Quake

Dropping a DLC 30 years after release is what I call commitment. Now please give us a new Quake game and also remaster Quake 3+4!

[b]Slander.[/b] I come back for Doom I&II every few years, while Quake left my blunt rotation decades ago. I blame the first episode, it's such a drag. I know, they had to adjust for a new audience who made its first steps into 3D shooters, but I still find it difficult to force my ass through the first hour or so. The levels are kinda basic, so is the encounter design. Sparse and boring, not to mention how drab it all looks compared to Doom. Don't get me wrong, I respect the legend, it was a significant historical achievement. But I don't think Quake holds up as well as Doom in terms of its enemy roster and style. Half of the monsters are trash, many levels are tiny gimmicks. Even the guns, iconic as they are, are mostly retracing Doom's steps. Since Quake's inception, a few Quakeborns have surpassed it. Take DUSK, HROT. Yet, nothing came close to classic Doom. Did you get ragebaited? That's how I was trying to rationalise my wrongdoing before I finally pulled through and realised that I just... forgot my true feelings. Let's put things in order as I refute my slanderous statements. [b]Bad monsters.[/b] Two near-identical knights and grunts are okay, Vores can vore my balls and exploding slimes are a travesty. They shouldn't have made the cut. In defence of Scrags... I say nothing. Annoying flying lungs, killing them brings no satisfaction due to their subdued sound palette. Despised like silent farts, only a pervert would say "gee, I wish that level had more Scrags in it!"... you make me sick, pervert. I guess it feels kinda good to shoot them down with just one rocket? That's all for mediocre monsters. Did I forget anyone? Nah, dogs and fish don't count. Oh, zombies, right. [b]Great monsters.[/b] Now, an ode to the real ones. The Fiend is a much more efficient (and terrifying) Pinky, very impressive for taking advantage of 3D space. Akin to my fiendish kitty, it often gets stuck in collisions or lava after an awkward jump. Part of its charm. The Ogre is the face of the game, extremely expressive at that. A uniquely tricky brute, so strong for being introduced alongside basic grunts, made to show off grenade physics and how it feels to be on the other end of a chainsaw. They'll ruin your day on a regular basis while you make theirs. I'm serious, have you seen how sour one looks in your absence? Dragging that enormous chainsaw across the floor, looking down like a forgotten teddy bear. When you appear, he glows up. So eager to murder, he joyfully pounces off ledges or falls on his fat ass when hit. Cute! You give them purpose, you're their sunshine. I was just happy to be a pleasant surprise every time. By the way, these little extra animations were an underrated innovation. [b]Shambler.[/b] My boy Shambler deserves a separate mention. He's a short king, especially compared to your old Cyberdemon, but he's highly mobile and the size makes him more versatile in terms of encounter design, therefore more prominent than a Cyber. He can chase you through tight corridors, the game doesn't need to supply you with too many ammo prior because he's not that spongy, and he doesn't kill whole rooms of allies in a blink. That's why you can expect to see him often, paired with another Shambler or two for good measure. Anything, really. It's a well-designed elite who combines with most other foes and environments. To boot, given the claustrophobic levels, his hitscan lighting can be mitigated by either using corners or baiting his melee attacks, demanding skill and spacial awareness. [b]Guns.[/b] As for the guns, it's a matter of preference. I realise how near-perfect they were mechanically, setting the stage for years to come, but I'm not in awe of any of them flavour-wise. None look or sound particularly amazing to me. The electric thingie is alright, but it ain't no BFG. I certainly nerdgasmed when I fried myself by shooting it underwater for the first time, though. It was before Half-Life normalised placing electric cables in every puddle. Quake's SSG is the rocket launcher, not the actual meagre double-barrel. Some love the launcher, I'd take a good shotgun over it. Two nailguns are almost identical, but they feel better than Doom's chaingun and, apart from NiN's involvement, I appreciate the implication of pain they bring. This game is all about Medieval torture. This time, it's not machine presses but all kinds of spikes. [b]Levels.