A top shooter needs great shooting mechanics, and either fun movement or tactical ones. Still, you can make a game that excels at all three and it will be no more ??dangerous than a lion inside an aquarium if it doesn't feature ??proper maps.

When someone talks about a specific ?FPS you like, chances are most of your memories will come from ?one or just a few handful of maps that stood above all others. Read on to pay your respects.

Dust 2 (Counter-Strike)

If society collapses and video game archeologists of the future end up trying to put the pieces together, they might come to the realization that serious competitive online gaming started here. In truth, De_Dust 2 isn't really the first competitive Esports map of all time, nor the first really popular one. Still, it sure is the best map in the original Counter-Strike 1.6, and it remains a banger even over 20 years later. Dust 2's service to CS helped make the tactical shooting and Call Of Duty online s?cenes the juggernaut that they are today.

Not bad for a map made? for fun without following any strict rules of map-making - because those didn't exist yet.

Facing Worlds (Unreal Tournament)

Did you ever tell the youths of today you used to have some of the most fun a human body can survive on a CTF map composed of just two towers flying in space united by an impractical bridge? Good, because they'd laugh their asses off while likely doing what you can only assume is a Fortnite dance. Still, you know damn well that few things beat being a sniper on top of ?that tower, easily getting over 25 headshots per match, ?or, should things get too dire, just get the Redeemer to nuke all pesky passersby.

Facing Worlds isn't a very competitive map because it's too easy to prevent anyone from ever crossing the bridge, but taking turns between being the cool sniper and the fool who tries to make it across remains one of the most fun things you can no longer try today because Epic completely abandoned UT.

Ps: In case you're wondering, yes, I'm using a picture of the newest iteration of Facing Worlds as a psyop to make you want UT back even more.

Nuketown (Call Of Duty series)

The universe has an interesting way of balancing things. Not long after Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull gave us one o??f the dumbest scenes in movie history where Indy survives a nuclear blast by finding shelter inside a fake fridge on a nuclear testing site, gamers get one of the most fun maps of all time.

Nuketown is simple, really, just a bunch of suburban houses populated only by cre?epy nuclear test dolls. Still, having a shootout with your friends in a cozy place that's clearly there only to be destroyed feels right every goddamn time.

Rust (Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2)

"1v1 Rust?" Is one of the oldest memes spawning out of the Call Of Duty series, and for good reason. Modern Warfare 2 introduced one of the smallest maps in the history of online shooters, just a small patch of sand with a rust????y tower in the middle.

Simple,? sure, but also the best place to have an up close and personal duel with your friend or foe. Snipers? Submachine guns? Pistols? Knives? Anything goes on Rust, and? everything works.

Blood Gulch (Halo: Combat Evolved)

Similarly to Facing Worlds from UT, Blood Gulch has a very simple setup of two enemy bases united by a long patch of land. But, instead of a bridge, players would get a wide corridor they could traverse on foot or by vehicle. You could take on Blood Gulch however you wanted, and it would always result in fun. If there's one multiplayer map that would immediately sell anyone on everything Halo could do, it was Blood Gulch.

They used to say, "blood gulch is the map so nice, they remade it twice." That was a long time ago, as Blood Gulch has since been remade for pretty much every Halo game, and it remains j?ust as simple and addictive back in the day

Q3DM17 aka The Longest Yeard (Quake 3)

You'd think that's probably a bad choice of a name to something you want to make popular, but, once you play it, you'll understand Q3DM17's experience will more than sell itself. First things first, Q3DM17's setting of a sci-fi arena floating in space looks just amazing �even if you're to experience its earliest version nowadays via Quake Live. Also, it allows for a lot of freedo??m. This is a map you can enjoy safely or by risking some tricky and dangerous jumps that might take you to a position you can more easily frag your enemies from.

On top of being an all time top-tier arena map, Q3DM17 remains li??kely the best Instagib map ever made.

Construct (Garry’s Mod)

Not all great multiplayer FPS maps need to be all about putting players in places where it'd be cool to have a shootout straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. They can also be about creating, and Garry's Mod's Construct is one of the best places to both come up with the wackiest ideas, contraptions, and even other maps. Construct provides ??an incredibly chill and iconic area to let your mind fly free, and there's no wonder it served as the primordial mud from whence a lot of awesome gameplay ideas came out of.

Erangel (PUBG: Battlegrounds)

As far as gameplay variety goes, there's just no beating PUBG's first map. Erangel played a big role in making the BR ge?nre the beast it has been since, well, the release of Erangel, a role I believe many don't realize.

I myself had to wait until the release of PUBG's much inferior second map, Miramar, to realize how much of a miracle Erangel was. The team came up with such a wide area that never feels boring or repetit??ive, and where every sub set piece can still provide the perfect set for completely unique shootouts even so long after the game's release.

Deck 17 (Unreal Tournament)

A lot of verticality and grey tones don't usually do much for me in shooters, but I'll open an exception for Unreal Tournament's Deck 17. It features a beautiful balcony where snipers get a great view to the open area where the ma??dmen have at it, wide and long corridors, and bridges without rails that will lead you to a nasty death in a vat of green goo. That's the best of the late '90s and early '00s combined right there.

Deck 17 can be chaotic, but it'll never make you feel too bad? as you know damn well you can always go for the nuke that will calm things down.

Wake Island (Battlefield series)

Battlefield's greatest strength is the incredible size and scope of the battles it allowed players to partake in even as far back as the early 0??0's. Still, sometimes it can be a bit much, and you might want to kick back and relax in a smaller and cozier war effort.

What makes Wake Island the definitive Battlefield map is its ability to feature both the series' amazing scope, but to also make it feel smaller, more streamlined, by allowing players to conquer the whole island by starting at one end of this organic corridor of a map and finishing at the other. If you don't care about that, however, that's also fine, as Wake Island also excels at being played as if it were any other Battlefield map.

The post Best FPS multiplayer maps of all time appeared first on Destructoid.

While some of us are still wondering whether the rumors about a possible Quake 6 will ever turn out to be true, we can blast away on Quake Champions. If you've never experienced the fast-pace??d FPS and you're a fan of arena shooters, now seems to be a good time, as the game's exp?eriencing something of a boon.

Okay, "boon" might be overselling it slightly, but as noted by PCGamesN, Quake Champions has seen the concurrent player count peak to 1,943 in the space of a day. According to the most recent data from SteamDB, just 24 hours ago, only around 500 peop??le were playing, but now �at the time of writing �1,625 players are currently lo?gged in.

If this was a case of the game going on sale, that would obviously explain this sudden rise in popularity. However, as you can see on Steam, Quake Champions is 100% free. You can't exactly discount something that doesn't require money to begin with. The only way you can go up from there is to make it so the game gives you money for playing. Hmm...now there's a thought.

As if the game did a rocket jump

So why this surge in popularity? It's not quite known, from what I can see. The most recent update for Champions was on September 12, wh?ich is fairly recently, but not enough to see player count go from a few hundred to nearly 2,000 i??n a matter of a few hours.

Maybe a well-known streamer has been playing it recently? Well, when I last checked Twitch under the "Quake Champions" label, only a few channels were broadcasting the game, with around 70 peopl?e viewing. So that's not it.

No, it seems that, according to a recent thread on Reddit, there was a tournament that went ahead on Sunday, September 22 at 5PM CEST. The post says "Estoty is bringing us number 12 of its 2×2 TDM Quake Champions tournament series," and that "all ??players can enter to win $150 in prize money."

This tournament certainly lines up with the game's very recent popularity spike, so that could ex??plain it. Shame I didn't know about it sooner, to be honest. Could have done with a spare $150.

I do remember playing the game several years ago. I recall it scratched a certain itch, taking me back to my Quake 3: Arena days, fighting low-poly bots in high-octane battle, dangerously close to an are??na's precipice. The glory days of firs?t-person shooting, some may argue.

The post Qua??ke Champions just got a sudden spike in popularity appeared first on Destructoid.

When Wolfenstein 3D came out in 1992, it started a gaming revolution by showing what was possible in three-dimensional development. Then we got Doom just a year later, and the world has never been the same since. However, we mustn't forget id Software's 1995 gloomy shooter Quake, which had just as much of ??an ??impact on the FPS genre as its predecessors.

Of course, many of us haven't forgotten the gothic-cum-sci-fi series at all. That was just a flimsy pretext to lead you into what follows. With hopes that a Quake 6 could be on the horizon, i?t's time to look at all the mainline entries, listing them in order of what people thought of them when they?? released. Sounds fun, yeah?

As always, here are a few sidenotes:

1. I'll be attempting to use PC review scores where possible, but there will be one exception.
2. I'll only be talking about the main games themselves; so, not the expansion packs.
3. The list won't encompass Nightdive Studios' remasters, but I may save room at the end for a quick shoutout.

With that, let's rank all the Quake games based on their review scores.

