Quake III Arena

From Sega Retro

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Quakeiiiarena title.png

Quake III Arena
QUAKE3 A vmu.png
System(s): Sega Dreamcast
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Peripherals supported: Visual Memory Unit, Dreamcast Jump Pack, Dreamcast Keyboard, Dreamcast Mouse, Panther DC, Dreamcast Broadband Adapter, Dreamcast Modem
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1-4
Release Date RRP Code

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Quake III Arena is a first person shooter and a direct sequel to Quake II. It was developed by id Software and ported to a variety of systems, including the Sega Dreamcast (whose port was handled by Raster Productions). The last game in this franchise to appear on Sega system was Quake on Sega Saturn.

Quake III differs from previous installments in the series in that the game is focused on multiplayer matches. The technology and simplicity of Quake III made the game extremely popular, so much so that many people still play the game online today, despite the game being over a decade old. It is one of the few Dreamcast games which can still be played online due to fan servers.

Control Options

Quake III Dreamcast allows for a variety of control options.

The Dreamcast port of Quake III Arena is compatible with a number control options including the standard controller, the MadCatz Panther DC as well as the Dreamcast Keyboard and Dreamcast Mouse. In split-screen multiplayer individual players can be mapped up to two devices, as the keyboard and mouse require a control port each. Players can use the following setups:

  • One device for up to four individual players (Controller, Keyboard, Mouse or Panther DC)
  • Two devices for up to two individual players (Controller + Keyboard, Keyboard + Mouse, Controller + Mouse)

During online matches, keyboard accessories can be used for text chatting to other players, or team members during team games.

There are five different control setups when configuring controls for your preferred device(s).

  • Preset 1 (1) - Dreamcast Controller
  • Preset 2 (2) - Keyboard & Mouse
  • Preset 3 (3) - Alternate Dreamcast Controller
  • Preset 4 (4) - MadCatz Panther DC
  • Custom (C) - Allows you to map to any button or axis.

Game Features

Single Player

Quake III Arena features a Single Player component to help teach the player on how to play the game.

Unlike previous entries of the Quake franchise, Quake III Arena was built to be primarily a multiplayer shooter. However there is an Arena Gauntlet mode that allows you to fight computer player opponents through five tiers. This was designed to ease players into playing against real opponents through a gradual learning curve to ease players into the faster paced gameplay.

Multi Player & Internet Game

The Multi Player option allows up to four human players or up to three computer opponents play in an arena. Depending on how many local players are playing determine which maps will be available.

Internet Game allows online play for up to four players, one player per system across all the maps and game modes available. Internet Game allows to chat between different players or team mates if the Dreamcast Keyboard is being used.

Because Quake III allows peer-to-peer connection, the US version can still be played online. Dreamcast users will need to connect to servers via an IP address with a working Dreamcast Broadband Adapter.

Game Modes

  • Deathmatch - The player with the most frags wins.
  • Team Deathmatch - Two teams compete to earn the most frags
  • Tournament - Two combatants compete for the most frags and take turns between other players who are in the same game
  • Capture the Flag - Two teams compete to capture the other team's flag and bring it back to their own flag.

Items

Different items will appear in each arena that will help or hinder players.

Weapons

Players start off with the Gauntlet and the Machine Gun at the start of a match or when respawning. Different weapons and ammunition pick ups are spread out in each arena. The Gauntlet is the only weapon that does not require ammo, however can only cause damage and can be used in close range.

  • Gauntlet
  • Machine Gun
  • Shotgun
  • Plasma Gun
  • Grenade Launcher
  • Rocket Launcher
  • Lightning Gun
  • Rail Gun
  • BFG-10K

Armor

Armor will help protect players by decreasing the amount of damage caused by other factors. Armor points can go up to 200, however will count down if it's over 100 points. Armor pick ups will stack over each other.

  • Armor Shard - 5 points
  • Combat Armor - 50 points
  • Heavy Armor - 100 points

Health

Health pickups allow you to regain lost health during combat. Each spawn grants players 125 health, however health ratings that are over 100 will gradually count down.

  • Green- 5 points
  • Yellow - 25 points
  • Gold - 50 points

Green health bonuses will allow you to go past 200 health points while Yellow and Gold will bring you up to 100 points.

Power-Ups

  • Battle Suit
  • Flight
  • Haste
  • Invisibility
  • MegaHealth
  • Quad Damage
  • Regeneration
  • Medkit
  • Teleporter

Gimmicks and Hazards

  • Acceleration Pads
  • Bounce Pads
  • Doors
  • Fog of Death
  • Fog
  • Gates
  • Lava
  • Teleporters
  • Triggers
  • Voids
  • Red and Blue Flags

Medals

During gameplay in both Single and Multiplayer modes come opportunities to be awarded with medals based on performance.

  • Excellent - Award for making two frags within two seconds
  • Impressive - Award for making two consecutive shots with the Rail Gun.
  • Frags - Awarded for every 100 frags.
  • Accuracy - Awarded when accuracy is over 50% at the end of a round.
  • Gauntlet - Award for each frag obtained with the Gauntlet
  • Perfect - Award for surviving a round without being fragged.

Map List

Quake III on the Dreamcast features down-sized and re-balanced levels from the original version, adjusted to take into account the maximum player count of four players offline and online. A number of levels have also been omitted in this version, and some levels are not available in certain split-screen modes due to RAM limitations of the Dreamcast hardware. Four players can play online at the same time on all the levels in the game. The allowed amount of players for each level in split-screen is listed below, along with the exclusive levels made just for the Dreamcast version.

