I have no idea why the series is called "Quake"

Switching gears, here we’ve got a game that doesn’t have any puzzles at all (unless you count “how do I kill this guy before he kills me?” as a puzzle) but to be fair it is a kind of point and click. I’m talking about Quake Live, a first person shooter. Released in the summer of 2010, Quake Live is a free (obviously) version of Quake 3 and the Team Arena expansion pack that runs out of your internet browser.

Now with 100% more live Quakes

While Quake Live uses a slightly updated version of Quake 3 with some fancy new graphical stuff added like bloom (gotta have that bloom), its still mostly the Quake 3 released back in later 1999, so most computers should be able to run it, especially since you can turn down the graphics to the bare minimum if you wish. Not only does Quake Live have the original, basic game modes from Quake 3, such as Duel, Free For All, and Team Deathmatch, it also has some new stuff like Red Rover or Freeze Tag. The same speedy gameplay is there as well, with rocket and strafe jumping and all of the other movement based tricks in the engine meant to deepen the gameplay and to give you an edge over the other guy.

Standard FPS convetions apply, but thankfully Quake Live seems more interesting than THIS

Quake Live is all about competitive multiplayer, having a ranking system that allows you to play against people with the same skill level, game modes specifically for “pro” level players, and even multiple tournaments where people compete for those big stupid looking novelty checks. If you’re into that sort of thing you could get sucked into Quake Live for a long time, given how many game modes there are and the fact that there are over fifty different arenas to play in. 

Sure it sounds good so far but here's where we get to the ugly part of the post
HOW THEY TRY TO GET YOUR MONEY
Quake Live is Free to Play, it brings in cash through two sources. The first is in game advertising that plays before matches but also exists in the form of in game billboards. The second is a premium membership system with two tiers, “premium” and a more expensive “pro” level. These paid memberships allow access to yet another fifty more exclusive arenas to play in, more game modes (including the aforementioned Freeze Tag), the ability to bypass the ads that play before matches, the ability to make your own matches, and the ability to invite 5 standard players to play on premium content.

Not as bad as this, thankfully

Still, if you are willing to look past that, and are a fan of fast paced arena shooters, Quake Live might be what you’re looking for.

Seems legit

You can get Quake Live from here

CHURROS

Got another Free-To-Play game that recently got out of beta today. A third person shooter fashioned that plays like one of those DOTA/MOBA/Action RTS games. (whatever the hell they’re calling themselves these days) It’s a bundle of glorified violence called “Super Monday Night Combat”

Kind of like the NFL, but with clones, robots, explosives, and even more ads

Before SUPER Monday Night Combat there was just regular Monday Night Combat, a game (that wasn’t free) that was faster and more twitch based, it was often compared to Team Fortress 2. Aside from the usual class based shooter game play it was also a sort of tower defense game in that defensive towers could be built and waves of robots would spawn for each team and attack the other team’s side of the map on preset paths.

The robots in game are significantly less threatening, getting killed by them is actually kind of embarrassing

The Super version of the game fits with the conservative play style of MOBA games, IE: “DON’T DIE. EVER. YOU FILTHY CASUAL.”, and generally you need to be careful, as too many screw ups on either team can snowball and turn the whole match against you. The standard level up structure of MOBA games is used in SMNC, where you have skills you can level up or you could pump points into your health and damage. Towers cant be rebuilt like in the original, so defending your own and destroying the other team’s is a big deal.

"CASUAL SCUM, GO BACK TO YOUR FACEBOOK GAMES"

The classes for SMNC, though not entirely balanced, all have their roles and are capable of holding their own. The new characters added to SMNC outshine the older classes that came over from the original game in style, if not game play. From the famous wrestler who was brought back from the dead, to the talking actor gorilla who’s dressed like a mobster, to a robot who’s trying his best to convince everyone he’s human. The game has a rotating group of characters available that anyone can try, unfortunately this leads into the important public service announcement part of this post.

They're always out for your money

HOW THEY GET YOU
Unless you buy a character, you can only play them when their available on the rotating roster. There’s actually quite a few things in this game that you need to buy if you want to get it. Products and Endorsements are ways you can customize your character through stat changes or useful effects such as getting health when you kill an opponent. Fortunately, the default products you start off with are pretty useful, and when you don’t use any Endorsements you get a decent speed boost instead. All of these can be bought with credits earned by playing the game, though you could use money for it. Cosmetic items such as new uniforms requires actual money though, but those obviously don’t effect game play. You don’t NEED to spend any actually money, everything you could want that has an impact on game play can be earned by just playing the game.

The in-game announcers are the best part about this game, not gonna lie

Super Monday Nigh Combat (SUPER!) is worth looking into if you like MOBAs or third person shooters, and it has a group match making system so you and your friends can play online against people who are WAY better than you! Not only that, but between the jokes about population control, rioting in the stands, and bad television shows, it will also help prepare you for a dystopian future where corporations run everything.

Bet you didnt think this movie was a training film at the time, did you?

You can learn more about SNMC over at http://www.uberent.com/
and you can snag the game on steam at http://store.steampowered.com/app/104700/

GOTTA GO FAST

Today I got a game that just got out of beta and is open to public. Its an arena shooter and its all about going fast. It will also help prepare you for the sci-fi wars of the future.

Its your basic Red verses Blue

Tribes Ascend is the latest game in the Tribes series, which always had game play that was based heavily around team work and momentum, especially for Capture The Flag. You’re basically going skiing with a gun and a jet pack, but its not an awesome future biathlon.

Or a James Bond movie

The older games are considered by many to be among the best multiplayer shooters of their time, and had dedicated fan bases that stuck around for years.

The same main game design points carry over into Ascend. The maps have next to no cover so the best way to stay alive is to go fast and bob and weave, since the shooting is mostly based around  leading your target, aside from a few “hitscan” weapons that don’t need to be lead (which are considered cheap by some of the player base). 

Not an example of good Tribes game play, he clearly needs more speed

There are three different weight classes that generally determine what sort of role you will play as. The light armored players go fast and are typically the ones trying to capture the flag but also have less health than other weight classes. The medium armored  players are obviously the middle of the road in terms of speed and health. While the heavies are the slowest and the hardest to kill, and typically stick to base defense, they don’t have to though.

The game uses a class system that dictates your weapon load out and weight class, rather than letting you choose whatever you want. There is a kind of perk system that you can choose for yourself. However, this leads into the most important part of this post.

HOW THEY GET YOU
Tribes Ascend uses the Free-To-Play model where you start with default classes and gear but you need to unlock the rest. Thankfully, you don’t need to spend money to buy things, you can earn everything you need through game play, nor does Ascend enter Pay-To-Win territory. Obviously this involves some element of grinding, but it never hits “Korean MMO” level. And if you actually find the game enjoyable enough to play consistently it should be that much of an issue

VGS

Tribes Ascend could be a game you pick up for one game then forget about entirely, or you could get sucked in and get turned into a massive fan that sticks around for years. Really the only way to find out yourself is to give the game a shot, but watching some game play wouldn’t hurt either.

The proper video starts after about two minutes of nonsense. This video is also a good example of how Tribes falls under the category of "E-Sports", complete with commentators.

Tribes Ascend is available for download at https://account.hirezstudios.com/tribesascend/
You need an account though.