Quake Champions (73%)

Off to a bad start with this one, as there doesn't appear to be an aggregate score from critics for the PC version. That is to say, the only version of the game. However, this IGN entry has it down as a 7.3 from user ratings. All 16 of them. As such, that'll have to do. If we convert it into? a percentage score, then 73% would ??put it at the bottom of the list. Right. That's the admin out the way.

Quake Champions was originally released to Early Access in 2017, becoming free-to-play in 2018. It's essentially an arena shooter �not unlike one of the many you've probably played �but very much taking cues from Quake 3: Arena. You know how games like this go. Run around, go "h'up" a lot, shoot at others until they die. I did actually play this when it first came out, and I rem??ember it being a heap load of fun. Shame it doesn't get a lot of love in mainstream gaming these days. Or maybe it does and I'm so out of the loop, I've become a triangle. What does that mean? No idea.

Quake 4 (81%)

Hot off the heels of 2004's Doom 3, id launched the fourth Quake entry, perhaps one of the darkest games in the series. Using the former's engine, the latter was definitely leaning towards that grisly marine aesthetic that was becoming popular at the start of the new millennium. If you remember nothing about it, there's at least the infamous Stroggification scene, where you watch from a first-person perspective as your character gets gruesomely? transformed into a half-biological, half-mechanical Strogg creatur?e.

I played this briefly not long after it came out. Personally, it wasn't for me. I could see what they were going for, but it seemed a far cry from the classic games that I remember playing. I appreciate game studios were interested in deeper narratives and more serious stories, but it felt weird seeing it in the Quake univese. I can't explain why. But what do I know? Metacritic shows a score of 81% and Steam has it down as Very Positive.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (84%)

Yep, no. I can hear it. Hold your horses for a gosh-darn second before you go diving to the comments section to tell me that Enemy Territory isn't technically a mainline Quake game. I'm aware that it's more of a spin-off. However, according to the Wikipedia entry, it's set in the same universe as the second and fourth installments, and it's also considered a prequel. Therefore, I would still say it's a canonical part of Quake. Yes, despite the fact that it was developed by Splash Damage of Brink fame instead of id Soft??ware. Again, I'm aware. Okay, we good?

Although I'm a long-time Quake fan, this is one I have no experience with, I'm afraid. We're very much into online multiplayer territory at this point. The year was 2007, and we were starting to see more people gaming over the interblag. With Halo 3 having come out just days before Enemy Territory and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare just around th??e corner, it seemed the studio very much wanted a sl?ice of that online action. Not for me, but a PC aggregate score of 84% meant it obviously paid off.

Quake 2 (87%)

Quake 2 dropped in 1997, and it was perhaps not what people were expecting. John Romero �whose influence helped shape the first game as well as the early Doom installments �had left id Software, and the studio went through a few changes. The first being that the second game in the Quake series was a massive departure from its predecessor. For starters, it was? more sci-fi than gothic horror. However, the action was still there, but things like the Nailgun and the moody Trent Reznor soundtrack were no longer present.

But that doesn't detract from Quake 2 being an excellent game. Yeah, the murky brown FPS look eventually became a cliché, but, for me at least, Q2 represented the next step in the genre's evolution. I absolutely love this game! I don't care that it's a meat-headed, generic action shooter involving space marines on alien worlds. It's a fast-paced experience with some interesting set pieces and memorable enemies (who can forget the Tank Commander?). Much like Enemy Territory, Metacritic doesn't show a PC score, so I pulled it from the Wikipedia aggregate instead.

Quake 3: Arena (93%)

Do you write it out like Quake 3 or Quake III? No matter. I consider this part of the golden age of the series. Casting my mind back to 1999, I recall playing this game absolutely to death. The fact that it was an arena shooter with enemy bots for those who didn't want to play online was very appealing to me. The internet was still in its infancy back then, and I just didn't have a steady enough connection to be able to pew-pew-pew with others in deathmatch glory. Bots were my friends, a??nd that is probably the saddest sentence I've ever written.

Anyway, I admit having cheated a little here. Remember earlier when I said about using PC scores except in one instance? This is said instance. See, while Wikipedia shows a score of 84% on PC, Metacritic gives the Dreamcast port a mighty 93%. I know I should stick with my original rule, but the difference between the two scores is worthy of note in this case. I only ever played it on PC and I found it to be hugely enthralling, so you can imagine playing a 9% better version of it. No, I'm not just making excuses so I can put Quake 3 higher on the list. How dare you!

Quake (94%)

The original Quake from 1996 is not only considered the absolute best in the whole series, it's arguably one of the greatest first-person shooters in gaming history. What made it such a hit was it not only used advanced development techniques for the era (including full real-time 3D rendering), it was also a huge proponent of the early deathmatch scene. True that Doom may have popularized it, but it was Quake that leaned heavily?? into it as online multiplayer started to become more popular.

I've played this countless times over the decades, as well as the host of custom maps you can get for it. It is, without hyperbole, a timeless classic, and for good reason, too. It's a fast, intense, uninterrupted FPS experience, all wrapped up in a brooding and gothic aesthetic with creatures to match, which actually renders the game slightly scary when you first play through it. With a Metacritic score of 94%, it's typically held up as a shining beacon of what a game could be back in the 1?990s. It was also proof that id Software were capab??le of making huge strides in the industry.

Honorable mentions

Of course, I couldn't just leave it there. While Quake's future is not certain ?at this stage, the series r??emains in the limelight. As such, I think it's only right to give a shoutout to a couple of games that didn't make it onto this list, but are worthy of praise:

Nightdive Studios remasters

We know that Nightdive Studios is responsible for some well-received remasters of late. For instance, we got their modern take on Quake back in 2021, and then Quake 2 in 2023. Both of which have not touched what made the originals such great games, but they have tweaked them with a visual spit polish and some quality-of-life improvements??.

In short: we get to play classic Quake again, but on modern machines. Nightdive has done right by the source material, and these releases proba??bly are the best way to experience the OGs in this day and age.

Quake 2 on Nintendo 64

It's common for games to get ports to other systems, but they are typically just copy-and-paste jobs, perhaps with a bit of tinkering to make it more suitable for the platform it's being played on. Not so with Quake 2.

See, when it was ported to the Nintendo 64, it wasn't just a case of taking the PC version and condensing it down to a cartridge-based console that wasn't known for first-person shooters. Instead, "Q2N64" was its own thing. It had its own levels and missions, and even newly added real-time lighting effects, according to this IGN review. Sure, it was shorter than its PC equivalent, but it did what ??it could? with the limited capacity of the Nintendo machine. That alone is not an easy feat for an FPS.

The post Ranking all mainline Quake entri??es by review score appeared first on Destructoid.

Since time immemorial (well, 1996), Quake has been a lot of people's go-to when it comes to speedrunning. Already a pretty nippy FPS, id Software's iconic shooter continues to draw in new players who are looking to break world records. A??nd another one has just been beaten.

Over on t?he aptly titled YouTube channel, Quake Speedruns Explained, we are treated to details about a record that's stood for nearly four years. As? of May 2024, user Kisimov has achieved an eye-watering time of 22:582 seconds on the game's first (in a way) map, E1M1.

Over the course of 17 minutes, we get a breakdown of what it took to achieve this target, which beats the previous world record by ab??out half a second. Kisimov completed the level on Nightmare difficulty, rendering the time they got ever more impressive.

What the Quake?!

Although E1M1 is one of the shortest maps in the game, particularly as it's an early one, many speedrunners have been spending decades trying to nail down the route with perf??ect precision. As you'll see in the video, there's a lot that can get in the way.

For a start, playing on Nightmare difficulty means? there are more enemies who can deal more damage with greater accuracy. Add onto that the unpredictability of their movements and you have a recipe for a frustratingly difficult record??-breaking attempt.

Indeed, we get to see just a small example of the tens of thousands of attempts it took Kisimov to get to the end slipgate in just 22 seconds. Grunts being in the wrong place, hitscans dealing enough damage to kill the player, or even the g??eometry of the map itself all contribu?te to restart after restart.

It's not just the sheer tenacity in moving from point A to point B in as quick a time as possible. Along with Doom, the original Quake is pretty much the poster child for how ded??icated speedrunners can be. Many commit years of their lives to fine-tuning every frame, making attempts as near to perfect as they can.

This latest record �which has been officially acknowledged by Speedruns.com �may not seem like much, but when the QSE host delves into the minutiae of these 22 seconds, it becomes ?apparent that speedrunning is serious business?.

Just seeing all the failed attempts alone �some of which take place in the first room �is enough to put a lot of people off. I don't know if I ever could get into it myself, especially g??iven that the video a??nalysis seems confident that no one will ever beat Kisimov's E1M1 run. Though we've heard a line like that before.

The post This Quake speedrun shows the insane work that goes into break??ing records appeared first on Destructoid.

Last week, many of us were excited to see the official reveal trailer of MachineGames' upcoming Indiana Jones title The Great Circle. But footage shown at Developer Direct last week appears to be hinting at the return of Quake.

During the showcase of the upcoming Indiana Jones release �at around the 11:35 mark �we see a quick shot of a whiteboard, covered in barely legible red ink. However, among these scrawls you can clearly make out the iconic logo from the first Quake game.

