Quake

It's a lot like Doom. It's a whole lot more.

• Quake
• id Software
• Shareware/CD-ROM (registered)
• Pentium, 8MB RAM, 30-90MB HD
• $45.00 (registered)

uake is the much-anticipated new game from id Software, the creators of the revolutionary Doom. While similar in appearance, Quake breaks new ground as well.

As far as the story goes, id isn't afraid to stick with what works. An unknown enemy named Quake is using "slipgates" to invade our world with a demon army from another dimension. In response, players embark on a one-commando mission, jumping from dimension to dimension to find this Quake. Along the way players must hack, shoot and detonate a host of vicious creatures.

The game uses a first-person interface where players navigate tricky mazes of corridors, stairs, moving platforms and traps, populated by zombies, ogres and the like. (Ogres with grenades.) Luckily there are plenty of powerups to be found: ammo, healing and special items like biosuits that allow brief excursions into the deadly slime pits. Each level has a "boss" -- an extra-tough monster that must be defeated before players can advance. It's a good idea to save often, since there's no telling exactly when the boss will pop up.

On the surface Quake may sound like a Doom 3, but it actually introduces a number of nice innovations. Quake is truly three-dimensional: players can move in all six directions, and the levels are intricately designed to take good advantage of this -- looking up is a vital tactic for survival. The biggest new feature is the Console, which is a command-line interface for the game.

Among other things, players can use the Console to create aliases, which are macros for action. An alias could be written, for example, that makes the player automatically whip around a corner, fire, and jump back. Aliases allow all kinds of customization and advanced control. Although the programming language is arcane, plenty of code-heads are creating aliases and posting them to the Internet, so even a casual player can take advantage of this neat item. Other plusses include extensive modem and network capabilities. It's even possible to play Quake over the Internet.

Although the art is quite good, all the levels, which are supposed to be different dimensions, have the same motif -- a sort of nightmare medieval castle/dungeon. More variety would have been nice. The levels are also on the small side. The sound effects, from chirping crickets to bloody death gurgles, are excellent. Sadly, the shareware version has no cheat codes. While the demons from another dimension thing is getting old, all in all id has created a scary and action-packed game that flows only slightly slower than games without true 3D.

Even as you read this, programmers are creating "Quakebots" -- software daemons that will be indistinguishable from other players online, but that can think and therefore kill with lightning speed. You've been warned. -- Brooks

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