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Psst: did you know you can turn off the blood?
It’s probably not much comfort, but if you’re on the squeamish
side, you can choose the “no blood” option when playing Quake,
the game of computer-based target practice. But what fun would that be?
Fans of the game will tell you that it isn’t really Quake unless
you can watch your enemies go splat in 3-D technicolor.Search & Destroy
Quake has long held the number one slot in the category of games known as first-person shooters. With or without blood, Quake is blatantly (and unapologetically) violent, and rated for Mature (17+) audiences by the ESRB. Long-time players will assure you that there are strategies for playing Quake well, but the bottom-line objective is undeniably basic: to hunt down and ‘frag’ (from ‘fragment,’ Quake-lingo for kill) as many enemies as possible.
For those unfamiliar with Quake, you start the game with two weapons (a machine gun and a gauntlet) and basic armor, and begin hunting for victims through a landscape of rooms, caverns and labyrinths, called maps. Along the way, you’ll spy more powerful weapons — and hope that you can snatch them up before your opponents do. You’ll also want to look for power-ups, which are enhancements that give you strategic advantages over others, such as stronger armor, invisibility, or extra speed.
Modem Mayhem, Anyone?
Quake fans eagerly awaited the release of Quake III: Arena, the latest version of the game from id software and Activision, specifically designed and engineered with Internet play in mind. Quake III Arena hit the shelves in December 1999. Quake I and II allowed you to battle with friends across a local area network, but in these earlier versions, playing on the Internet was often frustrating because of technical limitations.
By taking advantage of recent technology improvements, the developers of
Quake III: Arena have opened up a whole new world of playing
possibilities for fans of the game. And not just because Internet play
is so much better, but also because what you see and hear is much more
realistic.For example, the map environments in Quake III now have three-dimensional curved surfaces instead of the boxy, squared-off edges in earlier releases. There are also new special effects and details that add realism to the game. For instance, if you shoot a weapon under water, bubbles appear. Or if you shoot in a darkened room, the blast lights up the walls.
You’ll also encounter (and struggle with) realistic elements of nature such as water, smoke, fog, slime, flickering flames, and lava. Sound effects also play an important role. Sometimes you can hear your enemies before you see them. And of course, it wouldn’t be Quake without the bone-chilling death screams.
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Download Mac OS X compatibility and Universal Binary patches
With intensive 3D graphics and the need for speed across the Internet, Quake III: Arena places serious demands on your Mac. Here’s the minimum of what you’ll need to play the game the way it was intended:
Mac G3 or G4 with ATI Rage 128, 266 MHz or better-or-
iMac DV 509 MB of free hard disk space 3D acceleration from at least 6MB of VRAM, or a 3D Card 96 MB of RAM or greater A two-button mouse A 56K Internet connection or fasterWant to know more? These sites have demos, images, info and hints for those new to Quake.
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id Software’s Quake III: Arena | |
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Planet Quake | |
| Planet Quake’s Game Guide | ||
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Blue’s News Quake 3 Arena Message Board | |
Fantasy Firepower
In order of deadliness from the lowest to the highest, the weapons in Quake III Arena include the gauntlet, machine gun, shotgun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, plasma gun, railgun, lightning gun, and the notorious BFG. (G stands for Gun. B stands for Big. You can probably guess the rest.)
