I thought I’d give the new Quake Live a test. So far I’m stuck in queue and have been for around an hour. It seems to be moving fairly quickly but it started out at 14,000 something so it’ll be a bit.
In the meantime from the tour I’ve gathered the game operates via a browser plug-in. Upon launch I’ll be set up with a training math involving a character named Crash who will teach me the system and rank my playing.
I’m now 4,000 in queue. It’s moving at around 100 a minute. Reading through the forums I learn that it’s only available for IE and Firefox on Windows PC’s. Soon the queue drops to nothing and I learn why. The plug-in installs via a .msi file. You have to restart your browser to start it.
I went back to Quakelive.com and after logging in it showed me a screen where I could pick a character. There were also tabs to customize controls and for game settings. After fiddling a bit I noticed a button saying the skill placement was ready.
The training went quick. I barely beat my opponent but then my gaming skills aren’t the best. Soon I was off into a real arena where I could match my skills online.
I must admit the play was smooth, and soon I forgot I was in my browser playing. It plays very much like Quake 3. My little laptop had no problems with the graphics.
Very enjoyable. Check it out at http://www.quakelive.com