Summary
One of the most beloved and influential franchises in gaming history, theQuakeseries helped to define the FPS genre and gaming as a whole. Known for being at the forefront of gaming in the early to mid-90s,Quakehas become a largely forgotten name in the modern gaming landscape.
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The series has changed a lot over its lifespan, from its groundbreaking single-player beginnings to becoming a leader in the growing world of Esports. Over the years,Quakestruggled to find its long-term identity, and subsequent releases would never reach the critical acclaim of its early life. With the release ofremastered versions of the original games,modern interest inQuakehas risen, and fans are eagerly hoping a new addition to the long-running series will be announced that will return the series to its former glory.
Quake III: Revolution
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NOW IS THE TIME FOR REVOLUTION!YOU HAVE SPENT AN ETERNITY FIGHTING IN THE AREMAS OF THE VADRIGAR ONLY THE STRICT DEVOTION TO A SINGLE MANTRA KILL OR BE KILLED - KEEPS YOU ALIVE. HOWEVER THE UNRELENTING BATTLE HAS MADE YOU MORE POWERFUL THAT YOUR CAPTORS COULD EVER YOU WILL BE IMPRISONED NO LONGER AND THE ROAD TO FREEDOM WILL BE PAVED WITH THE BLOOD OF YOUR OPPRESSORS
This entry into the franchise would be a simple footnote inQuakehistory if it weren’t for the emergence of the current console giant, PlayStation.Quake 3: Revolutioncombines all the game modes fromQuake 3 Arenainto a single package for the PlayStation 2.
At the time, this was a solid console port,pushing the technologyof the PS2 to its limit. As an original game,Revolutionsfalls flat, but for console players of the day wanting to get in on some multiplayer action, it was a welcome release.
With the massive success ofQuake 3a year earlier and the growing interest in competitive gaming, the expansionQuake 3Team Arenawas released. This new addition to theQuakelandscape brought new maps, new weapons, and most important of all, new multiplayer team action.
The game was generally well-received and helped maintain the player base ofArena,but didn’t add too much to the original game.Team Arenahelped to keepQuakeat its peak multiplayer era and remains a notable addition to the history of the franchise.
This 2007 spin-off to theQuakeseries is setwithin the same universeasQuake 2andQuake 4and acts as a prequel to those games. Unlike those previous games,Quake Warsowes more to the series' arena multiplayer games than the single-player entries.
With the gameplay focusing more on objectives and teams becoming class-based,Enemy Territoryis a fun online game that received generally positive reviews. The game may not live up to the groundbreaking titles it takes its name from, but it is a worthy addition forfans of online play.
One of the more recent additions to the long-running franchise,Quake Championswas initially released in 2017 and became a free-to-play game, with the full game released in 2022.Championsis a return to the arena-style shooter and brought in additional perks and abilities for players to learn.
The game was generally well-received and initially had a decent player base, but unfortunately, the game lacked originality and players soon started to leave when newer games were emerging. The game was still a solid entry and helped remind people how great theQuakeseries had once been.
To capitalize on the re-emergence of theDoomfranchise,Quake 4was released in 2005, bringing the series back to its single-player roots.Quake 4continued whereQuake 2’snarrative left off, with critics praising the game for its graphics and action but also noting it suffered from a simplistic and repetitive gameplay loop.Quake 4was a fun, action-packed shooter that held up well with other games of the day, but lacked the groundbreaking nature of its predecessors.
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Quake 4is a worthwhile attempt at recreating the series’ heyday, but unfortunately fell flat in finding a modern audience, who had been treated to more sophisticated shooters. For fans of the series,Quake 4is a fun addition and works well as a solid single-player FPS experience.
Released in 2010 initially as a free-to-play game,Quake Livewas essentially an updated version ofQuake 3: Arena.Giving players all theonline multiplayer actionthe original title was known for. Re-launched in 2014, the game was no longer free-to-play, but continued to have a strong player base.
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Quake Livecontinues to bring theQuakefranchise to Esports tournaments around the world today, but with waning popularity, the long-running shooter could do with a refresh to stay relevant in competitive play.
Quake 3: Arenawas a big change for theQuakeseries. In the previous two installments,Quakehad been primarily a single-player experience, although both games had multiplayer modes. With the release ofArena,the series became solely focused on the multiplayer experience, with no single-player campaign at all.
The setting was based around a gladiatorial arena, where the greatest warriors fought for theamusement of an Alien race. The game was a huge success, with its influence still being seen today. Games likeCall of Duty: Warzone,Valorant,andApex: Legendsall owe their current status to the early success ofQuake 3.The game kick-started the Esports craze and helped push the genre forward to what we see today.
The second installment in theQuakeseries kept the fast-paced single-player action of the first game, replacing the dark fantasy style with a dark sci-fi one instead. Narratively separate from the first game,Quake 2introduced the brutal cybernetic alien race, The Strogg, as the main antagonist to the series and added more verticality to the game world. On top of this, enemies could duck out of the way of incoming fire, a groundbreaking addition at the time.
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Quake 2is one of the most beloved games in theQuakeseries and is highly influential on modern gaming, with many fans preferringQuake 2to the first game.A remastered versionwas released in 2023, bringing all the expansions and game modes with it.
For many, the original will always be the definitiveQuakegame. A groundbreaking release in its day,Quaketook the demon-shooting gameplay ofDoom,placed it in a bleak medieval-style setting, and injected it with a heavy dose of Lovecraftian inspiration. The stunning industrial soundtrack, created by Trent Reznor and the Nine Inch Nails, takes the already classic FPS to a whole new iconic level.
With the release ofQuake Remasteredin 2021, a whole new audience discovered the FPS classic. It included all the later expansions for the game, creating the ultimateQuakepackage that fits in perfectly with the plethora of more modern “boomer shooter” style games released over the last few years.
