Contributions > Descriptions by Medicine Man (328)

Quake Live is a free-to-play online first person shooter for the PC. It is downloaded and launched via a web browser plug-in. After downloading and installing the plug-in, the game updates itself on its webpage: www.quakelive.com. It is a variant of Quake III: Arena, using the same engine with some graphical improvements. There are over 40 standard maps and 5 game modes for standard users but when the player upgrades to a Premium account, by paying a monthly fee, he can play on 20 additional Premium maps and an additional Freeze Tag game mode. The Pro account, with a higher monthly fee than Premium, includes all the Premium features as well as extra features like hosting a server.

Before the player can play online, the game takes the player to the Training Center, where the player's skill must be tested. After playing a duel with a bot in the Training Center, the player's skill level is set and he can play online with players of his/her skill level. The player can not enter servers meant for players with lower skill level, but can enter any servers with higher skill. If the player wants to train, he can start a Practice Match against bots at any time, selecting the map and game type he wants and also setting the skill level for the bots. There is also a rocket jump and strafe jump training, where the player can train his movement.

The game plays similarly to Quake 3: Arena: the player spawns, runs around, picking up weapons, armor, health, power-ups and other items. The main goal on most game types is to frag (kill) your opponent. In Free For All, in order to win, the player must simply have the highest frag count when the time limit expires, or be the first to reach the frag limit. Team Deathmatch is very similar, with the only difference being that players are divided into two teams, and must also watch out to not kill each other. Duel is a typical FFA game, but 1 on 1. In Clan Arena, players spawn with almost all weapons and full armor, and are also divided into two teams. There are no items that spawn on the map, and players don't get hurt by splash damage of their own weapons, or by fall damage. After getting killed in Clan Arena, the player needs to wait until the round ends (it ends when all players from one team are dead), after which the surviving team scores a point. To win a team must reach the score limit first, or have the highest score when the time limit expires. In Capture the Flag, two teams must compete to capture each others' flags, which are placed at the end of each team's base. To score for his team, a player must take the flag of the enemy team and touch his team's flag with it. In order to score, that player's team flag must be at its place. If the flag is stolen, it must be returned, by killing the flag carrier at first, and then simply touching it. Freeze Tag is quite similar to Clan Arena, the only difference is that the player doesn't really "die" when he gets killed, but instead freezes at that point. He can be unfreezed by a teammate if one stands near him for a short time. A team scores a point if all the players from the other team are frozen. If a draw occurs during a match then a sudden death round begins. In FFA, TDM and Duel, this simply adds extra time to the limit. In CTF it also adds time, but also gives longer respawn time to the players by every extra minute. In CA and FT, players simply play one extra round so one of the teams would score.

The maps included in Quake Live are taken from the original game, its expansion, Quake III: Team Arena and it also includes popular custom maps made by map makers. All weapons, items, and power-ups from the original and the expansion are included, with the effect/damage of some being slightly tweaked. Most old maps have also a few modifications and changes on them, to keep them balanced. There is also a wide selection of character models. In order to give the game a Teen rating from the ESRB, the blood and gore from the original game is not included.

Statistics of the matches that the player has played are stored in his profile on the game's website. There the player can see his last matches, his kill/death ratio, total time played, most used weapon, most played map, recent competitors, etc. The website also allows you to make friends with other players. If a player then wants to play with a friend, they can click an icon next to their friend's name in the Friends Online section (if the player is currently playing online) and join the game. There are also achievements and awards which the player can earn during gameplay. After earning an award, it is displayed on the player's profile.

F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn is a DLC expansion pack for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, available to be purchased on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (the respective market places are Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store). The expansion pack includes 4 new single player levels.

In this expansion the player takes the role of a Replica soldier named Foxtrot 813. The player is guided by Paxton Fettel, the antagonist of the original game to turn on his fellow Replica and try to reach the epicentre of the nuclear explosion triggered by the F.E.A.R. Point Man's failed attempt to contain Alma. Alma however, is striving to stop the player, sending her ghostly creations against him.

In Red Shark the player takes the role of a pilot who has been sent back in time from the present day to World War II. His mission is to fight Nazi Germany in a helicopter called Red Shark and put an end to WWII.

Missions range from defending an Allied convoy to destroying a whole panzer division, and are set in different settings like mountainous regions of Russia or the Egyptian deserts.

The helicopter is armed with machine guns and two types of missiles, to take on enemies like normal Tiger tanks and AA gun transports and artillery.