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Description

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Quake series, the popular PC game puts players in a violent world in which the point is to collect weapons and kill as many opponents as you can. While not without its flaws, Quake III Arena goes well beyond just mimicking this experience for Dreamcast users. It's the best PC-to-console port yet.

Quake III Arena is the first title to allow multiplayer, real-time networked gaming between Dreamcast and PC players. Hooking up through the SegaNet servers, players can go online and shoot it out with other people around the world for the first time in console history. (We played with a keyboard and a mouse--the only way Quake III should ever be played--and with them we exacted my punishment on more than just a few unsuspecting patrons.)

A full slate of 25 nasty warriors has been rolled out for the Dreamcast game. The weapons--which range from shotguns and rocket launchers to lightning guns and plasma guns--and effects also are packed in tighter than Charlie Tuna in his can. It also has all of the nifty springboards, quad damage, space-age dungeons, and everything that we loved about our favorite shooter on the PC.

The Dreamcast version has a large variety of gameplay options, including single player, free-for-all, tournament, team deathmatch, and capture the flag, most of which are open for play in two-to-four-player split-screen mode. The game's rendering engine achieves smooth and realistic texturing, and stunning environmental effects. The environments in particular are great, with dazzling sky textures leading the way. Also, the geometry and large, detailed textures of the character models make them the envy of the console world.

The character's movements in Quake III Arena didn't feel nearly as smooth as in the PC version, because of a rather slow framerate. Compared to the PC version, this one makes you feel like you're battling with one leg in concre