Classic Fragfest: Quake III Arena

As graphics technology improves in leaps and bounds for the next pc generation, more and more gamers expect, and more or less demand, new and innovating concepts to blow their mind. However, there are some games out there that simply stand the test of time for pure entertainment.

One of these games is Quake III Arena from ID Software.

This game still remains, after half a decade, as one of those games that never seems to fade in appeal when it comes to going one-on-one against a fellow gamer over the age of fourteen. (The graphic nature of the game is not suitable for children.)

Whereas there is the impending release of Quake 4, which will go more towards a storyline, Quake III Arena remains simple: Deathmatch - Hunt down and kill your opponent. This is your only task.

The game is a First-Person Shooter that takes place in a futuristic world, with gameplay featured on a couple dozen core maps. Your weapons, ranging from real to fantasy, deal out devastating damage. Powerups throughout these maps give you more speed, damage, etc; and each map is usually multi-levelled and reachable by various bounce pads, stairs, and elevators. You just have to watch around the corners, as you never know who's going to be camping there waiting to blow you away.

Now, whether your opponent be your best friend, your neighbor, your kid, or your wife; the joy of chasing them down and eliminating their ability to exist as a whole entity will continue to bring a smile to your face over and over again; and if no-one wants to play against you anymore because you're too much of a savage, you can always play against bots.

The engine this game runs on is good enough to enable a relatively intense dispersal of body parts from the shot gun blast you administor to your victim, and yes, produces blood splatter on walls and screams of agony. A midrange system can handle all that the game offers.

The extra staying power of the game revolves around the creation of new maps and bot models by gamers themselves; which can be found for download at places like LvLWorld and Polycount. Thousands of maps and hundreds of bots can bring a whole new dimension to the game, and the creations continue to this day. Take on Homer Simpson, Darth Vader, or the creature from Aliens in maps ranging from being inside a computer tower , where you are about two inches tall; to rampaging through a city, where you can leap from the top of each building in a single bouncepad ... all the while trying to evade a plasma gun, rocket launcher, or flamethrower.

Austin Culley is an avid gamer whose wife continues her efforts to take his Quake 3 Arena Title away from him at least once a week. He can be reached at http://www.oil-net.com