Quake Mission Pack No. I: Scourge of Armagon

The Good
Scourge of Armagon was developed by Hipnotic Interactive and it takes only one glance to know that they did their job VERY well.

The game's story begins where Quake ended - you are back to Earth, however, as it usually happens in video games, the bad guys aren't really beaten yet and return in force, eager for more mayhem. Of course, our Noble Hero (tm) isn't just going to stand for that and will jump back into the fray. You can learn the details from the Manual and the intermissions between the "episodes", which are very well written, by the way. The Lovecraftian feel is still there.

This is Quake, so you will naturally get plenty of hot action - intense skirmishes, ambushes and countless explosions. The only thing that can possibly preserve your sanity is pressing the Pause key once in a while.

SoA's main advantage is the way it manages to stay 100% faithful to the original Quake's atmosphere, while at the same time enriching it with new features and providing a new gaming experience.

One of the things that I couldn't get enough of in the original Quake was the high-tech levels. There was just one of them at the beginning of each episode... and that was all. Well, don't worry - the entire first "episode" of SoA takes place in a military base. The environment has been enriched with new effects, such as force fields that can serve as barricades or bridges to walk on; a new monster, the Centroid; new traps, usually involving moving components (tumbling rocks, fan blades, etc.); and last but not least - a few simple scripted events to make the game feel more alive.

The dark gothic part of the game has been refreshed with a devious new creature - the Gremlin. These little devils are actually able to steal your weapons and use them against you. You can also expect to see new textures and some new special features (such as the clock at the entrance of the cathedral).

Level design is much more detailed and varied in SoA - you can expect each level to have its own unique feel. There are even a few simple puzzles to solve, allowing you to catch your breath between the battles. There are secret levels waiting to be discovered - just as in the original. You can also expect to see some eye candy - like the huge dimensional portal that you pass through near the end of one level... or the Edge of Oblivion, which cannot be described with words. It has to be seen (and fallen into, at least once).

The new weapons are quite satisfactory. The prox launcher allows you to stick grenades to nearly any surface, setting up traps. You also get a laser cannon, similar to the weapon used by the Enforcers, so that they can get a taste of their own medicine ;)

Finally, SoA actually tweaks the Quake engine to some extent. Apart from the moving trap components and scripted events I already mentioned, you will also notice that your weapons will occasionally leave bullet marks on the walls. These won't be very pretty or detailed, but still - it's worth noticing.

The Bad
Hmm, I'm not really sure what to say because I really enjoyed playing this.

Despite the new features, SoA has the exact same gameplay and look as the original Quake. If you expected to see something radically new - you got the wrong mission pack. Dissolution of Eternity does slightly better in this respect by introducing new level themes (e.g. ancient Greek, Egyptian, etc.).

If you are one of the people who enjoy twisted and sophisticated storylines - again, you won't find one. Go read a book instead ;)

About the difficulty - it's pretty much on the same level a the original game. The only possible challenge for an experienced player is the final boss. The rest of the game is relatively easy.

The Bottom Line
If you liked Quake, you will definitely enjoy Scourge of Armagon as much as the original game (if not even more). It adds a lot to an already awesome game... and the entire thing is less than 100 MB in size.

If you are a true Quake maniac, this mission pack is an obligatory addition to your collection. There is no excuse for not owning it ;)

The Good
This is the first mission pack for id Software's awesome first-person shooter Quake, and it is was developed by Hipnotic Software, who later changed their name to Ritual Entertainment. In my opinion, they did an impressive job at maintaining the look and feel of Quake, while adding a ton of new features.

The mission pack starts right where the original game left off. You may have killed Shub-Niggurath and her minions, but the fight isn't over yet. You learn that a mysterious creature known as Armagon wants to continue her work. The game is spread over three episodes with fifteen maps in total. The maps themselves can take a bit of time to get through, especially if you take the time to explore your surroundings and not just rush to the exit.

