"Not much fun...too hard to enjoy...HUGE DISAPOINTMENT"

Intro:
Quake for Dreamcast is a HUGE disappointment!!! The games has a unentertaining, irrelevant single player on par with Outtrigger and since online in no longer available the game is all but virtually unenjoyable except if you have friends over.

Gameplay: 1/10
The game play is a little too fast and control on the controller (although it can be customised) is difficult. Aiming and tracking enemies becomes unbearably difficult with the controller and brings the game down more than anything else!! Nothing is more frustrating than trying to dodge and return fire through strifing, it is accomplished much easier in Outtrigger! Numerous people mentioned the mouse and keyboard as better control options and although i'm not verse with them i'll try anything to be able to gain any sort of competitive ground in the area of control.

Overall Quake Arena is a serious let down!! I have Quake 2 on my PC and enjoyed the single player missions which are in NO WAY found in Quake Arena! Didn't Sega know that online play would not last forever? Or what about those people who live in areas where Internet play not really an option? The game seems to be produced for online play ONLY, hence why the other aspects of the game come up short. I was really excited to get this game as I read all the over-hyped reviews on this site and others...but my heart was broken by frustrating and frantic speeds coupled with annoying aiming or lack of managable aiming mechanism. Another small gripe I have is this...my crosshairs tend to get lost in all the action at times and I thought that I chose one that was bold and stood out among the choices.

I was first introduced to the genre through the multi-player Deathmatch of Rainbow 6: Rogue Spear on the DC and that was a much better experience with my friends. The idea of stealth, sniping, throwing grenades around corners and planting c4 all made that title a much better investment. Quake Arena lacks ALL that and exchanges it with fast running... shoot... run out of ammo... run... run... shoot with no strategy... run etc. You get the point. The game simply has you running VERY fast and struggling to process all the action while trying to aim. The gameplay can be compared to an arcade game like Outtrigger instead of a strategic First Person Shooter.

Graphics & Sound: 8/10
On the plus side the game has good graphics, sound and the ability to turn blood OFF...thats it the positives end there! I like the dark settings for the stages, they all look great. The graphics are simply eye candy (although Outtrigger looks better) and sets the mood for the premise of the game..."survive at all cost"

Overall: 3/10
My final word is simply this..."Look elsewhere for a good FPS"

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/04