To say that its surprise drop onto stores during Quakecon itself was a happy shock to the system is an understatement. A worthy addendum to a stone-cold classic.For a couple of days before Quakecon, a Quake remaster certification was doing the rounds letting us all know that iD’s seminal shooter was returning to modern machines in an enhanced form. The wonderfully slippery movement, the meticulously designed weapons, and all those big, bouncing gibs. Most importantly, though, Dimension of the Machine serves as a lens that puts everything that about Quake in the first place into stark focus. Its levels feel fresh and exciting without losing that distinctive Quake feel, while the encounters are carefully designed to stretch your shooting skills. The rocket launcher is easier to wield than the grenade-launcher, but has an enormous splash-damage radius that makes it terrifyingly easy to accidentally gib yourself.ĭimension of the Machine is an excellent addition to the Quake canon. The nailgun and super-nail gun are effective against most opponents, but gobble up their Nine Inch Nails-branded ammo that you may need for a more powerful adversary. You're never short of ammo for the two shotguns, but they want for stopping power, forcing you to get up close to Quake's primarily melee-focussed enemies. ![]() This is most evident with the grenade launcher, whose brilliantly bouncy bombs can be the source of a satisfying trickshot or an embarrassing demise, but all of Quake's firearms are subtly infused with risk and reward. Indeed, Dimension of the Machine helped me appreciate some aspects of Quake's design I previously hadn't considered, like how every weapon is designed with its own in-built gambit. The weapons and enemy roster are the same, and every creative decision is intended to showcase Quake's combat engine. While Machine Games lets its imagination loose in the level design, the core mechanics are completely unchanged. Health pickups are also rarer than in the main campaign, while the weapon roster is shuffled with each stage, meaning you'll frequently be fighting Shamblers with nothing but a shotgun and a smile.Īlthough bold in its flavour combinations, nothing in Dimension of the Machine feels out of place. Dimension of the Machine is more than happy to trap you in a chamber with two Shamblers and a Vore, or surround you with grenade-spitting Ogres while a squad of Death Knights chases you around the room. But Machine Games has clearly trained at the Doom Eternal school of nightmarish enemy combinations. Playing on standard difficulty, I breezed through Quake's main campaign. Dimension of the Machine is one tough nut, certainly compared to the base game. That said, Stonemasons best exemplifies Dimension of the Machine's other key difference from Quake – challenge. Dimensions of the Stonemasons is a nondescript warren of grey corridors, lacking the personality of the other levels. Dimension of the Astrologers, meanwhile, is a cross between Half-Life's Xen and System Shock 2's Von Braun, with you darting between rocks floating amidst a purplish dimensional void, before finding yourself trapped on an industrial prison-ship being torn apart by Quake's eldritch monstrosities. From here, you gradually descend through layers of undercrofts and catacombs before emerging into a fathomless orange abyss. Dimension of the Cultists, for example, commences with you stood outside a cathedral perched on a sheer clifftop. ![]() Machine Games' Quake levels are every bit as complex and secret-riddled as id's 1996 masterpieces. Crucially though, the grander visuals don't come at the cost of interesting level design. ![]() ![]() Considering it's based upon Quake era rendering tech (the remaster specifically uses Nightdive Studios' Kex engine, for various reasons), visually Dimension of the Machine is a real showstopper.
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