Got my invitation yesterday for Quake Live the FREE, in browser shooter game from id software, the inventors of the First Person Shooter genre (FPS). Few observations:
The game is actually Quake 3 Arena. I was disappointed, but thats partly my fault as I didn’t bother looking up info before I started.
It works only on Windows XP/Vista/7. A BIG let down for me. What exactly is the use of a “browser” based game when you are going to restrict it to windows again. But thankfully it works on IE/FF.
The plugin downloads about 280 mb of content to your Application Data folder. Obviously the archives for the game in the old pk3 format (just like in Q3), and punkbuster, the anti cheat software. This is totally necesary, but again beats the purpose of being a browser based game.
It plays surprisingly well for a browser based game. The home page (for the beta) is pretty nice, and allows you to change the settings of pretty much everything like controls, display, gameplay, etc just like in a regular game. Resolutions upto 1024*768 are offered, and yes you can play it in full screen mode if you wish to.
The game initially has a Practice Match, where your skill is tested against a bot, and then rated. So, when you are looking for servers, a small icon tells you if it matches your skill level, or if you are going to get kicked royally. A neat feature.
Lots of gameplay modes like FFA, InstaGib, Team Deathmatch, CTF.
I’d rather have them release Quake 3 Arena for free, than Quake Live. Beats me.