[/b] Let them hurt, go Hard, then Nightmare. You won't regret it! Up until Sandy goes full Patrick, producing seven abysmal levels to catch you with your pants down. Boingo-boingo. The man couldn't design a decent level if his life depended on it. Then again, who says one can only love a decent level? I always liked Sandy's slimy abominations, they were memorable and aligned with the themes in their malignancy. The sadism of unfair enemy encounters culminates in Episode 4. But so does the shifting geometry I so admire. The malicious architecture of Pandemonium in Doom and Quake was always a marvel to behold. Here, it's extremely concise, compressed, more than ever, but still responsible for the catharsis of Quake, on par with all the shooting. The game is so tight it has no choice but to shove everything in your face. You learn to read the room FAST or rest in gibs. At the same time, rare slower moments create tangible suspense. Roaming alone in the murder chambers, you sense how the sound and visuals condense into a unique space Gothic horror atmosphere, sending shivers down your spine. Quake can be eerie when it takes a moment to let you soak it in proper. [b]Impact.[/b] In 1996, I was still at that age when Quake genuinely creeped me out. Not like Doom or Wolfenstein, I wasn't a kid anymore, and yet. Yes, Wolf3D scared the crap outta me, no kidding. You stand in a featureless room with a knife in your hand, which is in itself ominous. Looking for a way to open that door, you try every key. Suddenly, it slides open! A guard screams at you in German, then starts blasting! The Jewish blood of my ancestors shot up like my heart was a petri dish in MacReady's hand! It was deeply immersive to see a game's world in first-person. To soon see it in such detail with verticality and advanced sounds in Doom. Quake went on and took it to another level: full 3D and a resolution higher than 320x200! Who'd possibly need such smoothness in a game!? I coped, for I couldn't afford 640x480 or, God forbid, 800x600. I had nothing against the new precise platforming and the dynamic lighting was jaw-dropping, sure. But nothing beats observing true 3D corpses instead of sprites for the first time. You could walk around them - and they didn't turn to face you! The realism blew my little mind to pieces, it was a revelation. Grim and cool. [b]Conclusion.[/b] Once I bored you to death with old man's ramblings, let's go back to the present where a flood of these memories is streaming in alongside a flow of gushing chunks on my screen. Level by level, I unearthed my Quake, a game I forgot I loved, and swore to include it in my blunt rotation next time. It picks itself up in the second episode. In fact, the way it ramps up the action is a thing of beauty, I thoroughly enjoyed the relentless escalation of this ever-accelerating meat grinder. It felt like Quake reciprocated, like it was glad I returned, happily assaulting me with a vicious smile on its square mug and a jagged hard-on in hand. As it does for anyone who discovers or rediscovers it. If you haven't touched this game in years, do it for old time's sake. If it's new to you, forget what I said in the beginning, you'll find that it holds up big time, providing modern shooters with a tough competition. If nothing else, I betcha it's still fun in multiplayer. Oh yeah, the remaster is stellar, but I only wanted to convey the core game experience here. Now, in its expansions and the new episode I'll revel alone. My curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35305390/]Big Bad Mutuh[/url]

Back in that time I played, if I'm not missing any, the following computer FPS: Wolfenstein 3D, Corridor 7, Doom 2, Heretic, Duke Nuken 3D,, TekWar, Blood, Shadow Warrior. Somehow, I had never played Quake at the time. And still hadn't played it until trying this remake. So I can't talk about how accurate the remake is, or isn't. I can tell that obviously there's a lot of gameplay modernization here, like perfect mouse controls, and some great use of a modern graphics engine, but aside from that I can't say how much changed. This remake does come packaged with a playable version of the 1996 release, but going straight to it is obviously rough. There are certainly some fan mods and re-implementations of the original that would be a better experience for this, I imagine, at least giving it modern mouse controls and such. Might try it someday. What I do can say is that if this remake is even remotely accurate to what the original was at the time, then yeah, I get it now why Quake was so talked about, and I get what I missed.