Depending on to what extent you accept ‘Bethesda’ as official, of course. This isn’t id’s work, and it’s definitely not Quake-era id’s work, but it is the work of neo-id’s stablemates Machine Games – they of the improbably good Wolfenstein: The New Order. (And who, according to its credits, pitched in to some extent with this year’s even more improbably good DOOM). They’ve just unexpectedly release a new Quake episode in honour of the dear old man’n’monster-shooter’s 20th birthday. It’s pretty good, too. … [visit site to read more]

Resolution. Anti-aliasing. Crisp text. “Image quality.” The bugbears of virtual reality in 2016.

All of this matters not in Quake. Perfect square pixels, no shading or soft shadows. Almost wordless. It is ideally-suited to VR, in theory. In practice? Best VR time ever, so far.

… [visit site to read more]

Twenty years ago today, id Software released Quake. Following a multiplayer test that gave the world a first glimpse of the studio s new, cutting edge 3d engine, the full game arrived on June 22, 1996. Its bizarre mash-up of medieval architecture and crunchy, industrial weaponry didn t run through the sequels, which have focused on both singleplayer and multiplayer combat, and there hasn’t been anything else quite like it in the two decades since release.

Arena-based Quake is set for a revival with the recently announced Quake Champions, but here, we remember the original. Happy twentieth, Quake.>

… [visit site to read more]

Of all the genres I would choose if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to make a Seinfeld video game, I can’t say a first person shooter would be high on my list. But hey, that didn’t stop Doug Keener from trying that very thing using Doom II, and dammit he has done a fine job.

… [visit site to read more]

I realise the new hotness in demonic dismemberment is Doom Notfour but this weekend I popped back to Doom II to check out a new(ish) player-made level. One of you lovely readers recommended dead.wire by ‘Xaser’ to Adam because our lad’s into spooky stuff, then he shared it with me because I like fraggy stuff. Sure enough, dead.wire is both spooky and fraggy, travelling inside a strange facility where the sky burns with white noise, bits of the level appear from nowhere, and… oh no, where are the monsters?

… [visit site to read more]

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

I do wonder what Rage could have been without the ultimately empty open-world bits you drive around. Oh, I know automotive combat was a cornerstone of id Software’s vision but it ended up a distraction on the side, creating expectations of an open world that it didn’t deliver on. Aside from that, see, Rage is a fun bang-bang quest-y FPS.

… [visit site to read more]

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

Specifically, Quake III DM17: The Longest Yard, which is what I think of whenever I think of Quake III. Every Q3A player has their favourite map, and I’m not even making a claim to DM17 being the ‘best’ map, but it’s my map. It’s the one which encapsulates what Quake III is about, to my mind. … [visit site to read more]

Gathering together the best shooters is no easy task, but if you’re looking for a new PC FPS to play, look no further.

Your favourite game is at number 51.

… [visit site to read more]

“This is a a remake of DayZ but made in a superior engine in which zombies can’t just walk through walls.”> I love that. Puritanism in zombie games. If there was a Mojo magazine for games, “Doom is still the best engine in the world” would be its “the Beatles are still the best band in the world.”

I digress. DoomZ really is DayZ in Doom, including the whole rickety, unfinished thing, at least for now. And, to be honest, there is some truth to its obstinate declaration about superiority – but it’s not because of anything to do with walking through walls, and more because of how its appearance affects -and enhances – my survival game mindset. … [visit site to read more]

While QuakeCon rages away in Texas, gibsters stuck at home might feel a little left out. Chin up, little buddy: Quake’s coming to you. After missing its plan to launch during QCon 2013, Quake IV single-player mod False Dawn has launched alongside this year’s fragging festivities. It brings a new story with 90-120 minutes of non-linear Strogg-shooting and a few tweaks to good old Q4.

Its single-player side was pretty good fun, from what I remember, so sure, maybe I will revisit that so very brown and frightful planet of meaty cyborgs this weekend.

… [visit site to read more]