Just above that, it's also possible to make o??ut the characters "AKE 6." Given that the first letter is almost cut off from the screen, it could be inferred that this is the other half of the word "??QUAKE."

Indy goes gothic

This could easily be nothing more than a throwaway reference, but the fact that it appears at all is interesting. Now, you don't need me to tell you that there's been no confirmation of any Quake projects in the pipeline. At least none tha??t we're aware of.

Having said that, with developer MachineGames taking the reins on the modern Wolfenstein titles �not to mention last year's Quake 2 remaster, in which the studio contributed new maps �no one would be surprised if the team turned its attention to the original Quake.

Whether this would be a reboot or a new entry cannot be said, but given that the number six is present in the Indiana Jones trailer, it could be a continuation. If you're thinking there are only four games in the Quake series, consider Quake Champions the fifth installment. Or even Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

In any case, these are just rumors at the moment. Chances are, if anyone was going to bring the legendary FPS back,?? who better than id Software? But MachineGames would definitely be a solid choice, so we'll just have to wait and see if the hidden clue in the video is more than just an Easter egg.

The post Fans spot a Quake?? 6?? teaser hidden in the Indiana Jones trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Us fans of classic first-person shooters were delighted when the Quake 2 remaster launched recently. A little bit of nostalgia with a dollop of newness to give the iconic game a fresh coat of paint. Now, we're in for another tr??eat with a mod that makes id Software's 1997 release more violent and harrowing.

As spotted by DSO Gaming, modder SGtMarkIV recently released a "quick gameplay test" of something they're calling "Brutal Quake 2." As the name suggests, this is a mod that ups the violence in Q2, but also tweaks the game in ??general by adding new ideas.

The footage shows the current work-in-progress. We see that it has the look of Quake 2, only with...well...more brutality. Interestingly enough, we also get to see a map not in the original release or remaster. This one puts the player and other marines in a battlefield, fighting Stroggs as chaos ensues and explosions litter a kind of no man's land. Imagine if Johns Romero and Carmack did a Medal of Honor game back in 1997.

Also, it's not made in the Quake engine

One thing to note about this footage is that it doesn't quite look like a modified version of Q2. Sure??, the opening map bears a resemblance to the Outer Base level, but it looks different somehow.

This is because SGtMarkIV is having to make it in GZDoom, the modern toolkit/engine that's used to mod the original Doom games. They say that GZDoom can read the models from Quake 2's files, which means this mod can run in the Doom engine, but with Quake assets.

We don't know the release date for Brutal Quake 2 yet, but given that it's coming from the mind that brought us Brutal Doom, expect carnage a-plenty.

The post Upcoming ‘Brutal Quake 2’ mod shows the horrors of war appeared first on Destructoid.

Not that Bethesda ever left the limelight, but the Starfield and Elder Scrolls studio is the talk of the town at the moment. That could be why there's a sale going on that all??ows y??ou to purchase some games developed or published by the Maryland-based company.

Over the online store Fanatical (thanks, PCGamesN), you can get discounts on a selection of Bethesda-owned titles. The sale gives you the opportunity to build? a custom bundle out of a possible 14 games, choosing up to five releases for as little as $3.

While it's not a huge selection, there's a fair range to opt for. You could get classic Fallout combined with Rage or go for some of the modern Doom or Wolfenstein releases. It also looks lik?e many of them come with their respective DLCs and expansions? as well, so it has that extra appeal.

Only two games actually by Bethesda

Of course, given that Bethesda is a powerful publisher as well, you'll notice that the majority of these games haven't been developed by the studio itself. Still, it shows just how much sway the studio has in the AAA market, and you can still choose Morrowind and Oblivion for your bundle.

It also looks like the sale event at Fanatical is going to be going on for?? a while. At the time of writing, the countdown clock at the top of the page says there are just over 16?? days and 18 hours until the deals end. That'll take us right into the middle of October. At that point, I imagine the Halloween sale events will start kicking in.

The post Bethesda sale lets you ‘build your own bundle’ appeared first on Destructoid.

The recent Quake 2 remaster by Nightdive Studios is arguably the best way to experience the classic 1997 shooter. But could it be better? That's what one ?modder thinks, who's currently working on a path tracing mod.

Reddit user mStewart207 (as spotted by DSO Gaming) recently uploaded some images from their upcoming "RTX Renderer" project, which will aim to implement even greater lighting algorithms to the revamped version of Quake 2.

[caption id="attachment_397928" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via mStewart207/Reddit.[/caption]

J??udging by the screenshots so far, it looks pretty great. The modder is aiming to publish it to GitHub "as s?oon as it's more or less playable." We don't know when that will be, though.

What is path tracing?

There are a lot of tech?nical terms that get thrown around in this modern gaming era. From image upscaling to things like RTX and rasterization, it can be difficult to know what's going on when it comes to visual acuity.

Many of you may already be aware of ray tracing, which is �in a nutshell �a piece of AI that uses the position of the player to make light and shadows look more realistic. But is this any different to path tracing? According to TechSpot, "Path tracing differs from ray tracing in that instead of following lots of rays, throughout an entire scene, the algorithm only ??traces the most likely path for the light."

It's up?? to you to decide whether you understand? that definition or not.

At the very least, it sounds like the remaster of Quake 2 could potentially look even better once this mod comes out. Who knew id Software??'s brown-and-gray FPS would get a second chance in the limelight?

The post Quake 2 remaster is now getting a ??path tracing mod as well appeared first on Destructoid.

I’ve never really gotten elbow-deep into the Quake series. Before the 2021 Quake remaster by Nightdive Studios, I was actually most familiar with Quake 4, and I really don’t remember that much about it. In 1996, I was into Duke Nukem 3D. And then after that, it was Goldeneye 007. I at least played Quake 2�The N64 version.

But after the first Quake was remastered and introduced me to the series, I held off on any more series exploration, anticipating the second one would eventually get the same treatment. My patience paid off, and the Quake II remas??ter has arrived. Once again, it’s a terrific introduction.

[caption id="attachment_396573" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Quake 2 (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: id Software, NightDive Studios, MachineGames
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Released: August 10, 2023
MSRP: $9.99

After the development of the first game in the Quake series was beset by creative differences, many members of id Software departed, including Sandy Peterson and John ??Romero. This is considered by many to be the end of classic id Software, as it seemed like the heart had left the brain with an empty bed.

You can sort of feel that in Quake II. There was something of an anarchic directionlessness in Quake that is replaced with something a lot more cohesive. Quake still felt like a first-generation shooter like Doom. Quake 2 is a lot closer to Half-Life.

You can see this clearly in the narrative. Earth has been under attack by the Strogg and hasn’t been faring well. So, the meaty humans launch a counter-attack, taking the fight to the meat substitute Strogg’s homeworld of Stroggos. Quake II and all the expansions are set around this counter-attack as you take control of different spac??e marines attempting to hinder the enemy’s ??ability to wage war on humanity.

The first Quake really didn’t have much of a narrative, and this is definitely not a continuation. This comes with its pros and cons. The biggest positive is that a more defined narrative gives you purpose that helps drive you ?through the game. The downside is that the Strogg don’t care much for interior design, and there’s little visual diversity throughout t?he campaigns.

//youtu.be/cyxBE163n20

Out of item

Nightdive’s remaster is similar to their approaches to the original Quake and the recent Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition. They have gathered all the expansions into one package, added a newly created campaign, and transported everything to their more modern KEX Engine, bringing with it a number of extra visual and gameplay options. And then, after already doing more than most would expect, they continue on to polish up the graphics and gameplay withou??t tampering with the overall feeling and aesthetic of the?? title.

It’s extensive. They even upscaled the cinematics. Then, somehow, they ported all of the N64 version of Quake II’s levels. For whatever reason, when Raster Productions handled the N64 port, they wound up remaking almost all of the levels. It’s just as much its own campaign as th?e other expansions. It seems like it would be quite an effort to re-port the N64 version back to PC, but it was very worth it. It contains visual flourishes that make it, at the very least, aesthetically worth exploring.

The two expansions by Xatrix Entertainment and Rogue Entertainment ar??e necessary inclusions, even if they mostly just feel like added content. Which, to be fair, is essentially what they were when they first released.

Meanwhile, the new campaign, Call of the Machine, by MachineGames is a great way of showing off the many successes of Quake 2 while minimizing its deficiencies. Visual variety is a lot better here, depicting a lot of different and interesting locales based on the Strogg War story but in places not shown in the games. It’s an effective way to demonstrate the outstanding gunplay, fast action, and interes?ting enemies without eliminating the unique flavor of the base game.

[caption id="attachment_396572" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Someone hang a poster

Which to be fair, as much as I hassle Quake 2 for its repetitive brown corridors, I do enjoy it. The main campaign is maybe a 6-8 hour romp. It kept my attention through to the end, even when similar games with shinier corridors failed to. Games like Dusk have demonstrated the lasting appeal of the clunkier and more straightforward games of yesteryear, and Quake 2 is an essential example of that.

