Poll: Quake 3 or 4?

[Kratenser]

Hey again Escapists,

So I'm interested in the Quake franchise, it's something I've always heard about but never experienced short of Quake live. Seeing as Quakecon is occurring and the games are on sale on steam today, I figured I could pick one up and give it a try. Thing is due to spending limits on my account, I can only buy one, so its a choice between either Quake 3 or Quake 4. Normally I would go for the latest entry in the franchise but I thought I'd ask current players which game they would consider has the better gameplay, or which game has the largest playerbase. I mean I dont want to end up purchasing one and discover the playerbase for it is miniscule compared to the other.

So people, which Quake game do I opt for? Quake 3 or Quake 4?

I'm more concerned about multiplayer here, I'm aware Quake 4 is meant to have a good campaign but, I'm not too fussed about it if I'm honest, I just want a good multiplayer experience.

Also please remember I know nothing about the series other than it seems to be universally revered as bad-ass so, I'm trusting your judgement here!

Thanks to anyone who replies,

Kratenser

 

[GoaThief]

Hmm, it seems you're not aware that Quake Live is a browser version of Quake 3.

On that basis, Quake 4 but im guessing the online community is smaller than both the aforementioned games but it's still worth playing.

 

[DazZ.]

Quake 4 has never had good multiplayer compared to 3. Quake 3 has no single player and was built specifically around multiplayer, the campaign is just normal games against bots.

4 on the other hand is quite fun, but the multiplayer never really took off and I doubt it has many servers now.

But as mentioned, Quake Live is just Quake 3 with it's browser social thingys attached, so make of that what you will.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Quake 4 has a decent SP with some nifty moments, but for MP it's all about Quake 3.
Q3 is the pinnacle of all Quake games, it's the most thought out slickest version you find, and the engine is so wonderfully flexible every match can be tailor made for you preferences, not to mention the amounts of maps and mods you can get.

But do remember this is an oldie

P.S. Quake Live is Q3 without 90% of the visuals and without any flexibility, it was specifically made bare bones for professional play.

 

[Kratenser]

Hmm, it seems you're not aware that Quake Live is a browser version of Quake 3.

I was not aware of that but thank you for pointing it out!

4 on the other hand is quite fun, but the multiplayer never really took off and I doubt it has many servers now.

Sad to hear that but I understand it is the natural way of things. One only needs look to C&C to see how a sequel can be received more poorly than its predecessor

Quake 4 has a decent SP with some nifty moments, but for MP it's all about Quake 3.
Q3 is the pinnacle of all Quake games, it's the most thought out slickest version you find, and the engine is so wonderfully flexible every match can be tailor made for you preferences, not to mention the amounts of maps and mods you can get.

But do remember this is an oldie

A game being old doesn't bother me at all, my favorite video game to this day is The elder scrolls II: Daggerfall, and that was released in 1996. Judging by what has been said, I'm inclined towards Quake 3 but, I'll wait for an hour or so and see what other people may have to say. I'm hoping to make an investment here

Even so, thanks for the input everyone, I'm looking forward to playing now

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Hmm, it seems you're not aware that Quake Live is a browser version of Quake 3.

I was not aware of that but thank you for pointing it out!

Prepare to die a lot. But don't be discouraged. It's an incredible multiplayer experience. I grew up playing it.

 

[TrevHead]

Theres always that spinoff Quakewars i've no idea if ppl are still playing it.

 

[Doclector]

Theres always that spinoff Quakewars i've no idea if ppl are still playing it.

No, from what I hear. Shame, because apparantly it wasn't half bad before it dropped off.

You already know about quake 3, from the posts above, and it seems you've basically played that for free, but quake 4 is worth a go for the single player. It's action packed, epic, and the monster designs are damn cool. It is, however, hard as nails, but that's kind of part of it's style as one of the last doom-style shooters before call of duty/halo became the popular styles. You could probably pick it up dirt cheap, too.

As for multiplayer, by the time I got to it, it seems to have died, so it's almost certainly dead now, if you're really only in it for multiplayer, don't go for it. As I said, however, quake 4's campaign isn't bad if you want to go more into the series.

Although, quake 2 is arguably the best of the series, but seeming as you specifically mentioned 3 or 4, go for that.

 

[GoaThief]

Quake 4 and Doom 3 are currently £3 odd on Steam (today only). Worth playing if you haven't already.

As above, the original Quake is very good to boot and well worth your time. Not to mention a historical benchmark in gaming's history. For some reason I never got into Quake 2's campaign, but the engine was great.

