Technically marvelous shoot em up mayhem (Quake 3 Arena (PC))

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Product:	Quake 3 Arena (PC)
Date:	25/05/01 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very fast, Stunning graphics, Great AI

Disadvantages: Levels are samey, Eye-strain!!, singeplayer limited

QKIII is a love or hate game..many people judge it against Unreal Tournament. They are different games with a different vibe so I don't bother comparing them myself. What is QKIII like then?

After the decent singleplayer mode of Quake II, it came as a shock to find QKIII was an "Arena" based futuristic sport game rather than a proper singleplayer shoot 'em up.

However, the multi-tier system of QKIII does offer a decent single player experience for people like myself who don't have a phone line. I've played on-line QKIII on Dreamcast which was a great expierience. I can see the appeal of QKIII on-line on a good PC.

Technically the game is stunning. The much hyped "curved surfaces" capability of the QKIII engine definitely is a cut above other 3D shooters. The arenas are very futuristic and colourful, with plenty of bounce pads, upgrades, lifts, doorways and features.

The AI is probably the most impressive feature of QKIII. The enemy bots are very sharp and a real challenge on the higher skill levels. I didn't want to compare the game to Unreal Tournament, but QKIII's bots have much better AI and react more accurately to environmental changes.

I enjoy playing QKIII in single player as it is a fast and difficult challenge. Make sure you have a good PC and a decent Optical Mouse to avoid sticky controls or frame rate drops. Some of the larger arenas place a real strain on your PC, especially with loads of bots running around.

Animation of bots is superb, these ID guys could teach the rest of the codeshops what animation should look like! The range of bots is good too, and lets people find a creature that they would like to go to war with.

So what didn't I like? I found the Arenas to be quite samey, unlike Unreal Tournament (damn! I've compared them again) which has a wide range of beautifully designed levels. QKIII arena are very well designed though, and
encourage mad mayhem and massive gibfests. The speed of the game makes it really challenging to 'me old brain and eyes, sometimes it all get too much and I have to take a break!

Overall,another masterpiece from ID, a totally different feel to Unreal Tournament or other FPS games. The "sports" concept works very well, and I'm sure this game will be played for a long,long time by clans all over the Globe. If I could just get my phone line sorted...I could see what all the fuss is really about.

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