But beyond that, Nightdive's remaster makes things a little more pleasant. One great feature is the compass, which draws a path to your next objective. It’s not that Quake 2 was obtuse beyond reason. Each of the “units�of the gam??e is composed of a handful of small levels, so you’re destined to trip over wh?at you’re looking for. It’s just a matter of how much backtracking you’ll have to endure.

For example, you might finish a secondary objective and see the message “turbine disabled.�Perhaps you won’t realize it’s talking about the fan that you just passed and can now bypass. So, you continue on your merry way, and then when you finally circle back, you say, “Ooooh. It was talking about this turbine.�/p>

So, I mostl??y used the compass whenever I came back to a familiar-looking room and wanted to make sure I wasn’t just going in circles.

[caption id="attachment_396574" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

That's a lot of screens

As usual for Nightdive remasters, their all-encompassing approach to Quake II makes it the definitive way to play the game. Beyond just compiling? all the expansions, certain features, such as AI, were buffed up, and cut content was restored. And then there’s also the multiplayer, which in some versions supports 8-player split-screen local. Or you can play online, if you don’t like?? sharing your screen.

But ?if, for whatever reason, none of that sounds good to you, the original versions are still available.

For me, it was a great introduction to Quake II. The PC version, I mean. It’s an oppressively brown shooter, but it still carries the speedy, lightweight combat that makes older FPS games still pop today. The changes that Nightdive brought in for the remaster make it even more enjoyable and accessible. It may not have the same experimental charm as Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, but it more t??ha??n makes up for it with its tight and gory gunfights.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Quake II (2023 Remaster) appeared first on Destructoid.

We all heard the news. Quake 2 has been officially remastered, and non-o?ther than Nightdive Studios was?? responsible for its creation. While the contents of id Software's classic game are enough to keep us satiated (especially those of us who love the original 1997 release), there's something else to look forward to.

In a recent post on Twitter, Laced Records, a company that specializes in vinyl soundtracks for video games, is unleashing Quake 2's music. The tweet links to the website, which shows there are two versions, one of which wi??ll be a limited edition.

//twitter.com/Laced_au?dio/status/1689683030313500672

While both of them will set you ??back $38 each, the limited edition press will feature "two solid red?? and orange A-side/B-side effect LPs," which looks pretty fancy judging by the images.

When can I get it?!

Hold your horses. This Quake 2 vinyl is not out just yet. The website says both versions will be released in January 2024, but you can pre-order yours now.

The soundtrack to the game is quite memorable, heading much more into rock/metal territory than the NIN ambient sounds of the first Quake game. Q2's music was conducted by Sonic Mayhem (who also did soundtracks to games like The Division and Deux Ex: Mankind Divided) and Jer Sypult. Horror director and musician Rob Zombie also contributed to the game's m?ain?? theme.

It may be more than two and a half decades old, but Quake 2 is an important part of 90s gaming, especially in the FPS genre. Okay, it may not have had the same impact as the first Quake or the OG Doom entries, but it's still a classic, and now we have a remaster (and soo?n the vinyl) we can en?joy.

The post Quake? 2 ?limited edition vinyl can be yours to own soon appeared first on Destructoid.

What are you reading this for? Nightdive’s rumored remaster of Quake II has been released, and you might already own it if you already had a version of Quake II on Steam or something. If the PC ?version is too good for you, then it’s also available on Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation platforms. What am I even writing this for?

Okay, because I’m expected to meet a certain word threshold to please the internet robots, I’ll tell you more. Bethesda and Nightdive dropped a remaster for the original 1996 Quake back in 2021, and it was an excellent source port of the classic game. It kind of felt like a similar Quake 2 remaster in the KEX Engine was an inevitability, but we only heard murmurings about it until today.

Quake 2 was initially released at the tail end of 1997, and featured a new, jazzed-up engine to take advantage of hardware acceleration. It wasn’t initially planned as a sequel to Quake, but gradually began shifting in that direct?ion. Most notably, it has no narrative connection to the first game’s very loose story. Instead, it introduces a space war against the cyborg-like Strogg.

Quake is often considered to be the last game by id Software’s classic line-up. After some creative differences, a bunch of staff departed id, including John Romero. You can absolutely feel it in Quake 2, as it’s unusually cohesive for the studio. There was sort of a wild experimentation in early id games that kind of lags behind the technical wizardry in Quake II.

Okay, good enough? The Quake II remaster is now available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch. It includes all its expansions, as well as a port of the N64 version’s cam?paign. Cool, bye?!

The post Quake II’s Nightdive remaster is live right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Not only can you get Quake 2 (as well as other classic FPS games) for cheap at the moment, but there's a rumor that a remaster of id Software's classic could be announced ??soon. If you thought the era of remakes, remasters, and reboots was over, think again.

Speculation comes from a report on Dealabs (via VGC). The leaker says that, having gained access to some evaluation documents, a remaster of Quake 2 could be getting an?nounced at this year's QuakeCon.

[caption id="attachment_395011" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via is Softw??are/Lightspeed Studios.[/capti?on]

The event is scheduled to run from August 10 to August 13, so news about this supposed reimagining of the 1997 shooter could be just over the horizon. The report from Dealabs goe??s on to say that "enhanced" and ?"remastered" are being tossed around to describe the alleged project, as well as giving information about potential platforms.

Already been suspected

Thanks to the video game rating board in Korea, we've already been made aware that Quake 2 could?? be making a comeback. We still don't know whether this is happening, but it's bound to stir up plenty of fans, especially the older ones.

While Quake 2 was a phenomenal hit when it released more than two and half decades ago, it did represent a bit of ?a shift for the developer. It was the first game the studio made without John Romero, so his influence is not to be found.

It was also a complete tonal shift from the original Quake. The first game had a darker and more gothic (al?most horror) aspect about it, while the follow-up was much more "space marine", sci-fi action, with splashes of brown and gray.

Hopefully, we'll know more about this supposed Quake 2 ?remaster (or "enhanced" version), b??ut for now, reel in those expectations until official confirmation.

The post Quake 2 remaster could be announced at this year’s QuakeCon appeared first on Destructoid.

Will it ever happen?

Older gamers will recall legendary developer John Romero's immortal words when he was promoting his new game (new for 2000, at least) Daikatana. Sadly (or perhaps not), no one was made to feel like the Doom co?-creators "bitch," and his first release after leaving id Software proved to be a flop.

Was it the worst game launch in history? It's probably up there, but it's largely been clouded by much more contemporary titles like No Man's Sky, Cyberpunk 2077, and Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy �The Definitive Edition.

//www.reddit.com/r/pcgami??ng/comments/15303b5/john_romero_ama_featuring_doom_guy_life_in_first/

However, according to a recent Reddit AMA, Romero would quite happily see Daikatana make a return at some point. In response to a question about the aged FPS, he said he would "support a remake." Replying to a similar question further down, Romero adds that, if it were to be remade, Daikatana "could be an exciting game, ??[more so] than the original."

A Daikatana remake is just a pipe dream, so far

This doesn't mean a remake or reboot is on the horizon, as far as we know. Plus, Romero did specify that he wouldn't be involved in such a project, though he would possibly be onboard as a consultant of some kind. We already know that he's working on a new FPS with a major publisher, which he restates in the Reddit thread. Pretty much nothing is known about this project, and the man himself even says he ??can't s??ay anything about it.

John Romero is something of an icon in the video game industry. While he's been making games since the early 80s, it was 1993's Doom that helped set the scene for the early days of the first-person shooter. These days, he is still active in the gaming world, even making some new maps for Doom. As such, it'll be interesting to see what he's currently working on, and whether Daikatana will ever get a second chance.

The post John Romero is not opposed to a Daikatana remake appeared first on Destructoid.

QuakeCon announcement incoming?

Everybody's favorite spoiler, The Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea, is at it again, this time apparently lifting the lid on an incoming remaster of one of the most genre-defining shooters of all time, id Software's Quake II.

While Activision is yet to officially announce said remaster, we have been here once before, as game ratings board previously leaked the remaster of the original Quake, ahead of its official reveal at the annual gathering of all things id, QuakeCon. Given that QuakeCon 2023 is set to take place in a little over a month from now, it seems pretty snug that Quake II Remastered is scheduled to make its appearance.

Originally released in 1997, at the height of the second major FPS boom, Quake II is a violent, sci-fi shooter that sees top-tier marine Bitterman fend off an entire alien invasion with an arsenal of bombastic weaponry. With its smart, interconnected stages, multiple player characters, and commitment to chaotic destruction, Quake II was highly praised by critics and fans, becoming a mainstay on the early online multiplayer circuit and boosting the Activision coffers long before Call of Duty was even in consideration.

We will be sure to give you a heads-up when an official announcement is forthcoming. QuakeCon 2023 takes place at ?the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine??, Texas from August 10-13.

The post Quake II Remastered surfaces on K??orean Ratings Board appeared first on Destructoid.

