Quake 3: Arena

by ACTIVISION

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000296ZF
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: December 30, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,086 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #30 in Video Games > Mac Games > Action > Shooter
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

As in its dozens of first-person shooter ancestors, id Software and Activision's Quake 3: Arena transports players into a violent, virtual world filled with deadly weapons, impressive power-ups, and intense combat. Players compete on 26 maps in either deathmatch (free-for-all or team play), with goals to rack up as many kills as possible; or capture the flag, a team-oriented game with scoring based on the number of enemy flag captures. Though presenting the best death-match experience around, Quake 3's two game types lack the variation and originality of a similar game, Epic's Unreal Tournament.

Although you'll need the latest video card and computer hardware, it's impossible to dispute the sheer beauty of Quake 3's 3-D engine. The 26 maps are filled with exquisite architecture and impressive special effects; further, Quake 3 provides dozens of highly detailed player models to choose from. If you've played other id Software first-person shooters, the weapons should all look familiar: machine gun, shotgun, plasma gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, lightning gun, railgun, and the BFG 10K. Though impressively rendered and balanced, you've likely used them before in id's Doom, Quake, or any number of other first-person action games.

Hopping online and competing against other Quake 3: Arena players worldwide requires only a 56 Kbps or better Internet connection and a few mouse clicks. Quake 3 offers an infinitely replayable multiplayer experience (and a violent one--not for youngsters), but an unsatisfying solo game. Its single-player tournament mode--a series of deathmatches against computer AI bots--serves simply as a massive training exercise for multiplay. --Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Cutting-edge graphics
• Near-perfect deathmatch multiplay
• Detailed player models
• Beautiful level architecture

Cons:

• Uninspired single-player experience
• Lack of game variations
• Unoriginal weapons

Manufacturer Description

Hard-wired action is yours for the taking in single-player and multiplayer battles. Your opponents are now personalized for your brutalizing pleasure. These warriors may not be living and breathing, but they'll make sure you aren't either. Feed on raw action, build your fragging muscles, then rack up live death-match kills on the Internet or local area network.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Looking, December 31, 1999

By 

Ryan (LA,CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quake 3: Arena (CD-ROM)

Are you a new mac user(iMac)? Maybe, 2 million are. If you use a processor below a G3, I can say this is not a good game. Q3 requires a good (128bit ATI or Voodoo) video card. Now come on, its obvious that a faster and newer computer would have better graphics in complex games such as Q3. Personialy, I'm running a 400Mhz iMac DV special edition, and seems to run ok compared to a PC I've seen. If you have an older mac with expansion PCI slots, Get a Voodoo card. Apple and 3DFX(the maker of voodoo cards) are expected to make a surprising annoucement concering compatability. A voodoo card would work better. If you still don't know, download the demo, it will take a few hours but its worth it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frag Limit 20, January 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Quake 3: Arena (CD-ROM)

Although there really isn't much new here this is the best death match I have ever played. It is fast, furious and incredibly violent. The curved surface bring a totally new dimension to map building and environemnts. They've definitely trumped the Unreal engine but what's next? Another death match would surely then just be beating a dead horse...As for the CTF...errr could be better and the grapple model looks...unfinished. As for TF2 it's not coming to the Mac and besides there's really going to be one game for team play in 2000. Halo.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The best multiplayer shooter? I think not., January 31, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quake 3: Arena (CD-ROM)

First off, this is stricktly a multiplayer game catering to the multiplayer market. It is best played with a cable modem or some other form of high-speed connection. Those of us with dial-up modems are at a sore disadvantage. Those with dial-up connections move far more slowly and are easier to hit than those lucky souls with cable modems. Also, the short single-player game included is not only boring, but is really just a way to train for multiplayer bouts online. Furthermore, the game, while a solid offering, isn't nearly as fun or a technically impressive as Unreal Tournament. Buy this game only if you don't have the cahoneys to buy the far-superior Unreal Tournament.