The technology behind the graphics in Quake 3 is second to none. Sporting larger levels, more detailed textures, better quality models, and even more special effects than the original release, Team Arena continues the id tradition of technological excellence. However, all of this doesn’t come as a gift from the hands of John Carmack-players that ran Quake 3 just fine will now find that their machines suffer serious performance drop-offs when playing the expansion. The color palette is what players have come to expect from id-dry browns and tans, deep reds, and metallic greys dominate the spectrum, and the new models are typical id fare as well-tough characters that sometimes border on the grotesque. While Team Arena brings with it new technology under the hood, the graphical motif of the game has changed little. There is little doubt that anyone looking over your shoulder will think you are playing anything but Quake 3.

The most significant changes made to Quake 3 in Team Arena are the new weapons and items. Three new weapons-including two sentimental fan favorites-have been added to the game-the chaingun, the nailgun, and the proximity mine launcher. The chaingun is a superb defensive weapon that can rip apart enemies at close range with terrifying speed. As such, it brings a new element to the game since it is an effective weapon for defense of an enemy making a run into your base area. The nailgun is the opposite since it provides an extremely damaging, concentrated blast of nails, delivering an instant kill at close range. The final new weapon, the proximity mine launcher, is a totally different beast altogether. It launches a beeping mine that will attach on any surface and detonate when an enemy gets within range. The mines last for thirty seconds and explode, providing a limited automated point defense for key positions (such as the flag). At first glance, the new weapons might not seem a big change, but they provide a key part of the infrastructure in extending Quake 3 gameplay to better accommodate teamwork.

The other major additions to Quake 3 are the various power-ups players can grab and use. There are four different power-ups, and each specializes the player into specific-but versatile-roles. The Guard power up increases the player’s health and armor to maximum, and also provides a strong regenerative power for health-25 points per second if under 100 health, 15 if over to a maximum of 200. This effectively turns the player into a tank since one on one engagement with a Guarded character will usually with the Guarded player winning. As such, they make great skirmishers and base attackers (but not flag carriers). The Ammo Regen power-up provides a much faster rate of fire for weapons and limited regeneration of ammo. Ammo-Regen characters make fantastic defenders in both sniper (using the railgun) and point defense (with the chaingun) roles. The Scout power-up increases the player’s speed and rate of fire, but at the cost of disallowing armor usage. Scouts make fantastic flag-runners, since they are so fast the only players that can give pursuit to a Scout is another Scout. The Doubler powerup does exactly that-doubles the amount of damage inflicted on opponents. Doubled players are extremely versatile, and make great raiders, defenders, and skirmishers. Combined with the weapons, the new powerups available in Quake 3: Team Arena form a solid player class framework-the heart of almost every successful teamplay shooter on the market.

Two new items have also been added into the game, and they provide the final balancing touches on the gameplay. The kamikaze item will detonate the player and kill all the others around him, which, when used properly, can kill flag carriers before they leave the base or clear out an enemy base, allowing for easy capture of the flag. The invulnerability item allows players to thin a densely populated area of enemies or stay in a hotly contested area for a long period of time-while invulnerable, the player cannot move. When put together with the powerups and the new weapons, these extra items help solve the turtling problems without providing too much emphasis on offense.

Quake 3 Team Arena has four gameplay modes, three of which are new. The most popular one is the traditional ‘Capture the Flag’, which is just as you might remember-snag the flag and bring it back to your base, receive a point. The other modes are a bit more inventive. ‘One Flag’ has a flag placed in the middle of the map, and your team must get it from there to the heart of the enemy base. This mode is interesting because it provides a kind of ‘football’ gameplay-if you fail to deliver the flag; the other team will get it and immediately go on offense. The objective of the ‘Overload’ mode is to damage a target enough to destroy it. The target is large and very vulnerable to ranged weapons fire, so playing defense away from the target is essential. The ‘Harvester’ mode requires the teams to collect skulls that appear in a central area when other players die and take them to a receptacle in enemy territory. This mode is frenetic madness, with players going from skull-carriers to defenders in a blink of an eye. While not exactly the most complex modes of gameplay, they are very easy to get into and have plenty of nuances to learn and master.

The levels in Quake 3: Team Arena are divided into two types: normal and terrain levels. The normal levels are classic Quake levels-tight, enclosed spaces. This was one of my main complaints with Quake 3 because the levels may provide good close quarters combat, they are notoriously hard to actually play as teams in. You cannot see other players very well, nor can you assess the current situation and team needs with one glance at the area. For what it’s worth, these levels are still entertaining, but require a constant amount of keyboard communication, which can be somewhat cumbersome. On the other hand, the terrain maps are fantastic. Many are nearly the size of maps found in Dynamix’s Tribes, a marvel considering the relatively limited scope of the traditional maps. These maps are great fun, and provide for a better breath of teamwork-it’s easy to say ‘meet at the pillar next to the rail’ and everyone will know where it is and how to get there. Unlike in the smaller maps, making a base defense that is more than ‘throw people in the flag room’ is easy to execute. Both map types are very polished, and there are plenty of them. This fact alone helps define Team Arena as a bonafide commercial product-a user mod would have to be very well entrenched and supported to get as many high-quality maps as Team Arena has out of the box.

Quake 3: Team Arena never gives the pretension as being an innovative product. It’s not going to amaze you with its variety of gameplay. What Quake 3: Team Arena does do is provide the perfect expansion for Quake 3 Arena-a solid, bugfree, well-polished teamplay addition that complements the superb deathmatch of the game extremely well. Quake 3: Team Arena is money well spent for fans of Quake 3 Arena who are looking for good teamplay while still keeping within the Quake paradigm of fast action and intense combat.