Horde and Honey are here for Quake

The remaster/re-release of the original Quake from NightDive Studios is still getting new content. Bethesda announced that Update 2 is out today and contains both a new Horde Mode and the Honey add-on, alongside some other new improvements to good ol' Quake.

In a Bethesda blog, the publisher breaks down what's all in the update. The Horde Mode added to Quake today is a new experience designed by MachineGames, letting one to four players o??r bots take on waves of enemies together. There are multiple difficulty levels, four new maps specifically designed for Horde play, and even boss mon??sters that let you unlock new weapons and items.

And for the solo players out there, Quake is also adding the Honey add-on. MachineGames senior level designer Christian Grawer created Honey, a trip through a village with a sinister secret. Originally released years ago, it's getting added back in as an add-on for Quake. Much like the add-ons for the Doom re-releases, these seem simple enough to boot up and play, so you get to enjoy some new Quake content like its 1996 all over again.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jut8g31RZH8

As time has rolled on, it's been nice seeing these classics of PC gaming past get so much attention. The Quake re-release left a strong impression on us, and even outside Bethesda, companies like EA have gone back to their vaults for some PC gaming revivals. Plus, the addition of new content really shows h?ow timeless some of these games ar?e.

Other improvements to Quake include text chat and push-to-talk support in pre-game lobbies, crosshair color and type options, and improved auto-aim to reduce the amount of snapping and view-locking. If you still needed an excuse to play some Quake, well, take this as your cue.

The post Quake re-r??elease adds new Horde Mode and Honey add-?on appeared first on Destructoid.

Quake III pulls ahead, wait a minute!

I'm a huge proponent of gaming history and preservation. I lived through a lot of eras of gaming, and remember it all. The LAN cafes and people going crazy over Quake III. People in my area trying to make it big in the fighting game community in local tournaments, and the bourgeoning Halo regional scene. And of course, the national phenomenon of StarCraft overseas. It was all fascinating to watch, but this ver??y quick?? and enlightening esports growth chart visual aid really drives home how big some of these games were, and currently are.

Posted on Reddit by PieChartPirate, the esports growth chart starts at 1998 and ends in the present era, cataloging prize pools. At what is essentially the dawn of esports, Quake II, QuakeWorld (now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time), and StarCraft Brood War were at the top of the charts. In just one year Brood War completely shoots ahead, followed closely on its heels by Quake III Arena, which was gaining massive popularity with the rise of online play. Amazingly, Quake III pulls ahead, but the ominous Counter-Strike appears.

In just several years, starting around 2003, Counter-Strike pulls ahead by a long shot and dominates by at least a million dollars (if not more) until 2014. At that point its reign is over, as League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Dota 2 are all in position and gaining popularity. From then on, given the massive amounts of cash Valve injects into the latter, it's Dota 2's game to lose. CS Go enters the fray as the second-highest total prize pool placeholder, followed by Fortnite in third and League in fourth.

There are so many stories told in this esports growth chart: each of which probably deserves its own symposium. One of my favorites is the low-key appearance of Age of Empires II in the early 2000s, and the fact that Descent 3, a game I played mostly alone, had a $50,000 prize pool. It's? also sobering to just sit down and realize how m??uch money Valve makes in a day, and how their chokehold over the esports scene has lasted nearly two decades.

//www.reddit.com?/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/p??????????????????????????o68o2/oc_top_15_esports_by_total_prize_pool_since_1998/

The post This esports growth chart on how dominant Dota 2 has become is kind of i??nsane appeared first on Destructoid.

The Dopefish Lives!

Can you believe I’ve never really gotten into Quake? Doom was a significantly impactful game for me as a child. I’ve played Wolfenstein 3D multiple times, and I don’t even like it that much. I’ve touched Quake. My uncle at leas?t had the shareware. I’m p??retty sure I rented the N64 version. I never really sat down to play through it, though.

It’s one of the more impactful �0s shooters. It was the las?t game of the classic id Software lineup before folks like Sandy Petersen and John Romero left. Its engine was an impressive effort to get smooth 3D visuals on PC at a time before 3D accelerators were widespread. It’s not one to overlook if you want to understand the evolution of PC ?shooters.

I just never took the time to get Quake working on my modern hardware. I would need to shove it into a source port, and there doesn’t seem to be one that is clearly the best. It?? makes me tired just thinking about it.

Then suddenly, we’re given a remaster. Thanks, NightDive Studios! I can finally play Quake how I want to. I can even play it on my Switch!

Quake (PC [Reviewed], PS4, Xbox One, Switch [Reviewed])
Developer: id Software, NightDive Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Released: August 21, 2021
MSRP: $9.99

The narrative of Quake is the timeless story of some military dude fighting monsters. It’s basically like Doom, except more Lovecraft and less Satan. Like Doom, development started out with a lot of big ide??as before someone said, “Okay, but what if we made it fun?�and it was spoiled down to the bare essentials of shooting dudes.

Is it fun? Was Pickman a painter?

Yes. If you haven’t read Lovecraft, the answer is yes. It was Pickman’s Model, and it’s one of my favorites.

It was hard for the id Software guys to do wrong, and they were doing what they did best: pushing technology and using it to let you blast horrors. It’s dead simple, with most of the technique being in staying mobile. A speedrunning community would later flourish around the game and the unorthodox skill of rocket jumping, but if you’re just looking to see the cre??dits, it rarely gets more complicate??d than just blasting whatever is in your way.

The remaster does a number of things. It has moved Quake to the Kex Engine, adding graphical effects like real-time lighting and ambient occlusion. Moreover, some of the models have been given a slight upgrade, and wh??ile it usu?ally gives me pause when updated models are jammed into an old game, they fit so well that I never got the impulse to turn them off. The option is there, however. If you want to turn off all the fancy effects and play the game like it was in 1996, that’s absolutely an option.

It also bundles the expansions Scourge of Armagon, Dissolution of Eternity, and 2016’s Dimension of the Past. Alongside it is another expansion developed by Machinegames, Dimension of the Machine. It’s a whole lot of Quake.

There’s a lot of variance between the different expansions, as well. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t oversell it. One of Quake’s weaknesses is that the levels are all very thematically similar, but certain episodes make more use of one enemy set or level theme than others. The starkest is Dimension of the Machine which ties in a great deal of modern design complete with relatively complex environments. While there may be so??me weaker parts of the package, the fact that they’re no?t just all the same makes playing through them worthwhile.

Indeed, I think my biggest gripe with Quake is that there isn’t a lot of variety when compared to something like Doom, which was already la??cking to begin with. Weirdly, the addition of jumping didn’t lend to a greater feeling of verticality. The levels aren’t exactly interchangeable mechanically, but they certainly are aesthetically.

It’s likely due to the troubled development. While the team was focused on putting out a fun product, there were complaints about a lack of leadership. The central concept of Quake changed so many times throughout its creation, that it’s no wonder it’s a mash. Lovecraftian monstrosities, cyborgs, and demons all attack you against backdrops ??of medieval castles, sci-fi military bases, and crumbling ruins.

It makes it kind of feel like Quake doesn’t really have an identity of its? own, but that generally gets lost when you’re tearing through levels. The fact of the matter is it’s fun, even all these years later, because sometimes you just want to blow things into chunks and the set dressing is pointless.

If you're down for it, there's also multi-player both split-screen and online, both co-operative and adversa??rial. I personally don't feel like getting destroyed by people ?who have been playing for 25 years, but the option is there for people who do.

There are also going to be add-ons, not unlike what’s going on with the Doom console ports. Essentially, these are curated mods that are being made available. The only one to start out is Quake 64, which is slightly underwhelming. I mean, it’s a nice addition because there were some merits to the N64 version, I just wouldn’t play it back-to-back with the original. They’re too simila?r.

My first actual full playthrough of Quake was a pretty enjoyable experience. Not only is the port a solid effort, even going above-and-beyond of what’s expected, but it’s also still a great game. Maybe not Doom great, maybe not even Duke Nukem 3D great, but there’s room in this world for all so?rts of flavors of �0s shooter.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]Â} 

The post Review: Quake (2021 Remaster) appeared first on Destructoid.

Just in time for QuakeCon, here's some Quake

After popping up on the radar a few times ahead of this weekend's QuakeCon, a remaster of the first Quake game is out now. The remaster brings Quake to PC, PlayStati??on 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch with? next-gen versions (and a free upgrade) on the way, and it's got some extra content in store, too.

According to the store description on Microsoft and the Nintendo eShop, this version of Quake will get higher resolution (depending on plat?form) and widescreen support. There are also some visual touch-ups, like anti-aliasing and enhanced models. The remaster will also still have its soundtrack, including the theme by Trent Reznor.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi-bdUd9J3E

On the single-player side, there's obviously Quake's campaign. Also included are the Dark Fantasy c??ampaign, The Scourge of Armagon and Dissolution of Eternity expansions, and two more expansions developed by MachineGames: Dimension of the Past, and the?? all-new Dimension of the Machine.

In Dimension of the Machine, you travel across ??space and time to bring together lost runes, powering a long-dormant machi??ne to open a portal that's hiding the "greatest threat to all known worlds."

