PSX Extreme writes: "Remember the days when it used to be Quake vs. Unreal on the PC? Yeah, that was when the FPS was still coming into its own and gaining a massive following, and now, more than a decade later, the two franchises are still going strong. However, if we had to give the edge to one of them in this new generation, it would definitely have to go to Epic's Unreal Tournament as last year's UT3 was one of the year's best shooters. This year, Underground Development and Splash Damage kicks in with their Quake effort, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Obviously, both series have always lived and died with the success of their online multiplayer, and that's more than obvious with Enemy Territory, primarily because even the single-player campaign feels exactly like an online match. Unfortunately, both modes don't really deliver, although the entertainment factor is still relatively high for online FPS aficionados.
Sadly, the graphics are mediocre and not something we'd expect from a high-line franchise like Quake. Perhaps it looked better on the PC last year, but this PS3 version is riddled with problems and remains mostly bland regardless of the map you choose. Every once in a while, we get a glimpse of sweet visuals from afar but whenever we get up close and personal, the graphics break down into a sloppy, muddy mess. Furthermore, for whatever reason, many of those nice combat effects we saw in early previews are mysteriously non-existent, as very little is happening on screen that sucks us into the battle. The atmosphere and environment is always paramount in any FPS, which is why such titles often lead the way in terms of visual achievement; the detail, design, and color can be fantastic in certain shooters. But Enemy Territory doesn't excel in any of those aforementioned categories, and given the extreme level of competition in this genre, that's a major downfall. They make good use of sharp, ragged edges and lots of dark greens, browns, tans, and grays, but that's about it. We're not sure what happened, here, but we certainly don't want to see it happen again...these graphics simply don't fit in this generation."
BLG writes, "Alongside the Wolfenstein and DOOM franchises, there are the Quake games. Known for fast-paced and insane multiplayer deathmatch action, there was a time Quake was best known for its single-player design.
That all changed as time passed (i.e., after Quake 3 Arena). Multiplayer deathmatches were never the same.
As other FPS games leaned more into improved narrative and storytelling, id Software delivered a genre-defining multiplayer experience.
Quake 3, and the iterations, will always be one of the best multiplayer series releases.
As far as campaigns, I think 1 and 4 are great, but that 2 was garbage.
Quake Champions was a joke on and didn't capitalize on much of anything that made the series great.
DSOGaming writes: "AMD has released the WHQL version of their Catalyst 12.4 drivers. These drivers introduce some new features to the AMD Radeon HD 7900, AMD Radeon HD 7800, and AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series, such as Windows XP 32/64Bit support, Level of Detail (LOD) Image Quality enhancements when Super Sampling is enabled and significant performance enhancements (up to 80%) when MLAA is enabled. In addition, there have been various fixes for Skyrim, RAGE, Enemy Territory, and STALKER: Call of Pripyat."
MadOverdose.com writes: Quake. A name synonymous with gamers and truly an important part of gaming history that alongside Unreal Tournament, helped develop competitive online multiplayer into the juggernaut that we know it as today. Of course, online gaming has grown substantially since the games original release and now spans a multitude of different genres. But this article is just going to focus on the series that bought it to the mainstream audience. Developed by id Software and released June 22nd 1996, Quake would spawn a legacy of games that would forever change the way we think about online gaming. But where is it now?
Quake......2 took up LOADS of my time when i was a teenager, it was the first online game i played, the memories
I started online gaming with Doom 2 back in like late 94 or whatever it was...My parents had just bought a Gateway 2000 486 desktop around that time, and I got it for Christmas...a few friends in town also got it, and we'd play 1 on 1 dial up for literally 8 hours at a time over christmas break...
that same computer was a terd at running Quake 1...I had it, but it was frustrating as it would chug so hard that even as a kid i couldn't play it much...My parents upgraded to a Dell something or other in 97 just a few months before Quake II released...and i was set...it had a Nvidia Riva 128 gpu (this was back when Voodoo cards ruled the planet) and was my first experience with accelerated PC graphics...but I later found out that the Riva 128 did not yet support OpenGL...and I was stuck playing Quake II for nearly a full year on software rendering...and was pissed haha...
but eventually a driver was released, and there was no looking back...I can't say I liked Quake II more than the Romero based shooters before, especially atmosphere wise (I wanted hell back)...but playing Quake II on dial up through kali.net was some of the absolute most fun I had ever had...I've been a shooter fan ever since...
I love reading articles like this...reminds me of the first games i played, and why I love this hobby so much...I think I am very lucky age wise, that I grew up in the perfect window of when gaming really got its legs...
'Believe it or not, Quake was originally conceived as an RPG, focusing on melee combat and set in the medieval ages'
Yes I can completely imagine that. I can't remember the first 2 games too well but Quake 3 definitely has a medieval feel with its huge open symmetrical courts leading off to maze-like smaller passages and antechambers. One level features twin moats in to a small castle. There's at least one very futuristic level but the game definitely appears inspired by medieval times as well which, I feel , adds to its mysteriously brutal atmosphere.
I got this book with Doom 2 for christmas the year it released...I wish I could find it, I still have it somewhere packed up...
http://www.valorebooks.com/...
The last 30 pages or so are a huge interview with Romero and Carmack about Quake's development...this was back before the internet was really anything yet...they don't usually put such in depth exclusive interviews in strategy guides anymore...but either way, they talk about its 'rpg' nature and where the title was going, all before it was changed into a shooter overall...and its awesome...
To me Oblivion turned into almost exactly what iD was talking about with Quake...Quake was going to be frist person, but almost all hand to hand combat with 'spells and magic' available eventually...and that you would literally have to cut an enemy apart in order to kill them, not just shoot them with a big gun...If you ever find this book, or get a way to read that interview, do it...and play a few hours of Oblivion, its insane how many things Oblivion does that Carmack and Romero spoke of 10 years before...
I wish iD would make a true Quake game. If successful, it could become a multiplayer king this gen
The first Quake set the bar as far as fps games could go at the time. And the shambler was scary as f**k.
It also set the bar for 3d graphics and it was the first game to support gpu(graphics card) and introduced OpenGL. Infact it was the first true 3d game with 3d world. Can't wait for RAge
Poor game on pc.
Had the demo, one word. Boring!!