Thankfully, Quake III exceeded all expectations, losing very little in translation and arguably ushering in an era of renewed effort in terms of ensuring that console players would enjoy much the same experiences as their beige tower-loving brethren in the years to come. Back then, PC to console ports were often greeted with a fair degree of skepticism, as the technological gulf between the two formats was much wider than it is today. Area GateĪlthough Unreal Tournament would eventually also make an appearance on the ill-fated console, Quake III: Arena beat it to market by around 3 months here in the UK. Their supremacy was such that SEGA successfully securing one or both of these for release on the Dreamcast was all but essential for the console’s lofty online ambitions to be taken seriously. Leading the charge back then were the Quakeand Unrealfranchises, each offering their own unique takes on the massively popular paradigm.

With the competitive shooter scene having been dominated by gritty, military pseudo-realism for much of the last console generation, it now seems like a lifetime ago that the lightning fast rocket jumping and circle strafing of classic PC FPS’ were the order of the day for serious online gamers.

Quake 3 arena dreamcast