If multiplayer's more your speed, the Quake remaster will also have both online and local multiplayer. There's support for four-player local split-screen, dedicated servers for online matchmaking, and peer-t??o-peer support for custom matches. Crossplay is also enabled, so you can match up against both your Switch pals and PC pals.

Quake will also have some more content in store too, as this remaster will support free fan-made and official mods, starting with Quake 64. Bethesda says?? more fan-made and official m??ods and missions will be coming soon, too.

All of this, plus gyro-aiming on the Switch and a pretty reasonable $9.99 price point (or available simply as part of Xbox Game Pass), is a pretty rad announcement for nostalgic Quake players like myself. It's be??en literal decades since I first picked?? this series up, but I'm very ready to hop, strafe, and frag my way back in.

The post Quake remaster is out now, with a new expans?ion and?? crossplay appeared first on Destructoid.

QuakeCon 2021 gets underway today

[Update: The Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea has released its own listing for a Quake Remastered, as spotted by Gematsu.]

Today sees the start of QuakeCon, the long-running fan convention focused on id Software's legendary shooter franchise. And it seems that the festivities have gotten underway a little earlier than expected after the ESRB ratings website dropped a new listing for an as-yet-unannounced new title in the Quake series, as spotted by VGC.

The ESRB's listing for the succinctly titled "Quake" speaks of players exploring a medieval environment populated with horrific monsters and other fantasy creatures, to be fended off with an arsenal of explosive weapons, including Quake's iconic nail gun. Sure sounds like Quake. The listing doesn't give away quite enough clues as to whether the new title is a brand new reboot �ala 2016's Doom �or just a remaster/remake of the 1996 original. This isn't the first clue that more mayhem was incoming, as a since-deleted listing for QuakeCon also spilled the beans on a "revitalized" Quake experience.

Given the QuakeCon goes live today, we'll no doubt receive answers to these questions at some point during the course of the weekend. QuakeCon �which is once again being hosted in an online capacity �will include news and reveals, online tournaments, retrospectives, interviews, art contests, and much more. You can check out the full schedule of events over on the official QuakeCon website, and catch all of the action on a selection of official Tw??itch channels.

We'll be sure to give y'all a heads-up when the mysterious new Quake title is offi??cially unveiled. Better stock up o??n screws.

The post Quake Remastered pops up on ratings websites ahead of this weekend’s QuakeCon appeared first on Destructoid.

Cblogs of 6/19 - 6/25/2021

-Holy Shadows writes about the fun of summer gaming.

-Riley1sSpook plays and discusses Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid in this blog of three parts.

-Black Red Gaming shares some E3 news.

-Gamingnerd discusses the legacy of Quake on its 25th anniversary.

-Gamingnerd discusses the legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog on its 25th ann?iversary in this blog of two parts.

-Black Red Gaming explores the legacy of the Kane & Lynch games.

-Manasteel88 celebrates the birthday of Sonic the Hedgehog in his 30th year.

-Exber reviews Salt & Sanctuary on the PS Vita.

-Captiosus revisits the damaged legacy of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

-PhilsPhindings discusses the similarities between the soundtrack of Shining Force 2 and Polka music.

-ABowlOfCereal summarizes all the Guardian Tales balancing suggestions in this blog.

-ChronoLynxx opens this week's open TGIF community forum.

Thanks to Lord Spencer for this week's recap and to all of our community for your thoughts and views on all matters gaming. Shoutouts to Gamingnerd and Manasteel88 for their anniversary pieces!

Work continues on?? fine-tuning many elements of Destructoid after the switchover, but we hope to return to Blog Promotio??ns, Bloggers Wanted, and other community-themed projects soon! Thank you for your patience.

The post Do you have any summer gaming traditions? appeared first on Destructoid.

Go boom from your living room

Bethesda Softworks has released the live streaming schedule for its annual QuakeCon event which, as previously reported, will be going all-digital this year for the first time ever - another industry staple forced to switch things up due to the ongoing COVID-19 pande??mic.

Running from August 7-9, QuakeCon at Home 2020 looks to bring fans all the news, interviews, and live gaming action they expect from the yearly event, but this time in a safe, socially-distanced capacity. There will be panels and chats with a host of producers, community leaders, and voice actors from popular titles such as The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Fallout, The Evil Within, and Prey, along with competitive tournaments and a slew of contests and compet??itions.

Exclusive merchandise will be available throughout the weekend, and viewers will be able to donate during streaming events, with proceeds going to numerous organisations including Direct Relief, UNICEF, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and The Trevor Project. The entire weekend will be readily available to watch on Bethesda's Twitch channel.

While undoubtedly there are many fans left disappointed that QuakeCon has had to change plans for its long-running annual gathering, it remains important that we all try to stem the tide of COVID-19. With a packed schedule and hopefully a few surprises, QuakeCon at Home 2020 will still provide fans with a weekend of fun events and interesting behind-the-scenes chatter. You can check out the full schedule for the weekend right here.

QuakeCon at Home 2020 takes place August 7-9.

The post QuakeCon at Home 2?020 reveals live streaming schedule appeared first on Destructoid.

Streams, tourneys, charity drives and more!

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of a huge string of industry events this year, publishers are finding ways to continue their annual traditions via online experiences. Case in point: Bethesda Softworks, who has announced th?at its annual event QuakeCon will, for the first time ever, be a digital-only affair.

QuakeCon at Home 2020 will take place from Friday, August 7 until Sunday, August 9 and will host a weekend of fun events and activit??ies all over the world. The "Global Super Stream" will feature news, previews and chatter of various Bethesda products - including guest appearances from community member?s and superfans - while the QuakeCon Twitch Team will be playing games, chatting with the community, and raising money for a selection of charities. Registration for these games is expected to open soon.

For Pro-Play fans, the QuakeCon Pr??o League will culminate in the QuakeCon World ??Championships 2020. This event will see the 24 best players in the world challenge each other from the safety of their own homes in a day of hard-hitting action, with a grand prize pool of $150,000 up for grabs. The tournament will take place on Sunday, and can be watched live via the Global Super Stream.

QuakeCon is renown for raising top dollar for a number of charities, and QuakeCon at Home will be no different. Viewers will be able to donate via Twitch to numerous organisations including Direct Relief, UNICEF, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and The Trevor Project. Two exclusive new shirts (pictured above) will also be available for both dog and cat people, with all proceeds going toward animal charities Dallas Pets Alive and FOUR PAWS. There will also be a selection of exclusive QuakeCon at Home merchandise made available ??throughout the weekend.

While it has been disappointing to see so many fun events fall by the wayside in 2020, it's important that we continue to do all we can to stem the flow of this dangerous pandemic. In the ??meantime, kudos to the hard-working crew members working tirelessly to provide these alternate means of entertainment during this difficult year.

QuakeCon at Home 2020 will take place between August 7-9. For full details, check out the official website right here.

The post QuakeCon at Home 2020 event set for August 7-9 appeared first on Destructoid.

Arc World Tour is also a no-go

The ongoing crisis of the ?COVID-19 outbreak is going to get a lot worse in the United States before it gets better. That is if listen to doctors, epidemiologists, nurses, experts, and anyone who isn't some nut job on the internet. That means more time locked down at home and more annual video game trade shows, conventions, and tournaments that have to start making some difficult decisions.

As we continue to push closer to t??he Summer season with no slowdown in sight for the virus's spread, shows set to take place several?? months from now are being called off. Today, the organizers of the annual QuakeCon announced it had canceled what would have been the 25th anniversary of the event.

An update on QuakeCon 2020: pic.twitter.com/1FYUauI7PY

— QuakeCon (@QuakeCon) March 31, 2020

In addition to QuakeCon, and the dozen other events that have been called off this year, the organizers of Combo Breaker confirmed the May-scheduled fighting game tournament has be?en canceled for ?2020. Anyone who made hotel reservations with the host hotel has had their reservations moved to the 2021 event. Refunds will be processed next month. Those who did register will be sent a few items of appreciation, including a lanyard, Combo Breaker badge, pin, and a commemorative magazine.

Finally, the Arc World Tour 2020 has been called off in its entirety. In its announcement, Arc System Works America CEO Minoru Kidooka said the company is looking toward 2021 to start holding events again, however, it will all depend on where we're all at with the COVID-19 outbreak. ARCREVO Japan 2020 and ARC World Tour 2020 Finals have not been totally cancelled just yet as the company is currently discussing ho??lding those as independent events, with participant safety as its top priority.

Combo Breaker 2020 Update (Combo Breaker)
Notice of Cancellation of ARC WORLD TOUR 2020 (Arc System Works)

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The classics never die

Nvidia has announced a fully RTX enabled version of Quake II today. Dubbed Quake II RTX, this remaster of the 1997 ID Software classic adds ray-tracing support and dramatically overhauls the atmosphere of the shooter. Coming as a free dow??nload for PC and Linux on June 6, 2019, Nvidia states that this newest update will include "top-to-bottom enhancements that improve virtually every aspect" of the classic game.