 

[Kratenser]

I get that quakes 1 and 2 were good but, I would imagine that the playerbases for them are either dead or miniscule at this point? If they're alive and kicking then great! But I mean, I just figured because of the time gaps since releases, only 3 or 4 would really have an online community? I'm not sure, which am I gonna have the best time with online? I mean Grand theft cup of tea and biscuits might be the most amazing multiplayer experience of all time but, if the playerbase for it is 5 loyalists then, well, finding games will be difficult and well, you know the rest.

Sorry if I sound cynical its just, I had a bad experience once with an amazing game which didnt have a playerbase, I'd rather not repeat that

(Warhammer online: Age of reckoning)

 

[VladG]

Hey again Escapists,

So I'm interested in the Quake franchise, it's something I've always heard about but never experienced short of Quake live. Seeing as Quakecon is occurring and the games are on sale on steam today, I figured I could pick one up and give it a try. Thing is due to spending limits on my account, I can only buy one, so its a choice between either Quake 3 or Quake 4. Normally I would go for the latest entry in the franchise but I thought I'd ask current players which game they would consider has the better gameplay, or which game has the largest playerbase. I mean I dont want to end up purchasing one and discover the playerbase for it is miniscule compared to the other.

So people, which Quake game do I opt for? Quake 3 or Quake 4?

I'm more concerned about multiplayer here, I'm aware Quake 4 is meant to have a good campaign but, I'm not too fussed about it if I'm honest, I just want a good multiplayer experience.

Also please remember I know nothing about the series other than it seems to be universally revered as bad-ass so, I'm trusting your judgement here!

Thanks to anyone who replies,

Kratenser

Quake Live is a browser based version of Quake 3.

Also Quake 3 is multiplayer only, Quake 4 has a pretty good single player campaign.

 

[TheKaduflyerSystem]

I love them both but for multiplayer it has to be Quake 3; but it is DEFINITELY worth picking Q4 at some time; excellent single player.
Also, if you can stomach the bots, or maybe a LAN game, Quake Wars was good.

 

[w9496]

Quake 4 for for the campaign, 3 for multiplayer.

The multiplayer for Quake 4 died a very long time ago on Xbox, and I can only assume the PC is getting there too.

4 does have a very fun campaign though.

 

[Kratenser]

Quake 4 for for the campaign, 3 for multiplayer.

The multiplayer for Quake 4 died a very long time ago on Xbox, and I can only assume the PC is getting there too.

4 does have a very fun campaign though.

Does Quake 3 still have a decent playerbase?

 

[DoPo]

Well, I'll throw my opinion in here, just in case, but I won't vote. I've played about 5 minutes of Quake 4 and I wasn't blown away by the experience. Hence why I didn't bother to play it again. But I've been a long time Quake fan, in fact, one of the first multiplayer games I played was Q3, along with what became to be my best friend now (side note: we two then played Q4 together...and went back to Q3).

But Quake 3 is really good, I didn't see anything that went far above and beyond it in Q4. However, if I have to be honest, I've had the most fun playing Q2, that game was the boss. Especially with an expansion I don't remember the name off, where you had atom bombs, sticky mines, dopplegangers and so on.

 

[Squilookle]

If they ever made The Edge for Q3, then get Q3. Otherwise, Quake 2 for the win.

 

[GoaThief]

I get that quakes 1 and 2 were good but, I would imagine that the playerbases for them are either dead or miniscule at this point? If they're alive and kicking then great! But I mean, I just figured because of the time gaps since releases, only 3 or 4 would really have an online community? I'm not sure, which am I gonna have the best time with online? I mean Grand theft cup of tea and biscuits might be the most amazing multiplayer experience of all time but, if the playerbase for it is 5 loyalists then, well, finding games will be difficult and well, you know the rest.

I don't know about Quake 2 but I'll bet some are still playing it. Either way, people are certainly playing the original Quake online in one of two variants; NetQuake or QuakeWorld. Your best bet is to head over to a community like this [http://quakeone.com/forums/] or this [http://www.quakeworld.nu/] for more info on how to get started.

I don't think your comparison of an MMO to a competitive shooter is entirely fair, for the former to work you need a heavily populated server but in the the latter it only requires two for a duel, one of the most intense gaming experiences around.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Quake 4 does have quite a fun campaign to go through but if it's multiplayer you're looking for then I'd go for Quake 3. Quake Live is basically the same thing as Quake 3 only on your browser so you could easily go for both.

 

[Kratenser]

Okay so I went with Quake 3 in the end and after sorting some graphical troubles (no idea what GL is but it tried to give me a seizure) and after connecting up and playing, I noticed that every "full" server actually has about 6 people playing and a shedload of spectators who never talk. What gives? Why are so many people watching the games? Surely if more people were playing, it would be more entertaining than just watching?