Trying to play Quake III Arena with a controller sounds horrible, but we’ll be trying it soon enough anyway. Bethesda Softworks has revealed that on Dec. 15 Quake Arena Arcade will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade. The rebuilt game, which was first announced more than three years ago, will have 30 classic maps, 12 new arenas for the 360, a new single-player campaign, six game modes, and support for up to 16 players at a time. Pricing will be announced soon.
Quake III Arena (1999) is one of the most influential PC games of all time, partially for its simple, online-focused gameplay, but mostly for its technology. For several years, the Quake III engine provided the backbone for major franchises like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, James Bond 007, Star Wars: Jedi Knights, Star Trek: Elite Force, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In addition, countless unofficial mods and games were built on the engine, some of which were quite popular. For several years, Quake III likely had more people playing modded (modified) versions of the game than it did regular players.
Still, nothing beats getting railed in the head while rocket-jumping across space. It will be interesting to see what kind of single-player mode Bethesda adds to the game. The original did not have any noticeable single-player mode. It was part of a crop of games around its time that was played almost entirely online. Without the net, Quake III Arena was quite boring.
Are you excited to start fragging again? What’s your favorite weapon and match type? I’m a railgun and Capture the Flag man, myself.
