User Rating: 6.8 | Quake III Arena PC
"Here we go again." These words will be prevalent on your mind throughout the Quake III Arena Experience. Quake III is the latest installment in the Quake series, which puts you in the shoes of no one in particular, blasting everyone and everything as always. There is plentry of frenetic action to be had, although you will find yourself experiencing deja vu throughout the entire experience. The single player is non-existant, as you basically work your way up through a ladder of bots, and then win the "Title", if it can even be called that. The bot AI is good, and would probably be considered excellent within the time frame of the game's release. Multiplayer is essentially what this game is all about, and the usual modes find their place here; Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, etc etc. Visually, Quake III is very nice, although the engine is very under-used. Several of the levels have a completely black background, (supposedly to convey space), and a lot more have a similar, bland beige-rust color. Anyone who played Quake 2 will recognize the anemic pallete almost immediately. Weapon effects are great, and the character models are colorful, large, and appropriately tough looking. Sound is one of Q3's strengths. The effects are great, characters yell, gasp and growl appropriately. Weapons fire has a lot of base, and the shotgun puts people down with gusto. The quality of sound in this game helped the immersion considerably, and gave it a lot more steam than the gameplay would indicate. The only thing that boosts Quake III's value is the torrential downpour of mods available for the game online. There are thousands, some of which are excellent games including Weapons Factory. If left up to the original game, this score would drop like a stone. Quake III doesn't deviate from id's standard formula, and the lack of innovation is starting to grate on players. The weapons haven't changed since the original Doom, and a graphics overhaul doesn't justify the $40-$50 price tag they wanted for this game. If you've played any other FPS, Quake III will seem very hollow by comparison. It almost appears as though it was meant to exhibit the engine, and other studioes have gone on to do great games with id's technology. Steer clear unless you are looking to expand on the game from the user community.
