Quake is just a modern Pang.
Ups
The rendering engine,lightmapping and clever color selection gave Quake
an ultra realistic view for the time that it came out.If you try the glQuake you're gonna be impressed by the earth colors that quake had and "realistic" hard shadows lighting.
Also it started the serious moding madness and defined the prototype for the online multiplayer games.
Quake was designed to be played fast like a killer rally game,but in its case you shoot and move fast and repeat the sequence.You are pressing some buttons in the middle and searching for some keys,but the basic gameplay is move fast kill fast.
You can check speedrunning if you have a doubt that some players play it like a killer rally.
Downs
The single player part of the game is the major down for Quake.I don't have a problem with modern "arcade" games like Quake but what i call design is upsent of Quake.I see Quake nothing more than a modern version of side scroller shoot'em up games like r-type or arcade games like Pang.It's definetly addictive but it is a game for kids that way.
The logic behind level connections and transitions are equal to games like Pang.The background changes but you have the same restricted game play.
Maybe they couldn't design something more complex based on the limitations of the quake engine.
The quake script is a joke,and it was written in no more that 10 minutes.
Quake was the prototype for the bad mindless fps that was released after that.It's easy and quick to design a game like quake,release it on time on market and cash in.This is one school of fps game design the other is that of Half Life and a little of Unreal that you're exploring the environments and there is some cinematic atmosphere.
Now i understand that the term "fps" is preventing any game from serious story driven game design.
Even with all the new things that quake introduced i can't call it a game i would remember at the future because it doesn't have not even one
great design moment that can be written in your memory.
Finally
If you accept that Quake is the modern Pang and you think that modern games should be like old arcades then Quake is a masterpiece and you will spend some fun time with it.If you want to play a game that will give you a virtual experience that you will remember through time ,equal to a good movie then you are at the wrong place.
If you are a gamer that came here by a history link from a modern fps i would recommend don't spend time or money to this game,it is so boring to play so outdated games nowdays.