Quake 3 Arena for Dreamcast

I can't believe it's not butter! Butter is the perfect word to describe this online brutalityfest. It has butter-smooth connections over the net,butter-smooth framerate...and the textures in the levels?...smooth as a baby's butt. Unlike other first person shooters like Rainbow Six where moments of gunfire are complimented with moments of stealthy patience, this game is sheer hectic hell. And it rocks.
Learning the control is the key to the gameplay in Quake III Arena. To master this is the hardest part because no one system will work for everyone. Some people prefer the MDK2 style of controller setup. Others prefer the classic setup of the Keyboard and the mouse. I seem to need a combination of the two. Plan to spend about an hour setting up your control functions to your own specifications in one-player mode. Don't learn the hardway that your foes will frag you as you tweak your control options in an online arena. Make sure you are comfortable before you start. My setup is with the mouse in my right hand used for looking/aiming and the controler in my left hand using the analog stick for moving and the D-pad for dodging and straifing. Much of your success will depend on your ability to fight frenzied close quarter battles. Less time will be spent sniping. The game is so hectic that finding a suitible spot to sit and camp out is almost impossible. If you stop for even a second you may get fragged. So if your not fragging, you better be moving.

The graphics are butter smooth and well detailed. When paused, you can see some blockyness when characters are certain positons..however this isn't as clear when the game is in action. The levels are just amazing as are fogging/lighting/dripping water effects. Slight lag can be noticed on some projectiles in on-line mode..but apart from that...the graphics are steller.

The sound in this game is great. Distances can almost be judged by the volume of gun reports. Footsteps are different for different charchters. The sound is engaging to the degree of adding to the chaotic frenzy of the melee. However, the metal/industrial soundtrack comes of a little stale and banal. Original Quake fans will remember Trent Reznor soundtracts adding to the dark feel of the game and for those of us who had the PSX version of Doom will remember the Satanic Symphonies of that game (complete with crying babys). Not so with Quake III..I find the music to be akin to a 4 wheeler racing game. But don't let that make or break your decision.