Media Blog 2: Quaking it up

A while ago I was introduced to Quake Live, since then it was become one of the few games that I go back to continuously when I am bored and want some fast paced action.

Quake Live is a reinvention of the old Quake 3 Arena, which was originally released for Windows in 1999.  The older graphics can be seen in the picture to the right, but that is no indicated for gameplay.

While the graphics may be lacking, the gameplay is solid.  Unlike a traditional FPS, you do not spawn with a gun, at least not one that can do any damage.  The gun you spawn with can only kill someone if they are already heavily injured.  Instead, you must pick up weapons, ammo, armor, and other powerups and items quickly in order to hold your ground.  Gameplay is fast-paced, and if you stand still for any length of time, you are likely to be shot down before you have a chance to realize what happened.   This fast paced gameplay is one of the things that I like about the game.  It is unlike anything currently seen in popular FPSs like Halo, or Bad Company 2.

For the most part the game is completely free.  There is a subscription service which offers the ability to host your own servers and a few more game modes, but if you just want to play in your free time, the standard version offers plenty of gameplay.
Also due to it's low end graphics, the game runs entirely in your browser, either in windowed mode or fullscreen, allowing you to play on any computer anywhere.

The game grabbed a huge amount of popularity quite quickly, mostly due to the legacy the Quake games have had, before this came out, there were still people playing Quake 3.  And there have been some amazing contests between players who truly know the ins and outs of the game. 
Watching some of these people play is an amazing experience. 
Even without knowing much about the game, you can't help but be impressed.