I just got picked to test the Quake Live beta, and "holy crap" is all I can say. ...but let's try to elaborate on that.
All hail John Carmack! w00t!In case you aren't aware, Quake Live is the new project that game developer
id software is working on. It's a free, ad-supported re-touch of the godfather of PC First Person Shooter Deathmatch, Quake III Arena. If you never played Quake III, then shame on you for missing out! It was the game that
made the multiplayer FPS deathmatch style play that we know today. Quake III
is twitch gaming.
What id software has done with Quake Live is simply brilliant. The whole game runs right out of your browser. After I got my beta key invite last night, within 5 minutes I had signed up for an account and downloaded all the necessary game files and was ready to play. All within Firefox 3, with no problems whatsoever.
The textures have been updated for modern standards but the polygon count / models remain the same. You might think that this makes the game look dated, but it's actually a good thing. The game runs smooth as can be on today's hardware, and that's exactly what you want in fast-paced FPS deathmatch play. Games load fast and run even faster, and it all still looks great, despite how dated the engine is.
Quake Live is Going to Revolutionize PC Gaming
The Quake Live portal/website is done very well and will be an excellent backbone for the community when the game goes public. There are score boards, player rankings, etc. The ranking system is especially well done; it looks at who is in each server and tells you if you are above, below, or at the same skill level of the people playing in the server, so you know what you are getting into before you join.
Now you may be saying, "This sounds pretty cool, but it doesn't sound revolutionary. It is an old game, after all, right?" Well, yes, Quake Live is essentially an "old game", but that's not the point. The game is going to be revolutionary for a few very simple but very important reasons.
For starters, it's easy to learn and difficult to master. At it's core, this is no more than the bare bones, bread and butter of FPS gameplay. This means that anyone can pick it up and have fun. As for the skill cap, anyone who has ever played Quake III Arena online will tell you that the community for that game is filled with some of the most hardcore, rip your face off, headshotting badasses in the world.
Most importantly, though, is that Quake Live takes maximum advantage of the PC platform's #1 advantage over consoles: ease of access. Everyone has a computer that can run this game, and not only do you not have to buy it, but you don't even have to install anything. People who never played Quake III back in the day will be exposed to this and it will usher in a whole new crowd of people who never knew PC gaming was so awesome.
What better to revolutionize PC Gaming than the game that revolutionized it a decade ago?
This is the kind of material that I see in PC Gaming's future. This is what will reestablish PCs as the #1 gaming platform in the public eye.
I'd like to post pictures and all that but since it's "Closed Beta" they have disclosure agreements. I don't think you need screen shots to realize how awesome this is going to be when it's ready for the masses, though.
If you haven't already, go
sign up for the beta. All you have to do is fill in your email address and click "submit". It takes like 5 seconds. I submitted my request a few months ago and I only just got accepted, so it took a while for me. There isn't a set "wait time" though, so you could get in instantly if they are doing another round of invites soon.
