Quake Live
I remember back to the days of LAN parties and the all night frag-fests amidst the classics: Team Fortress, Counterstrike and Quake. ID Software hit it big with their grimy, gory underworld shooter, particularly with the multiplayer crowd and in a few short years, printed their own cash for a time with Quake III Arena. Q3A was strictly multiplayer. No story, no puzzles and no hassle. Throw yourself into a pit with a couple of computer controlled bots or head online to tear up friends and strangers alike.
Believe it or not, that was nearly 10 years ago. More sequels we released, more platforms and other games came from the maw of ID, but a recent venture has put Quake back on the map. Quake Live, still listed in beta but open to the public, is an online shooter like no other. First, it’s absolutely free. Second, it’s browser based. The latter in particular being something of a groundbreaking step. A small plug-in is required, but the game is compatible with PCs (Mac and Linux are coming soon) on either Firefox or Internet Explorer and available to play virtually anywhere you can find a net connection. This isn’t some sort of glorified java or flash game, but in essence a new engine that is hassle-free playable on even some of the lowest end machines.
You’re still wondering about the free part. As you might imagine, everything is ad driven, but there’s nothing annoying or intrusive about the process. Billboards placed strategically in-game carry ads from sponsors like Intel or Dell Computers. For the moment, most of the signage simple says “QuakeLive”, but advertisers should be chomping at the bit to get a piece of this. The exposure is considerable.
How fun is it though? Very. ID has made it as simple as it gets. Anybody that has ever played a first person shooter will be able to jump right in using the familiar WASD key-bindings and mouse combo controls. If not, controls, not to mention the player’s character, are full customizable, again, in-browser. The game is simply kill or be killed. Pick up familiar weapons like the rocket launcher, rail gun or the ever-popular BFG. Health icons, ammunition and special items like instant teleportation are scattered through the 30+ arenas. Controls are responsive and game play is fast. Staying still for too long is liable to earn a you a hole in the head instead of an award for which there are dozens, like achievements, as you meet certain criteria.
How does it look? Good. Not great, but it doesn’t really need to be. Character and item polygons are kept to a minimum, so veteran Q3A players will see a loss in overall visual quality. Effects like lightning and explosions are dumbed down a bit, but not enough to detract from the overall play experience. You have the choice to play within the browser’s environment or go full screen up to 1024×768.
Sound? Sounds great! Prompts from a disembodied announcer shout out kill streaks, time left notifications and whenever you claim a humiliation kill in a deep menacing boom of a voice. Likewise, the sound effects seem to be right from the Q3A aural library and is bound to spark a few memories for old-schoolers like me. In-game music takes on a Nine Inch Nails type of rock which is fitting for the pace and the game’s environments.
There’s a few nitpicks that prevent Quake Live from getting a perfect score. I was elated to find that I could create a friends list that allowed me to see who was online and jump into the match they were currently playing, even text chat with them in a separate window, but rightly disappointed to find I couldn’t party-up with a group. Game types like Clan Arena, Team Deathmatch and other team styles are available for play, but guaranteeing that your group will be on the same side takes quick reflexes and just a hint of luck. Private matches aren’t currently offered and likely, according to developer posts, will be a premium (read: cost inducing) future service. I guess we can still compare stats.
Voice chat is apparently in the future, being that turning it on or off is in the game settings, but there was no mention in the game manual nor in the developer chats about its future, so don’t dump TeamSpeak or Skype just yet.
So yeah, not perfect, but you get a staggering amount of bloody good fun for the price and convenience of it all. Why complain? If you have Windows, get set up now at http://www.quakelive.com and look me up: Jedimasta. I’m the guy who still thinks camping with a rail gun is a smart idea.
