Game Review - by Jason Doolittle
Quake 3 Arena is set in the 'Arena Eternal' where the gladiators are condemned to fight for eternity. The only real story line here is "get more frags than the next guy" and then do it again, and again, and again, and�you get the picture. The single player game consists of a 7-tier tournament where you have to beat all of the competitors in a tier before moving on to the next. The first six tiers consist of four levels each. Each level contains a mixture of computer-controlled bots that are sure to give you a run for your money. After you've slaughtered all of the computer-controlled bots, it's time for the main event�.frag your friends, and believe me, this is where the fun is.

Features:
Quake 3 Arena was designed with a multi-player focus. The game will support up to 12 players over a local network or over the internet using either an IPX/SPX compatible protocol or TCP/IP.

There are 4 multi-player game modes: 1) Deathmatch- the guy with more kills wins. 2) Team Deathmatch- the team with more kills wins. 3) Capture the Flag- the team with the most captures win. You get points for defending the flag, defending the flag carrier, capturing the flag and fragging your enemies. 4) Tournament- One-on-one frag-fest. It even keeps track of your win/loss record for the current tournament.

Quake 3 Arena gives you the option to fine-tune your controls.

Gameplay:
Most of your favorite guns from Quake 2 appear in the Arena. The BFG is probably the coolest it's ever been and the railgun is great for long range sniping.

With graphics and detail settings set appropriately, the game runs very smoothly in a multiplayer game. Internet play is much less troublesome than in previous versions of Quake. If you manage to get a decent connection, you might not ever know you were playing over the internet.

Graphics:
This game probably has the best graphics engine on the et. Quake 3 supports curved surfaces and 32-bit textures which allow for some pretty cool effects. I was amazed the first time I saw water and you should check out the sky in some of the arenas (I was once fragged in a one-on-one match because I was entranced by the sky).

Sound FX:
Quake 3 Arena's sound effects definitely have a lot of character. The rocket launcher will rock your sub-woofer, and when you score a hit with any weapon you will hear a noise as if you were penetrating armor. From the agonizing screams of pain and death to the mocking laughs of your opponents, Quake 3 Arena's sound system is definitely well rounded

Overall:
If you're into fragging your friends for hours on end, Quake 3 Arena is definitely worth your time.