Reviewed: April 8, 2001
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Developer
Bullfrog
Released: March 27, 2001
Genre: FPS
Players: 4
ESRB: Mature
5
9
7
7
7.1
Supported Features:
By now hopefully everyone has at least heard about Quake 3. This intense first-person shooter (FPS) took the PC world by storm back in 1999 and last year made gaming history when it launched the Dreamcast version with broadband support and interconnectivity with PC users offering the first ever PC vs. Console online gaming experience.
This time around id Software turned over the reigns to European developer, Bullfrog for the PS2 conversion, and while Quake has never looked better there are some serious control issues that keep this version of Quake at the bottom of the rankings.
While it is easy to say that Quake III: Revolution is the best FPS game on the PS2 right now that isn't saying a whole lot. There simply aren't that many quality FPS games out for the PS2. TimeSplitters and Unreal Tournament are the only competition Quake III: Revolution current has, but with other FPS titles releasing later this year including two very anticipated James Bond titles, Quake 3 Revolution may be on the fast track to the bargain bin.
Don't be misled by the title. There is nothing "revolutionary" about this game. Sure there are some custom levels and the graphics have never looked better, possibly even matching the quality of a GeForce-enhanced PC. But there are so many things lacking in this title that after the initial "good impression" wears off you quickly realize this game just doesn't live up to the standards we expect of the Quake name.
All of the PC and Dreamcast modes are here including Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, Tournament, and a new enhanced single player campaign mode where you progress through the levels of each tier until you become the ultimate champion of the arena.
Quake looks and sounds great, but it starts to fall apart once you start to play it. The control is simply awkward if not downright impossible. The default controls are insane having you move with the left analog stick and look with the right leaving NO FREE HANDS to push the fire button or any other button for that matter. Using this control scheme reduces you to Wolfenstein-like play where you have no vertical pan.
After about ten minutes I managed to tweak the controls to match the settings I used when playing the Dreamcast version and the game became a bit more playable. The bottom line is that it is simply unforgivable to not have any support for a mouse and keyboard when I have two perfectly good (and unused) USB ports available on my PS2.
Supposedly, Bullfrog didn't want to support a keyboard/mouse combo because it could create an unfair advantage for that player if they were playing against others using the Dual Shock. Not to mention that any multiplayer games are local to the machine and require a multi-tap if more than two are playing. Bullfrog designed the levels and tweaked the gameplay to make it more "Dual Shock Friendly". This means the Railgun is now pretty much worthless, and most of your combat is now close-range where the shotgun is your new best friend since you have no accurate means of aiming the long-range weapons.
The menu interface seems to have taken a step backward. The PC menu was never that great, but then the Dreamcast version came along and showed us what a Quake interface should look like. While the PS2 is definitely still better than the PC menu it just doesn't offer the same style we should expect for a third time around the block. The load times also border on the intolerably long. The last time I waited this long for a level to load was on Smuggler's Run.
Quake 3 has never looked this good outside of the PC. A few effects are still missing like reflections, and the models and characters are not as crisply detailed probably to maintain the blistering 60fps. The level design is excellent and some of the PS2-specific levels are incredible. Hopefully somebody will convert them over to the PC. The architecture is impressive and there are no noticeable seams or texture tearing. The PS2 seems to have enhanced the drab colors of the PC and you now find yourself in very colorful levels with lots of animated textures and colored lighting effects to really put you into the game.
The game runs at a very smooth and constant frame rate, even in split-screen mode, which is impressive considering the amount of detail in the levels and lack of fog or pop-up. The characters are all modeled with ample amounts of polygons and there are some new faces you can play as including our favorite Marine from the original Doom.
Special effects are gorgeous and plentiful ranging from smoke trails on your rockets to brilliant explosions and colorful Railgun blasts. Visually, Quake III: Revolution easily beats the Dreamcast version and almost equals the quality of a 3D-enhanced PC. The background are definitely better than the PC with gorgeous skies and colorful nebulas in the space levels.
As expected, the sound and music are excellent but there is certainly nothing revolutionary about either in this version of Quake 3. It's all pretty standard stuff and not that different from the PC or Dreamcast versions. I guess there just isn't any room for improvement in this category.
Quake III: Revolution has 36 arenas to keep you busy for quite some time. The various skill levels will increase your challenge and offer you lots of reasons to replay all the levels over and over again. Even after you have completed the single player campaign this game is great for filling in those 15-30 minute gaps you have in your daily schedule where you just need to kick back and kill something.
Quake 3 was all about multiplayer from the day it was conceived until they day it released for the PC. This core philosophy held true even for the Dreamcast version with full support for the built-in 56k modem and the optional broadband adapter. The PS2 does not have any online capabilities at this time, so your multiplayer experience is limited to a 4-player split-screen mode. You Goldeneye veterans will know what to expect, and if you have a suitably sized TV you can probably manage to have some fun. Of course there is no way you can "lay in wait" for your prey when you have instant knowledge of all your opponents locations at any given time.
The good news is that even running four windows of Quake the game maintains consistently high frame rates and offers some intense action that will be sure to make this a popular party game.
The poor controls can eventually be mastered, but there are still plenty of sacrifices that you must endure from a design standpoint as well as several gameplay issues. No matter how you configure your controls the free look mode is clunky and inaccurate and your combat tactics are severely limited to close-range frantic combat.
Quake III: Revolution offers all the gameplay that the PC and Dreamcast versions do, but in a dumbed-down arcade-like port. If you have never played any of the other versions then you won't know what you are missing and will probably enjoy this game. You may want to rent this title first. The extra levels, cool new characters, and gorgeous graphics make this game one you will want to play but probably not keep.