"FPS Earthquake"

Quake is a FPS developed by Id Software. After Doom & Doom 2 the world was waiting, biting his nails and sweating from agony about what the next move of Id Soft would be and then came the earthquake called Quake. Quake was the first fully 3D FPS game and it was created by the folks who where responsible for the Doom series so it sold like hell. But apart from its commercial success is it a good game? The good news is that Quake like doom is a fast paced frag-fest now in 3D, the bad news is that is quite inferior to Doom.

Story: 4/10
Presentation: N/A

Ahhh, good ol' Id Soft… so many legendary games, the same freaking plot!!! You are once again the unnamed marine in a facility where some experiments with portals are being conducted, something goes wrong and bad stuff start pouring out of them and you must kill them. All this info can only be seen in the manual, with nothing in the game apart from some lines of text after each chapter that you won't actually care to read. Fortunately the game isn't based in its story so I don't really care, although a good background story would be more than welcome.

Gameplay: 8.4/10
Replay Value: 7/10

What I love in Quake is that, like Doom, is a very adrenaline pumping, fast paced game where you won't waste your time talking, solving puzzles or need some platforming skills, you just grab a gun and fight! The level design is quite good both as a stage for fighting and because it's not just a couple of corridors and rooms. Puzzle solving in Quake means push the button over there to open a door somewhere, so those of you who want something more challenging when it comes to puzzle go elsewhere, the rest keep on reading. The weaponry is very good, although a bit typical. A shotgun, 2 kinds of nail guns, (like machine guns), rocket and grenade launcher and the typical uber gun that kills in a couple of milliseconds. Now these seem simple, but back then in the era of Doom where shooting was almost automatic Quake seemed very different. First of all it was 3D, you could literally look in all directions… and shoot of course. The weapon that wowed players back then was the grenade launcher though, since you could try various tricks like bouncing a grenade and hit the unsuspecting enemy from an angle. Set aside the weapons we have a wonderful set of enemies that are quite dangerous compared to the simpler enemies of Doom. Here enemies don't actually attack in large packs but are very tough and need quick reflexes. Especially one certain enemy, who runs like crazy, jumps at you and hurt you a lot and most importantly it usually comes in small groups. There aren't many enemies but those that are here are very good with only a couple of them being very simple, like the human soldiers and warriors. The game is divided between 4 worlds that vary in look, complexity and of course difficulty and after completing them the final level unlocks.

Quake's single player was very entertaining for me despite its age, but I know that most people out there aren't like me. Most people love playing online and Quake was actually THE game that made that kind of playing popular. Quake featured a great Multiplayer and back there was a craze with playing Quake online thus many Tournaments where being held, either official either by unofficial player groups. Playing a Deathmatch in Quake is very entertaining, even now after so many years, some players still play Quake online. The only flaw in the Multiplayer is the unbalanced weaponry since the one owning a rocket launcher is usually the king of the battlefield. Finally another great thing about Quake is the fact that it is one of the most modified games in existence. I've seen all kinds of things like Super Mario Quake, Doom Quake and many, many more…

Graphics: 9.2/10
Design: 8.8/10

Quake is an old game, one of the first fully 3D of its time, but it looks good even today, it has that special something, it has atmosphere and since I wanna be fair I will score it based in the time when it came out and not compare it with newer games. Back then quake was the best thing when it came to graphics, another proof of John Carmack's genius. What we have here is a dark hellish world with a great gothic style, nothing like the machine & flesh cocktail of Doom. Most levels look as if we are at a medieval castle\dungeon where dark rituals are being conducted. The texturing is great like all Id Soft games and the lighting gives another feeling to the whole game, sometimes it gets too dark at some areas but nothing that will irritate you more than a couple of seconds. I also loved the design of the creatures. The human enemies are plain boring but fortunately you wont see these folks too much, since most of the time you have to face strange beasts that actually aren't only dangerous but also LOOK dangerous. Some monkey\dog like creatures with sharp blood covered horns and teeth that moves very fast and makes long leaps towards you, dark knights that throw fire, zombies that tear flesh from their body and throw it at you and one of the most common and cool enemies in the game, an ogre that swings around a chainsaw while throwing grenades at you. Quake just looks great and if you can get past its age you will love it.

Sound: 8.6/10
Music: 6/10

Very good work on the sound section, the music is certainly not a masterpiece in fact it is quite forgettable, but it is generally ok. The sound is far better with loud weaponry sounds and explosions that will blow your ears! Enemies are dangerous, look dangerous and sound dangerous with their loud screams, growls and screeching sounds they make. Also when they don't see you, you can listen to them breath or sharpening their weapons. Finally good ambient sounds like the wind blowing, the sound of the water or the various machinery around the level.

Positives:
-Great, fast paced action
-Excellent graphics, great dark\gothic atmosphere
-Good sound effects, especially the enemies

Negatives:
-A bit too dark
-Unbalanced weaponry for Deathmatches

Also Play:
Doom & Doom 2 (PC)
Serious Sam (PC)

Overall: 7.4/10

Yup, Quake is a great dark, fragfest, not the extremely hyped game it was back then, just great. However its not for everyone. Players that prefer Deus Ex or System Shock might find Quake boring so try a demo before you buy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/09

Game Release: Quake (US, 06/22/96)