For a few months now, mods have been going around that unofficially add ray-tracing support to Quake II. While that won't mean a lot to the average user, the massive change in how light is rendered practically gives the game an entirely new look. It also shows the potential for what ray-tracing can do for future games, which will become much more important as the next-generation of consoles comes in. That statement is corroborated by Nvidia, which wrote on its website, "Quake II RTX demonstrates the possibilities of ray tracing, and offers a glimpse at the future of ??ga??ming, with realistic real-time lighting, shadows, and effects."

When released, Quake II RTX will include the first three levels of the game for everyone to sample. If you happen to own Quake II (and who doesn't?), you'll be able to experience the entire game in this remastered format. Nvidia recommends having a GTX 2060 to ensure the best possible performance, though I'm not sure how else you'd run ?this on a non-RTX card.

Quake II RTX Available On Windows and Linux June 6th [Nvidia]

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Pre-alpha footage

3D Realms has uploaded a 20-minute video for its upcoming first-person shooter Wrath: Aeon of Ruin. Based on the demo I played at PAX East, this walkthrough should show you exactly what I meant when I said Wrath feels more like Hexen and Turok than Quake. It's great to have a completely di??fferent kind of shooter t??han just wall-to-wall violence.

The one thing I notice here is that the sound effects are a little dull (something I couldn't quite tell while in the middle of the Boston Convention Center full of 100,000 people). The shotgun sounds a bit weak, which is unfortunate. It certainly doesn't feel that way when being used, but there is always time to perfect the sound design before Wrath launches.

Wrath will be heading to "early access" ?on PC this summer. The fu?ll release, which will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, will land sometime in 2020.

WRATH: Aeon of Ruin [PAX East 2019 - Pre-Alpha Gameplay] [1C Entertainment via YouTube]

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They drew first blood

Before Wrath: Aeon of Ruin was announced, Destructoid's CJ had teased me by saying, "This game has you written all over it." I was very intrigued, but CJ is a man of his word and did not break embargo. Even when I was speculating about the tease from 3D Realms' Twitter account, he di?dn't budge. Then the curtains were pulled back and I was floored. CJ knows me well.

What more can I add to his lengthy preview of the game, though? While CJ is a fan of old-school shooters, he hasn't played them as extensively as me. While other kids were digging into platformers, sports games, and action titles, I was spending my time toiling away at corridors in Doom. I begged my mom for my own PC just so I could have free reign to play all kinds of crazy shooters as a kid. Since I've been playing them for nearly 20 years, I think I have a good grasp on what makes a first-person shooter solid. Wrath is solid and could be the sequel to Hexen we've all been waiting for.

As mentioned in our preview, Wrath is going more for a metroidvania vibe. There are three hub worlds that have around five levels each. Progression through these worlds isn't entirely linear, so you'll be able to find upgrades in one level that ?you'll then take into another level. From the start, you'll able to select level one or? two and plow through that to unlock the next three in that hub.

The ??design of these levels feels like somethi?ng straight out of Turok. Forget what you know about Quake, because Wrath doesn't feel like it. The gam?e has speed, an awesome arsenal, and some creative enemies, but the flow is very much the polar opposite of id Software's mega-hit. You'll be progressing through the levels in a much more concerted fashion, skimming the walls for hidden doors and checking each cranny for keys and items.

I suppose that isn't what everyone wants, but I ?was a decent enough f?an of Hexen to fi?nd this setup intriguing. I also think it's a great balance co??nsidering New Blood Interactive just released DUSK, which is basically Quake with all of the fat trimmed. Trying to ape that ?title isn't going to happen, so why not sculpt your own vision of retro FPS goodne?ss?

The weapons feel like a mash-up of all the FPS kings. There's?? a grenade launcher type weapon that feels like a mixture between?? Unreal's flak cannon and bio-rifle, a vampire fang launcher that is bas??ically?? Quake's na??il gun, and a shotgun with a wonderful risk/reward styled alternate charge blast. It's great to finally have a ??use for the right mouse button again instead of simply having ADS (aim down sights).

Since this demo was the same one CJ previewed earlier, I didn't get a look at any different enemy types. What I can say is that a lot of archetypes are repres?ented here. There are the standard cannon fodder zombie foes, annoying ass flying bastards, and hulking brutes that will charge straight for you. The mix-up comes from the artifacts system, which could be comparable to items from Hexen. These grant temporary buffs to the player from invincibility (at the cost of reducing your hea??lth) to enemy health drain.

If you're pretty skilled, you can completely ignore these, but they also might just help you out of a tight spot. I got to the end of the level without digging into the invincibility artifacts, but then was able to bust out two in a row to clear the room with ease. That element of w??eighing the odds and stocking up your supply will surely lead to some clutch moments where you’re passing by the skin of your teeth.

In a particularly brutal move, Wrath does not have unlimi??ted quick-saves. That artifact system comes into play here ??with you needing to utilize a specific rune to make a quick-save. Run out of those runes and you're stuck progressing through large portions of the level without a safety net. Since this demo was the second level of the game, I didn't think quick-saves were even necessary, but this mechanic should prevent players from save scumming through tough moments.

More important?ly, it changes how you approach combat s?cenarios. Quake was all about tight corri?dors and reckle??ss abandon, but Wrath is about open exploration and weapon mastery. The shotgun's secondary fire takes a few seconds to shoot off, so you will not be running headfirst into crowds and instant??ly blowing them all away. These tweaks give Wrath an identity all of it??s own, even ??if it is borrowing the tech from Quake.

I walked away from the demo very impressed. I don't think this will be ?my new favorite, but I'm? happy that developers are starting to realize that not every shooter needs to be all action all the time. There once was a period where these games asked you to learn how their mechanics worked and how their levels flowed. Wrath captures that beautifully.

Regarding the release date, 3D Realms' Vice President Frederik Schreiber told me that they are planning for August with episode one. Despite having the "early access" moniker (which I was told was due to Steam policy), episode one will be a finalish build of the game. 3D Realms is likening this to the old shareware? model, just with a price tag. Schreiber stressed that nothing from that build would feel incomplete or sloppy.

Episode two and three will be coming out at some point in 2020 with versions available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. You can either pre-order the game on Steam to receive episode one when it's ready, or wait for the final version. Whatever your course of action, Wrath is one to keep your eye on.

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Kill demons like its 1996

For the past few weeks, I’ve been obsessing a bit about the Resident Evil 2 remake. Not the game itself which I’m sure is very fine, but rather the mod community that keeps thinking of ways to absolutely blow me away. Whether it’s Thomas the Tank Engine, DMX, or a completely misguided thong, seeing how modders can drasti?cally ??alter the mood of the game with a character or music swap never ceases to astound and amuse me.

And it’s not just that game. I’ve been fascinated with mods for as long as I’ve been reading about video games. I wasn’t a PC gamer growing up, so hearing about how two people took the Half-Life game engine and created Counter-Strike is blew my mind. The closest I’ve come to something like that is with TimeSplitters 2 and its extensive map editor. I spent hours crafting labyrinths in my GameCube copy of the game only to never be able to share them with anyone. Had I actually owned a decent gaming PC in the ‘90s, I probably would have immersed myself in the modding community, especially the Quake level scene.

Quake was id Software’s follow-up to the genre-defining Doom and it included the QuakeC programming language and a level editor. The move was spurred by player-designed custom levels in the Doom engine, and their inclusion created an army of dedicated level designers that is still going strong today. One of those designers was Jeremiah Fox, also known as KillPixel. After toiling away in the Quake community, Fox decided to try his hand at making a full-fledged game. The end result of his work is Wrath: Aeon of Ruin.

Wrath is a dark fantasy 3D first-person shooter where players take control of the Outlander, a mysterious man who washes up on shore and is tasked to take down beings known as the Guardians of the Old World by a figure known as the Shepherd of Wayward Souls. Yes, the names may make you want to roll your eyes, but the action will do anything but. Wrath is a silky-smooth, high-octane shooter that rewards those who take risks rather than run away. And this isn’t just a game that that’s inspired by Quake, but one built on the same f??ramework id Software? first used more than 20 years ago.

If the idea of an FPS from the ‘90s sounds familiar, it’s because last year I wrote about another old engine finding new life with Ion Maiden. That game, built from the same engine that gave us Duke Nukem, is coming this year from a reborn 3D Realms, the same company that is helping develop Wrath. Like with Maiden, Wrath isn’t simply looking to the past for inspiration. Rather, it’s immersin??g itself in the technology that defined that era.

“We’re making an authentic ‘90s shooter, not just something pretending to be,”? Fox explained. “The retro thing for us is not a shtick we’re doing. The engine and the tech dictates what you can and cannot do. It’s just really, from ??its core, an authentic shooter of the era.”

Fox was on hands in San Francisco last week to give me my first look at Wrath, a game he’d been working on for years before 3D Realms came aboard. Along with hi?m was Frederik Schreiber, Vi?ce President of 3D Realms, who shared Fox’s belief that the game is fundamentally different than other modern shooters that parade their retro inspiration to throngs of fans seeking something truly old school.

