Remember Quake III? It was one of the best deathmatch games ever made, and it was also one of the last of its kind. Now, Quake III has been reincarnated in Quake Live, an online browser-based version of the game. Does it still have what it takes to make fragging fun?
Browser-based gaming has come a long way. The increased level of power provided by even mid-range systems makes it possible to display 3D graphics with ease. The result has been the arrival of many browser-based games with decent graphics and good production valures, and the most popular has undoubtedly been Quake Live.
This is hardly surprising. The Quake brand is still an 800 pound Gorilla, bringing to memory the excellence of the early Quake titles rather than the mediocrity of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Is Quake Live deserving of its heritage?
While Quake Live is new, it is based heavily off a very old game - Quake III. Those who have played Quake III won't find the gameplay of Quake Live surprising.
That isn't a bad thing. Quake III was one of the last great old-school multi-player shooters. It was all about fragging the hell out of your opponents with absurd weapons like rocket launchers, lightning guns, and plasma rifles. Players move as fast as rabbits pumped full of drugs and re-spawning occurs in the blink of an eye.
Having grown use to the slower pace of today's mostly team based shooters, it takes some getting used to, but it is great fun to frag opponents left and right. Just say the word - frag. Fragging. Its the only worthwhile bit of slang thats ever come from the gaming industry, and it applies perfectly here.
The fast pace also works will with the game's casual format. Matches usually take less than fifteen minutes, and sometimes can be completed in half that. This allows players to jump in and jump out quickly, without feeling it necessary to sit down for an hour to have some fun.
The only criticisms that can be leveled at the game have more to do with its genre than the game itself. Those who prefer tactical combat or highly balanced class-based gameplay will find Quake Live massively boring. But if you're on the fence, don't let that stop you from giving it a try. It only takes about five minutes to download and install.
Quake III was a graphical masterpiece in its time. But time moves on, and what once was amazing now appears a little old and crusty. Such is the case with the Quake Live, and it doesn't help that the art direction appears non-existent. Quake Live, like Quake III, has all the artistic merit of an eighth-grader's detention room scrawl. The sound is average overall, but there are a few nice touches, such as the tapping noise which sounds whenever the player hits an opponent.
What is a masterpiece, however, is the fact that they were able to implement all of this into a browser-based game. It is ridiculous how smoothly it loads and plays. The transition between browser and the gameplay engine happens in the blink of an eye, and this remains the case even on fairly low-end systems. Only my netbook had any trouble with it, and that was hardly a surprise.