- Site: Quake Live
- Publisher: id Software
- Developer: id Software
- Genre: Action
Game Media
By Brad Cook
id Software pioneered the idea of running around an online environment and fragging your friends, so it’s not a surprise the publisher decided to blaze a trail to browser-based gaming with one of its signature franchises. Quake Live explores this new territory with everything you want in a first-person shooter, from oodles of maps, weapons, and power-ups to powerful stat filtering and social network building.
After you create an account, choose your character from among a cast of dozens of shady creatures. Maybe you’d like to be Zael the gargoyle, Orbb the alien cybronic construct, or Grunt, a human veteran of the invasion of Stroggos, as seen in Quake 4. Don’t forget to check out other options too, such the primary and secondary colors for your rail gun or the symbol used as your crosshair.
Setting the Stage
When you’re done, a 10-minute test match against a human trainer named Crash (she’s a playable character too) determines your skill level, enabling Quake Live to recommend matches against others who sport similar abilities. If you’ve played enough multiplayer games online, you know how frustrating it can be to enter a match against opponents well above or below your skill set.
If you want to reset your rating, simply replay that session in the Training Center, where you’ll also learn more about rocket jumping and strafe jumping, a pair of key techniques used by advanced players. The former lets you access out-of-reach areas or simply leap higher by firing a rocket launcher or other explosive weapon at the ground while jumping; the latter involves moving to the left or right while jumping, which increases speed. You can view demonstrations of those moves and practice them until you’re ready to impress others with your superior skills.
You may even impress them enough to earn a clan invitation, the high point of any online player’s career. Not only does Quake Live feature plenty of team play, but it also offers many ways to interact with your teammates, including chat functionality, friend search, and easy ways to jump straight into matches with people you already know. In addition, each player profile functions much like a sports box score, giving you accuracy rates with specific weapons, information about previous matches played, win rates in each game mode, and more.
Seeking the Perfect Team Deathmatch
Quake Live’s modes are weighted toward team play, with team deathmatch, clan arena, and capture the flag giving you and your friends plenty of variety. You can also engage in a free-for-all or take on another player in a one-on-one duel. Each mode is also available as a single-player match against computer-controlled players. With 35 maps to choose from, including five never before seen in a Quake game, you’re sure to find just the right mix of arena and gameplay style that suits your needs.
Frag on, readers.
Game Hardware
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Two Enter, One Leaves. Unless one finds himself overmatched and jumps down for a quick getaway.
The Hunt Begins. Time to return fire.
Top Fraggers. Sift through the leader boards in a variety of ways to see who’s Hall of Fame material.
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Get a Leg Up on the Competition
In addition to the usual complement of high-powered weaponry — Quake Live lets you wield everything from the traditional shotgun and rocket launcher to the BFG 10K and chaingun — you can scoop up armor and health upgrades as well as a flight pack, an invisibility suit, a regeneration suit that increases your health to 200, and more.
In team matches, look for special power-ups that let you create strategic combinations, such as assigning the guard power-up to those minding the flag and the scout power-up to players tasked with checking out opposing defenses. In all matches, you can also grab items that remain in inventory until you activate them, such as a personal teleporter, a medkit, and a kamikaze power-up that deals powerful damage to nearby opponents when your character’s health is about to hit zero anyway.
Various maps also contain elements that can help or hinder your cause, such as the acceleration pad that propels you through the air, the fog of death that kills anyone who touches it, the lava and slime that inflicts heavy damage to anyone without a battle suit on, and more. Tread cautiously, and don’t be afraid to use the environment to your advantage, especially when playing against n00bs.