Review By

Mike Doolittle 9.0 RATING

The Dreamcast port of Quake III has for the most part stayed true to its PC cousin. Memory limitations have dictated that a few of the larger levels be left behind in favor of some new, smaller ones which better suit Dreamcast's capabilities. And of course there is no room for user mods and the like. However, the frantic, senseless violence that has made the game such a smash is fully intact, and how thankful we are!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the premise of Quake III, allow me to fill you in. Players are dropped into an arena of sorts, with the simple mission objective of "kill everything that isn't you." The player who gets the most kills (or "frags") wins the match. Getting fragged by an opponent is just a bump in the road, as you are immediately regenerated to resume the killing. There is some degree of strategy, and refining one's fragging skills is certainly an art unto itself, but Quake III is basically about insane violence, nothing more.

Right from the get-go, Quake III is impressive. The graphical presentation of the game is great. Backgrounds are gorgeous and highly detailed—complete with the hauntingly beautiful satanic imagery and gothic architecture that has accompanied many of id's games. Aside from the occasional slowdown on some levels, the frame rate moves along smoothly, creating an amazingly fast experience the likes of which has never before been seen on a console. The character models are not as impressive as the backgrounds, but they look good and their freakish nature suits the mood of the game well. Effects such as blood and smoke look fantastic, and don't seem to affect the frame rate. In fact, Quake III is one of the best looking games on the Dreamcast—surprising since it's a PC port.

Audio is well done but not outstanding, with an array of grunts and groans which accompany the nearly constant blasts and bangs. The music that accompanies the game is the typical generic techno-metal which is routine in many action games (truthfully gamers are better off turning it down to better hear the footsteps of approaching opponents).

What I really like about this incarnation of Quake is that despite its technological achievements, it is basically an old-school game. It may look pretty, but it's all about fast eyes and even faster fingers. You'd better be on your toes if you hope to win this one. It's a satisfying and challenging game, and losing can be a frustrating experience. The computer-controlled bots are are fairly tough, and on the higher difficulty levels they display a respectable level of intelligence—competing for power-ups, camping and giving chase.

Of course, the meat and potatoes of Quake III is the online deathmatch. Playing against the computer-controlled bots can be quite enjoyable, but play the game enough times and you'll pick up on their strategy fairly easily, so you'll probably want to test your might against some human players. Thanks to the Dreamcast's built-in 56k modem and some free hours from SegaNet, getting online is a breeze, and playing against other people is a blast (no pun intended). There is some noticeable lag (even on SegaNet) but the great thing about playing an online match on Dreamcast is that everyone is playing with the same handicap. No more running scared on your 56k at a 500 ping while your opponent slaughters you thanks to his T3 line. Everyone's on the same boat here, so there's no excuse for getting your stomach handed to you. Notably, Quake III is also the first Dreamcast game to feature broadband capability, so once Sega releases its broadband adaptor, the "everyone's on equal ground" argument won't carry as much weight. The online servers feature Capture the Flag, Free-For-All, Team Deathmatch and Tournament (one-on-one) play. For yours truly, it's all about the Free-For-All. Nothing captures the real potential of the game like being in an arena of death with three unpredictable opponents. Quake III really has a great feel to it, and the speed and intensity of the matches are second to none. You can get a glimpse of that intensity against the computer, but nothing will get your heart racing like a worthy online opponent. Once you've tried it, it's hard to go back to playing against the CPU.

All praises aside, Quake III has a few flaws which prevent it from being truly outstanding. The weapons are rather uncreative and a little unbalanced. You'll be amazed at how many online players gravitate towards the rocket launcher, for example. Also, the lack of an auto-aim function is annoying, as aiming with the controller can be exasperatingly hard, particularly with the ultra-precise rail gun. It's great that mouse and keyboard functionality is included—I use the mouse/keyboard setup and highly recommend it—but players who use the mouse and keyboard have a clear advantage, something an auto-aim option would have remedied. It is also a little disappointing that only four players can engage each other online, since the battle royales of the PC version are so much fun.

Though it may not be everything the PC version is, the Dreamcast port of Quake III Arena has succeeded in fully capturing the speed and insanity which make the game such a joy ride. Plenty of options and some addicting online play will extend the life of the game for quite a while. PC players may not be jealous, but I'll take a couch over a desk any day.

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