“I think something a lot of people coming from this scene, a lot of people who still play Quake today and these old school shooters, never playing new games, see from this wave of new retro games is that a lot of the games seem to think that, ‘Oh, Quake was like this, so we’re going to be like this too,’” Schreiber, said, “but they played Quake back in ’96. They didn’t play Quake the day before or the day before that. So a new game comes out that’s a retro-inspired that doesn’t actually capture what made Quake great but is great in its own right. What we’re doing is actually capturing what we think and know is great about Quake. Not just try and imitate it, but exceed it and expan??d on it up.”

“We’re not disregarding all of the advances made in shooters,” Fox added. “Nineties classic games had some rough edges and we’re just filing those down but preserving the essence of what made them so much fun to play. So everyone working on the game really never left [Quake]. These people were making Quake maps just because they love it.”

Like Ion Maiden and its heavily modified Build engine, Wrath’s version of the Quake engine has seen some updates. The game supports up to 666 frames-per-second, a number I’m sure was chosen just so I’d write about how the game with demons in it has the devil’s number as its frame cap. The modifications to the engine will allow for levels far larger than what was possible in the original Quake and a?llow it to run on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch in addition to PC.

“PC has ?been easy,?” Schreiber said,” because it’s still a PC game. There have been a lot of upgrades to the Quake engine, a lot of modifications. Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch have been a challenge. An otherworldly challenge but we’re hitting really good framerates. We have a very unique idea of how we want to port it to make it work which you’ll end up seeing when the game comes out.”

While Schreiber and Fox only had a PC on hand for my preview session, I was shown video of the game running on Switch. It’s still an early build and all of the enemies on screen were completely stationary, but Wrath on Switch? was moving abou?t as quickly and smoothly as what I saw on the hotel television screen.

The final game will feature 15 levels and three massive hub-worlds with radically dif?ferent themes. The hub-worlds will feature light metroidvania influences where players can collect items and skills in ??the levels they can use to fully explore the many secrets of the hub-world map. Fox and Schreiber said each of the levels plays into the central theme of each hub-world, but no two levels will feature the same designs, resulting in a radically diverse game. Players can either go at it alone or in co-op. Schreiber said the team is also experimenting with four-player, split-screen co-op to truly give the game that ‘90s feel.

For my hands-on, I was given access to the second level of the game: dark, gothic ruins with caves, graves, pr?isons, and scores of demons ready to fuck me up. When I took control of the mouse and keyboard, everything felt incredibly smooth right out of the gate. I can't tell you the difference between 60 fps and 666 fps, but the Outlander moved with finesse as I charged skeletons, flying freaks, and other monsters with guns blazing.

Players will get access to a variety of guns over the course of the game. For this demo, I collected four of them: a pistol, a s?hotgun, a fully automatic that shoots teeth, and a gun that lobs acidic orbs I gain from specific enemies. Each gun features a standard shot as well as an alternative firing mode that can do more damage. The shotgun’s second shot sends bullets ricocheting off the walls and ceilings while the tooth shooter will fire a burst shot that does more damage than its rapid fire mode. Even the Outlander’s melee weapon, a hidden blade on his right wrist, has a devastating lunge attack in addition to its standard swipe.

That lunge was necessary for me to reach the first artifact of the level. Artifacts are various items that can help players in a variety of ways. Two available in the demo revolve around ?the Outlander's health. One, when activated, will siphon energy away from the enemies as you kill them. The other drops his health down to 10% but makes him invincible for a short period of time. Artifacts can't be used at the same time but smart players will be able to figure out how to use them consecutively for maximum effect.

More? innovations can be found in the save system. 3D Realms doesn’t want people to be able to save spam during the game, so it implemented a system where you collect save points as if they’re items and you choose where in the level you want to leave one. Just defeat a massive wave of enemies? Plop down a save point so you won’t have to do it again. See a mid-boss coming up? Make a save now just in case it wipes the floor with you.

I spent about 25 minutes with the game, getting the feel of everything, and it just works so damn well. The design of the level is impeccable with a multitude of little nooks to explore. Enemies burst into pixelated gore as I dismember them, and the placement of the monsters throughout the stage greatly encourages experimentation with the weapons. It’s clearly a well-built game, and the last time I felt this way about a shooter I was demoing was with Ion Maiden. It’s almost too perfect 3?D Realms has its hands in both titles, but as I found out, there’s a very good reason for that.

“I actually saw the trailer for Ion Maiden and I realized. ‘Okay, that’s my competition,’” Fox explained to me. “That was really the only game I considered my competition because they zoned in on what I thought a retro shooter was. I kind of disregarded all the other ones that were like a shtick or weren’t quite authentic. So I wanted to keep tabs on Ion Maiden and see what they were doing, so I joined the Discord and started talking to developers. I was keeping Wrath under wraps, I didn’t want to s??how it to anyone, but I wanted to have a conversation about what I was passionate about so I put a video up of a weapon or something like tha??t and then [Schreiber] contacted me.”

“We had just announced Ion Maiden,” Schreiber added, “and were planning on what we wanted to do going forward. Ion Maiden is produced internally but is being developed by Voidpoint. We wanted to do a game internally that we knew was going to be 3D, but still with an old engine. Then I saw the video he posted of his personal project and it was exactly what we were looking for. So I reached out to Jeremiah and we had a meeting about what his plans for the game were. ?I offered to pay for a ‘dream team’ at 3D Realms to do the game and let him fulfill his mission of doing the game exactly a?s he wanted it to be.”

A “dream team” is right. For the project, 3D Realms brought in long-time Quake level designers to build the game, including one of the minds behind Arcane Dimensions. Beyond the gameplay, Quake Champions and Dusk composer Andrew Hulshult has been brought in to score it, Cyberpunk 2077 Senior Audio Engineer Bjørn Jacobsen is doing sound design, and the narrative is being penned by a former Blizzard writer. All the elements are in place for one hell of a shooter, and based on what I’ve seen and played, Wrath will be just that.

“Every single person is really passionate about the game,” Fox said. “I think we’re all happy to see a game like this exist. My goal for Wrath is for it to be on the shelf with Doom and Quake. Whenever I reformat my computer, I always have a few games that I always have installed like Doom. I want Wrath to be the ty?pe of game that when you reformat your computer it’s just always on there.”

If you want to get your first taste of Wrath: Aeon of Ruin and play an improved version of the demo I tried out, 3D Realms will have the game on display at PAX East. The full game ??is expected to launch in 2020 for Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox One, but PC players should get their shot at the action later this? summer.

Oh, and yes, Wrath will absolutely feature mod support.

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin [3D Realms]

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All that chunky goodness

3D Realms is teasing a brand shooter built on the original Quake engine. Set to reveal tomorrow, the possibilities are endless for what this new game might be. It obviously isn't Quake 5, but there is a very real chance that it might be something related to 3D Realms' back catalog. I'm trying to convince myself it isn't Duke Nukem (especially since Gearbox still owns that IP), but the recent inclusion of the character in Rad Rodgers is getting my hopes up.

Whatever this game ends up being, it will certainly be old-school and right up my alley. With this, Amid Evil, and Ion Maiden coming? out in 2019, I might be in retro shoot?er heaven.

3D Realms [Twitter]

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HUMILIATION

Quake Champions has come a long way since its early-access? release last year. I was down on it from my initial impressions, but I've grown to accept how it plays and how fun it can be. In an odd move, though, there hasn't been any kind of capture the flag mo??de available. That is set to change this month as Bethesda has announced a new CTF mode will headline a bunch of new updates for the arena shooter revival.

Along with that CTF mode, a battle pass will be available for purchase. Working in a fashion similar to Fortnite and PUBG, the battle pass in Quake Champions will allow players to earn skins, shaders, nameplates, premium currency, and loot boxes just b??y playing. It will operate in seasons with a 100-tier ladder that is constantly rewarding you for le?veling up. Daily and Weekly challenges will round out the battle pass extras, with special challenges for owners of the pass. The pass is available for 1,000 platinum (basically $10 USD).

Champions are also getting some new functionality in December. Along with the battle pass, players can now level-up their preferred champions by completing weekly challenges. This will grant you "Shards," another?? new currency, that can be spent on items specific to each champion. With these new upgrades, you'll be able to tailor your champion to your specific playstyle.

You can find out more about December's updates by reading the official FAQ. There isn't a solid date for when you'll be able to p?lay CTF, but it shouldn't be too long now.

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Wooo........

While we're all waiting for that sweet reveal of DOOM Eternal, Bethesda and id Software took to the QuakeCon stage to announce that Quake Champions is now officially free-to-play. This may be confusing to you as the game has had periods where it was already free, but now everyone is welcome to hop online and frag each other ?without jumping through hoo??ps.

You'll still need to buy more than the single champion the game gives you, but if you're okay with dealing with the free-to-play grind, Quake Champions is fine.

Quake Champions [Twitter]

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