Out of all the new enemies on offer, I love the Gremlins, which appear from episode two onwards. They are not related to the same ones from the films, but look like teddy bears with big, scary eyes. They come up and start clawing at you, sometimes stealing your weapons in the process. I remember one of them stealing one of my nail guns and using them against me. You can also see them rip the flesh off dead corpses. Nowhere in a first-person shooter have I seen such incredible enemy behavior. All the enemies from the original game still makes appearances, such as the zombies who throw their guts at you.

I didn't really take advantage of the new weapons, but I found the Mjolnir impressive. It is basically Thor's war hammer that discharge lightning bolts at your enemies. This weapon was mentioned in the promotion for The Fight for Justice, id's role-playing game that never came to fruition. I'm glad that you can actually use it. I also love the proximity mines which can also be attached to walls. You wait for the enemy to hit one, and BOOM!

Out of all the power-ups you can get, I love the Horn of Conjuring. It makes a nice sound when the player blows in it. It is so nice for one of the creatures to fight along side you for once, but the disadvantage of whatever creature is spawned is that if it receives too many hits, it's dead. The wetsuit is awesome; not only does it help you survive underwater, but you can hear the sound of Ranger inhaling oxygen.

It also introduces features that the original developers didn't think of, such as the inclusion of booby traps and structures specific to each map. I like the huge clock in the cathedral, and the laser bridge in the storage facility. Out of the booby traps I remember well, there's this room with tiles and a switch on one part of the wall; and stepping on certain tiles causes them to collapse into a pool of lava.

The Bad
Can't think of a single thing bad about the mission pack.

The Bottom Line
Scourge of Armagon is an impressive mission pack for Quake, which captures the look and feel of the original game while introducing new features. There are fifteen maps spread over three episodes, and some of these levels have booby traps. I haven't played the second mission pack, Dissolution of Eternity, so I can't say which one is better. If you are a Quake fan like me, then you will certainly be happy with this mission pack.

The Good
This is the first mission pack for id Software's first-person shooter Quake, and it is impressive. The pack includes only fifteen maps, which takes about a long time to get through. Not only does it includes new enemies and weapons. It also introduces features that the original developers didn't think of, such as the inclusion of booby traps.

The mission pack starts right where the original left off. You may have killed Shub-Niggurath and her minions, but the fight isn't over yet. You learn that a mysterious creature known as Armagon wants to continue her work. The game has you stepping through portals to select the difficulty, but there is no episode selection. The maps are all in one big lump.

Out of all the new enemies, I love the Gremlins, which appear from episode two onwards. They are not related to the same ones from the films, but look like teddy bears with big scary eyes. They come up and start clawing at you, sometimes stealing your weapons in the process. I remember one of them stealing one of my nail guns and using them to attack me. Nowhere in a first-person shooter have I seen such incredible enemy behavior. All the enemies from the original game still makes appearances, such as the demons who throw their guts at you.

As with the other reviewer on here, I like how you battle it out in the cathedral in the second episode. The clock above the entrance together with the thunderclaps give that level some atmosphere. I even heard it go off. I have no idea what happens when it does, but it isn't necessary to get through the level.

There are booby-trapped hallways to worry about, and these consist of lava that the player will fall into if they just rush through the hallways. There is a booby-trapped room with a switch adjacent to the player, and tiles on the floor. You have to step on the right tiles until you get to that switch, otherwise the tile will give way and the player will fall into the lava. This same room is the one I remember well.

Out of all the power-ups you can get, I love the Horn of Conjuring. It makes a nice sound when the player blows on it. It is so nice for one of the creatures to fight along side you for once, but the disadvantage of whatever creature is spawned is that if it receives too many hits, it's dead.

Out of all the weapons, I love the proximity mines which can also be attached to walls. You wait for the enemy to hit one, and BOOM! There is the Mjolnir, capable of killing enemies with lightning bolts, but I rarely used it.

The Bad
Nothing.

The Bottom Line
I haven't played the second mission pack so I can't say which one is better. The first mission pack may be short in length, but it includes new enemies, weapons, and booby traps. If you are a Quake fan like me, then you will certainly be happy with this mission pack.