Quake

[b]‘There was imagination—even a kind of diseased genius—in some of this stuff.’[/b] After finishing [i]The Ultimate Doom[/i], id Software returned to a concept from its [i]Commander Keen[/i] days and thought about putting out an RPG. After months of fruitless work and experimentation, though, another camp emerged wanting to make a futuristic FPS (which would later fully manifest as [i]Quake II[/i]). The end result was a compromise: a [i]Doom[/i]-like FPS that combined mediaeval horror with a slice of science fiction, and the result was spectacular. [i]Quake[/i]’s story is simple: scientists’ success with teleportation technology enables a monstrous force access to Earth and now a lone surviving soldier (known as Ranger in [i]Quake III: Arena[/i]) has to defeat this force before it can overwhelm Earth. As is usual for id Software’s products during this era, the story clearly takes a backseat to the action; those seeking intricate writing or complex characters should look elsewhere. You start off with an Axe as well as a rapid Shotgun, and as you progress through maps you work your way up to the Double-Barreled Shotgun, the Nailgun (which launches accurate yet visibly slower projectiles), the Super Nailgun, the Grenade Launcher, the Rocket Launcher, and finally the Thunderbolt (which launches an instant stream of powerful thunder). You’ll notice that many of these firearms feel derivative, which is disappointing, but they all remain useful and for single-player they feel well balanced (deathmatch is another story). The first mission pack adds another mêlée weapon that can shock nearby foes (which is only situationally useful), a Proximity Mine Launcher (which is more useful but still somewhat situational), and the Laser Cannon (which rains laser beams that bounce off surfaces). The twoth mission pack adds some overpowered and excessively common ammunition like lava nails, multi-rockets (which act as cute cluster bombs for the Grenade Launcher and four-in-one rockets for the Rocket Launcher), and finally plasma cells (which make the Thunderbolt handle like a mini-BFG 9000). The other level packs do not add much to the arsenal. If the arsenal is nothing special — even with the mission packs — the bestiary fares significantly better: Shamblers who blast devastating thunder, rapid Demons who launch theirselves, Ogres bearing Grenade Launchers as well as chainsaws, Vores who launch annoyingly accurate projectiles, Zombies who can only die through gibbing, and more. The mission packs include foes like Centroids who rain nails, Gremlins who can steal weapons, Wraiths who handle like flying Vores, Ogres who can launch rockets, and so on. [i]Quake[/i]’s final boss is notoriously disappointing, handling more like a puzzle than an enemy, but the good news is that the bosses in the level packs are significantly more challenging. As with [i]Doom[/i], what makes [i]Quake[/i] work is the action combined with the constant sense of progress that the players make throughout the campaign: one can hardly begin to describe the excitement that comes with handling Death Knights in small corridors, dealing with Fiends who charge at you in seconds, taking cover in firefights against Shamblers, and the rewards that you gain like ammo, armor, power-ups, keys, and elsewhat from exploring. I think that the reason that [i]Quake[/i] left less of a long-lasting impact compared to [i]Doom[/i] was that [i]Doom[/i] basically beat [i]Quake[/i] to the punch: [i]Quake[/i] feels derivative and some would argue that [i]Doom[/i] did almost everything better. Sure, [i]Quake[/i] has significant differences like swimming, leaping, different foes and so forth, but the framework is clearly recognizable. Plus, mapping for [i]Quake[/i] is more complicated than mapping for [i]Doom[/i]. It is a shame that people remember [i]Quake[/i] more for its unbalanced deathmatch than the single-player, because a lot more work went into the latter. There is a cooperative mode, but the mild penalty for dying makes it feel antiquated and too easy. The sound is great. Trent Reznor famously provided the ambient soundtrack that suits the setting perfectly, and he selected the sound effects and created a few others, most of which sound good (barring the Super Nailgun). Nightdive managed to find high-resolution replacements for some of the sound effects, but unfortunately not all of them. [i]Scourge of Armagon[/i] and [i]Dissolution of Eternity[/i] both feature Jeehun Hwang’s interesting blend of rock along with classical music for their soundtracks, and while they are great, I think that I prefer Reznor’s tone slightly more. The last level pack, [i]Dawn of the Machine[/i], introduces a brand new track similar to Reznor’s, and I am tempted to say that it is even better than the original. [i]Quake[/i] is notable for being the first fully 3D shooter (barring a few sprites), and while the graphics have certainly shown their age — even with Nightdive’s tweaks — the art direction more than makes up for how dated the graphics feel. Some of the maps are futuristic military bases or industrial centers, while most of the others are dark medieval settings. Some of the monsters, like the Shamblers, the Scrags, and the Demons, look impressively unusual. Some of the weapons look creative, too, such as the Nailgun. Much of the same can be said for the level packs, which expand on the futuristic and dark medieval setting quite well. Overall, [i]Quake[/i] is an excellent FPS, and for the low price of $10, there is little reason to avoid getting a copy of this content-rich rerelease. There are undoubtedly aspects that I wish were better, such as the cooperative mode, and I never understood how its deathmatch mode became as popular as it did, but the single-player is almost as great as [i]Doom[/i]’s. If you like action-packed shooters, get yourself a copy of [i]Quake[/i], whether it is on sale or not.