Quake Live is a Sci-Fi online first person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by the same company. The game was released on Feb 24, 2009 and has a mature rating. Quake Live it’s a multiplayer only game and in order to play it you need a computer running Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux and you have to download the game client from the official website. There are no monthly fees for this game so it’s free to play for anyone. This page will show you how to set-up your account, your in-game options and what you should do in the game in order to make your Quake Live experience a pleasant one. But first, let’s take a closer look at what Quake Live is and how he appeared. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/quakelive/tech_info.html?tag=tabs;summary

Quake Live is the online only version of Quake III: Gold which includes Quake III and its expansion Team Arena. Quake III was released on December 2, 1999 and it was supporting single-player and multiplayer modes, but Quake Live it’s only available through a web browser. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_III_Arena The supported browsers are: Internet Explorer 7+, Mozilla Firefox 2+, and Safari 3+ running on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.4+ and Linux. The game is not using any Flash plug-ins and it’s running the same id Tech 3 engine but modified to support a better gameplay. The system requirements for Quake Live are: http://mmohut.com/review/quake-live

Minimum Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP or Vista;
• CPU: P3 at 800MHz;
• RAM: 256MB;
• HDD: 500 MB;
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX or ATI Radeon 8500.

Recommended Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP or Vista;
• CPU: 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or better;
• RAM: 512 MB;
• HDD: 1.0 GB;
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7 Series or better.

Quake Live requires an active account on the official website. This is the first step you need in order to play this game. In order to do this you have to:

1. Visit the official website: http://www.quakelive.com;
2. Click the Register button;
3. Insert the required fields: email, name tag, password, birth date and the security code;
4. Check the TOS (Terms and Conditions) area;
5. Click the Register button.
6. As soon as the account is created a new window will open and the game client download will start.
7. Select the path where you want to download the program and click Save.
8. After the download is finished, launch the application by clicking on it.
9. As soon as the plug-in is installed, check your account page.
10. A Game Content Update will start. Please wait several minutes (depending on your internet connection) while the update is finished.
11. After the update is finished click Play Now.

Additional Content is downloaded in the background. You don’t have to wait for the entire game to be downloaded. http://www.quakelive.com

Now, that Quake Live is installed on your computer you should complete the training lessons. No matter how skilled you are in this game, the Skill Test should be completed, so the servers could find some matching opponents for you. Otherwise, you will play with more skilled players. For new players the game offers a Training Center, a Practice Mode and the Skill Test:

The Training Center is the first place you should visit after joining the game. This section has lessons and you should complete them all:

1. Crash Course: Welcome to the Arena is the first lesson. You will meet Crash, your trainer who will help you during your lessons. She will also measure your skills in the game. During this lesson you will learn how to perform basic moves, how to change weapons, how to fire and many more.
2. Elevate: Reaching Great Heights is your second lesson. Crash will also be present in this tutorial and you will focus on rocket jumping. This move is performed while you are equipped with a rocket launcher and involves pointing the weapon at the ground and simultaneously fire and jump. This is a very important move and is critical in Clan Arena games.
3. Accelerate: Traveling at High Speed is the final lesson. You and Crash will focus on the Strafe Jumps. The move will allow you to move faster and jump further. After completing this lesson you will be able to move 3 times faster in the game.

In the Training Center, each lesson has a small video to show you exactly what you should do. If you don’t succeed completing the moves from the first time, don’t be frustrated; just practice it until you get it right. http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2009/08/quakelive/

As soon as your training is complete head to the Practice Mode. In this mode you will have the chance to test your gaming skills against bots (computer players). Once the Practice Mode is selected you can adjust the game you want to play:

1. Choose Game Type option – will allow you to choose from 5 game modes: Free for all, Capture the flag, Clan Arena, Team Deathmatch and Duel.
2. Select Arena option – will allow you to select the arena on which you will face your opponents. You can choose the arena by size (small, medium, large), type (popular, space, Team Arena) or by complexity (beginner, intermediate, advanced);
3. Customize Game – is the option on which you can customize your enemies, the difficulty, the time and many more. Here are your options:
4. Difficulty: – Choose the difficulty level of the game. You have the following settings: My Skill, I can win, Bring it on, Hurt me plenty, Hardcore and Nightmare.
5. Total Players: - Will allow you to choose from 6 to 16 players, controlled by computer.
6. Time limit: - Maximum duration of a single match. You can set it from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.
7. Frag limit – You can choose from 10 to 50 frags.
8. Select Players option: – will allow you to select the look and the names of the players controlled by the computer.http://www.quakelive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11013

After you customize the game, click the “Start” button.

The Skill Test will take 10 minutes. You can skip this step but it’s not recommended. This test will help you find opponents that are at your personal skill level. After a short brief you will have the chance to fight against Crash who will measure your skills at the end of the match. If you decide to skip this step, you could join a game with players better skilled than you, which can be frustrating. Take your time and complete it before you start fighting with other players. http://www.quakelive.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42134

Quake Live offers the possibility to play against other human players all over the world. As soon as you Skill Test is finished and your skill is rated, you can join the fights. When you choose your game, make sure you check the skill of the current battle. If you qualify for that game, you will see a green mark in the right corner of the window. You will also see the country and the city that is hosting that battle. At the top of the game selection, the arenas you qualify for are marked as Best Pick. You can also search the battles using the options provided on your browser page:

1. Game Players – Will allow you to search if any of your friends are playing a game at that moment.
2. Game Type – Using this option will allow you to select ranked or unranked games.
3. Game Arenas – This option will let you choose the arenas you want to play. Searching a game using this option will display the games that are currently running on that area.
4. Game State – This option will display if a game is waiting for more players or if it already started.
5. Game State-Will let you select the game by the difficulty. You can choose from: Skill Matched, More Challenging or Very Difficult.
6. Game Location – Will display the location of the hosted games. You can see the regions, states and cities.

Quake Live will always track your statistics. On your profile page you can check your achievements; you can add or delete friends and many more. Your profile page will also display your favorite weapons, accuracy with each weapon you used, your favorite arenas, awards and even deaths. http://www.quakelive.com/