great as it was (remember Quake II on N64?). Online multiplayers at 2:00 AM beats all. Blowing up someone half way across the world gives you that special feeling that you're country really is the best.

Without multiplayer, especially online, then this game would have very little lasting appeal. I'm just annoyed that in England, we have to pay by the minute for our DC Internet, and so I can't go on too much.

To Buy/To Rent:

If you don't like good games, then don't buy it. But seriously, this game is a Buy. It's a great game, with lasting appeal, IF you have your DC hooked up.

8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/02, Updated 05/09/03