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Filed under: PC
April 4, 2009 • 9:20 am 0
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March 10, 2009 • 10:18 am 0
QUAKE LIVE REVIEW: Massive Quake online -Thousands fragged
This story was written for DNA and then posted on my new bog gamebashing.com before being put up here.
Hardcore gamers will know that Quake III, much like Half-Life, is a cult game. Gamers get hooked on to it for years while trying on its different mods (modified versions). One even remembers a mode which let you play as any character from The Simpsons television series. However, like everything else, even computer games come with an expiry date. And the game developers know they are headed closer to this date when gamers start to look elsewhere for steamier entertainment.
Quake had reached that stage of its life and just when the gaming community thought it was dying an inevitable death, id Software, the American game developers, pulled out its trump card — a free version of Quake, which is playable through a browser. And suddenly, gamers were talking with feverish excitement about a game which you could play without worrying about system specs or DRMs or patches — nothing. Just plug and play.
What makes Quake Live a must-try is the ease with which it allows you to play multiplayer matches. It provides you exceptional gameplay and multiplayer experience, a first, almost, in gaming. There is no need to ‘join a server’ or to download a map-pack. Just when you begin to think that plug-and-play sound too good to be true, you figure there’s a hitch. It’s in the form of a compulsory tutorial level for first-time players. This, you will later discover, is really a ploy to distract you while the game quietly downloads some 250MB to your computer.
Once you’re over the shock of this game’s invasion of precious space on your hard drive, focus on its other interesting features — all minor options, but they make a world of difference. The game dices your performance into figures and gives you the choice to flaunt it or hide it. As the game is almost embedded in a webpage, your personal stats, and those of your friends, are just a click away. The available statistics start with basics such as your ranking and performance in recent battles. It then goes in-depth, listing individual performance ratings — your score with individual guns, performance from map to map and so on.
Every new achievement can bring you an award. But the ultimate goal of every Quake fan is to get his name on the international leader board. This board is sub-divided into most wins, frags, games played, time played, efficiency, accuracy and medals.
The graphics are a bit of a let down. The very last-gen graphics in Quake Live is bound to put off gamers addicted to the Crysis variety of games. But the more-than-impressive gameplay makes up for all the missing bells and whistles. Plus, dated graphics are the price you pay for high frame rates on a browser-based game.
With its automatic skill-matching feature, you need not worry about being posted against a tougher opponent. But you’ve got to be alert every second of the high-voltage game, as even the slightest distraction, and you could turn to face a rail gun pointed at you. The controls scheme too is similar to the one in Quake III — the usual ‘aswd’ combo we have come to terms with in numerous first-person shooters through the years.
As of now, you can pick and choose from 40 arenas with three team-based game modes — capture the flag, deathmatch and clan arena. The game can be set in any of the two individual game modes — duel mode and free-for-all.
What’s sorely missing from this otherwise near-perfect game is that among its many options for minor settings, it leaves no room for the gamer to add mods of his choice. The developers have announced that such a feature will be made available in the near future. We’re waiting.
Clouded vision
Lock and load and you are ready to go,
But the sense of betrayal doesn’t let you so.
You were promised manna from the heaven,
But given the forbidden fruit instead then.
So what is it about Quake Live, the new “browser-based” game from developers id Software that makes me feel betrayed? The game was initially promoted as one which is playable through a browser after installation of an add-on. This had many thinking that the game would make use of cloud computing technology, which would be a first in gaming. And so the game was awaited with much nervous anticipation.
However, those who signed up for the game at quakelive.com where initially told to download a small plugin – a .msi file.
And the dream was a short one. It turned out the game required much more than an add-on to be downloaded. After installing the downloaded add-on, you can immediately login to the site and get gaming. You are forced to go through a training session – disappointing and annoying for those who have spent entire nights away playing first person shooter games. But it’s useful for first-timers. After this, you are pitted against a computer player who will try to blast missile after missile aimed straight at your head. How well you duck and dodge will decided if you begin with a “beginner” rating or as an “expert”.
Now, let me get back to the story about being betrayed. While going through the training session and fighting a crazy bot with the rocket launcher, the game had downloaded files more than 250MB into the system. So the core parts of the game will be on your system and not on the cloud! So why does this game play through a browser? id Software thinks it helps boost multiplayer element of the game and helps in better tracking of the user base.
Bad news for all fans of cloud computing. The shift from PC to cloud, you will know, happens only when all games adopt the cloud. Many thoughtQuake Live would show the light. Unfortunately, it has taken the road much-trodden. The wait continues.
RATING: 4/5
Filed under: PC
