quake 3 arena review
Quake 3 Arena"Oh my God! HE is here!". This was the reaction of my colleague Mélo when the pretty little box of Quake 3 arrived at the editorial office. But it was his unhealthy look and his vicious smile that worried us the most, not to mention the slime trails he now leaves everywhere on the ground ...
And yes, the beast is there, after long months of impatience to redo 143 times the same levels of the demo, the game has arrived in our neighborhood butchers. The wait was long but greatly rewarded, believe me. The little guys at ID Software still know how to make sacred games and they tweak them to the nearest millimeter. But let's not delay more ... Since the last Quake to date, we can not say that the principle has truly evolved, the goal of the game is always to ABSOLUTELY destroy all life, no matter the size and as long as it have two legs minimum. Butcheries follow one another but are not alike and it is surely the simplicity of the concept of Quake which makes it such a great game. This time, Quake 3 concentrates all its energy on the multiplayer and the amateurs of long synopsys can all immediately get dressed. Thus, the solo mode has been thought of as a series of deathmatches bots understood where gradually, you will learn to perfect your combat techniques and above all, your reflexes. After 24 intense levels, the solo mode will take you before Xaero, the most formidable fighter of the Arena. Brrr!
For the Deathmatch mode, ID Software wanted to bring together all that had been done best for Quake 2. So we find the classic Deathmatch but also three other modes: Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and Tournament. This last mode consists in fact of a succession of fights to death where the winner of each confrontation meets a new adversary and so on, until death follows. Without really offering innovations, Quake 3 Arena brings together all the best of the moment in terms of Quake-like (normal it is part of the family :). The bot system is very advanced and we can even give orders during CTF. In addition to offering you all-out insults, bots have more than respectable intelligence. With their 5 difficulty levels, they will even give you a hard time, sometimes a lot. Only counterpart, it should not be abused too much because the machine resources collapse very quickly and that can cause the game to row like a galley slave.
All levels of the game have been designed for multiplayer and depending on the type of game, we can say that each is in its own way a gem. Even if they are few compared to a game like Unreal Tournament, everyone will find happiness in those offered. And then everyone knows that the Net will soon be overflowing with levels designed by players, especially that already, level editors are available on the Web. In the types of levels, there are some built as platforms for railgun addicts or even much smaller and more intimate levels. These levels are never as huge as they could be in Quake 2 and that's good, the action is much faster and more powerful. Complex levels, they often include traps or secret parts which will be just as much assets to know during deathmatches. In any case, there are toxic clouds, acid, switches, teleporters, etc. but also new features such as accelerators or bounce pads which I let you discover for yourself all the potential ... 8) The bonuses have also been revised upwards with not only armor, health, weapons and ammunition but also power-ups like steroids, invisibility, Quad Damage, Haste (speed), Jetpack etc.
For the weapons either, the changes are not obvious and while a game like Unreal offers a whole bunch, Quake 3 is content with 9 weapons. The basic weapon is a kind of electrogant which only hurts on contact and you will certainly prefer the minigun, a kind of machine gun not very powerful but very useful for finishing enemies in difficulty ... We find otherwise Shotgun , Plasma Gun, Grenade Launcher, Rocket Launcher, Lightning Gun (which swings a long flash), Rail Gun (Hmmm :) and the new version of the BFG, the BFG 10000. The weapons are much more balanced than in the previous versions and we cannot say that one weapon really prevails over the others. If they are well used and according to the configuration of the level, your opponents and your preferences, you can always make the frag. Given the quantity of different skins and models that we have seen lying around on the Net long after Quake 2, ID Software has also worked on the problem and in all, 32 really different models are available. Each with its own shapes, animations and even sounds and expressions, everyone should find skin to suit their mood. These skins are a little less pretty than in Unreal Tournament because they are less detailed but they are much more varied and then, what a style!
Technically, we can say that Quake 3 is to Quake 2 what Quake was to Doom. Clearly, nothing to do. All the best of 3D graphics is brought together here just for your eyes. Absolutely mind-blowing textures, light effects everywhere on the walls, the floor, the items. Volumetric fog to be blown away by the miracles, smoke ... in short, everything you always wanted to see coming out of your 3D map. Better yet, the new engine allows something that really makes a difference for me with Unreal Tournament, the curves. Nothing is square in the levels: the arches, the edges of the platforms, everything is plump as desired and in summary, you have never seen anything like it!
The notes
Graphics 19/20
Quite simply the best current 3D engine. Unheard of and even Unreal, which is nevertheless a marvel, bows before the Quakian supremacy, especially in terms of performance on small configurations. You will be amazed.
Gameplay 18/20
Gameplay still relevant despite the string of Quake-like that has been ingested for a few years. The fun is always present and the action is hectic and bloody, a pearl in continuity.
Lifespan 19/20
What can I say ... Given the success of Quake 2 and the global tidal wave that a game like Quake 3 will produce, we can only hope for a monstrous lifespan. Only criticism, a small number of maps offered all the same.
Soundtrack 17/20
Not really a defect but a less good quality shall we say. The music is simply not terrible while the sound effects are numerous but repetitive. But when the program gives you "Excellent" or "Impressive" for your prowess, we forget all that quickly!
Scenario/
Big slap for everyone. The Unreal-Quake duel is now started and for me it's Quake who will prevail by offering more gameplay, more bestiality, less greedy machine needs and all wrapped in much nicer levels. In short, a masterpiece by the masters of the genre.
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