Deathmatch*
Map Max Players Split-screen
Arena Gate 1
House of Pain 2
Powerstation 0218 2
Arena of Death 2
Blue Monday 2
Hidden Fortress 1
Dark Chapel 1
Place of Many Deaths 2
The Forgotten Place 1
The Camping Grounds 1
Fatal Instinct 1
Temple of Retribution 1
Lost World 1
Gaze of the Abyss 1
The Proving Grounds 1
Evil Playground 1
The Bouncy Map 1
The Longest Yard 1
Hell's Gate 1
Quake III on Dreamcast supports four players, but takes several technical measures to help keep a steady framerate.
Exclusive Dreamcast Deathmatch*
Map Max Players Split-screen
Revolver 4
Frenzy 4
Incinerator 4
Brute Force 4
Agony 4
Crisis 4
  • Can also be played in Tournament and Team Deathmatch modes.
Capture the Flag
Map Max Players Split-screen
Dueling Keeps 1
Space CTF 1
Blast Radius 1
Fallout Bunker 1
Exclusive Dreamcast CTF
Map Max Players Split-screen
Incinerator 4
Slow Burn 4
Revolver 4

VMU Features

Quake III Arena can utilize VMU storage to save progress. It can carry five profiles and five save games for the Single Player mode.

Quake 3 Arena Save Data
Name File Name Comment File Size Icon
Quake III Arena QUAKE3_ARENA Quake III Arena 25 blocks QUAKE3 A vmu.png

During gameplay, the player's avatar will show on the LCD screen.

There are also maze mini games included when completing the Single Player campaign on any difficulty. Completing the maze will award the player cheats for user during offline Single and Multiplayer game modes. Each difficulty mode features a different maze and cheat.

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
95 №107, p114/115
90 №34, p34/35/36/37
Sega Dreamcast
 93
Based on
2 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
576 Konzol (HU)
92
[1]
Ação Games (BR)
80
[2]
Bonus (YU)
87
[3]
Consoles + (FR) PAL
95
[4]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
100
[5]
Dreamcast Monthly (UK) PAL
90
[6]
DC-UK (UK) PAL
90
[7]
Digitiser (UK)
80
[8]
Dreamcast Magazine (UK)
90
[9]
Edge (UK)
80
[10]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
88
[11]
Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast (RU)
95
[12]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
95
[13]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
92
[14]
Gamers' Republic (US) NTSC-U
91
[15]
Hyper (AU)
86
[16]
Neo Plus (PL)
90
[17]
Neo Plus (PL)
80
[18]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
75
[19]
Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) PAL
90
[20]
Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) NTSC-U
90
[21]
Playbox (FR)
91
[22]
Play (PL)
93
[23]
PSX Extreme (PL)
83
[24]
Power Unlimited (NL)
85
[25]
Sega Dreamcast
 88
Based on
25 reviews

Quake III Arena

Dreamcast, US
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Cover
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Disc
Dreamcast, EU
Q3A DC EU Box Back.jpgQ3A DC EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
Q3A DC EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Dreamcast, BR
Quake3arena dc br backcover.jpgNospine-small.pngQuake3arena dc br frontcover.jpg
Cover
Q3A DC US Disc.jpg
Disc

Artwork

  • Quake3 browser disc.png
  1. ↑ 576 Konzol, "December 2000" (HU; 2000-xx-xx), page 39
  2. ↑ Ação Games, "Janeiro 2001" (BR; 200x-xx-xx), page 40
  3. ↑ Bonus, "8/2000" (YU; 2000-10-25), page 52
  4. ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 2000" (FR; 2000-1x-xx), page 114
  5. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "December 2000" (UK; 2000-11-15), page 86
  6. ↑ Dreamcast Monthly, "Christmas 2000" (UK; 2000-11-23), page 66
  7. ↑ DC-UK, "Christmas 2000" (UK; 2000-11-17), page 52
  8. ↑ Digitiser (UK) (2001-01-02)
  9. ↑ Dreamcast Magazine, "No. 16" (UK; 2000-11-30), page 40
  10. ↑ Edge, "Christmas 2000" (UK; 2000-11-29), page 105
  11. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 2001" (US; 2000-12-05), page 194
  12. ↑ Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast, "Izdaniye chetvertoye, dopolnennoye" (RU; 2002-xx-xx), page 163
  13. ↑ GamePro, "January 2001" (US; 200x-xx-xx), page 104
  14. ↑ Game Informer, "January 2001" (US; 200x-xx-xx), page 113
  15. ↑ Gamers' Republic, "December 2000" (US; 2000-xx-xx), page 93
  16. ↑ Hyper, "March 2001" (AU; 2001-01-24), page 73
  17. ↑ Neo Plus, "Grudzień 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 58
  18. ↑ Neo Plus, "Kwiecień 2001" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 40
  19. ↑ Next Generation, "January 2001" (US; 2000-12-21), page 80
  20. ↑ Official Dreamcast Magazine, "January 2001" (UK; 2000-11-30), page 56
  21. ↑ Official Dreamcast Magazine, "Holiday 2000" (US; 2000-11-28), page 98
  22. ↑ Playbox, "Décembre 2000" (FR; 2000-1x-xx), page 22
  23. ↑ Play, "Marzec 2001" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 14
  24. ↑ PSX Extreme, "03/2001" (PL; 2001-0x-xx), page 40
  25. ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 9, Nummer 1, Januari 2001" (NL; 200x-xx-xx), page 57
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