Game Reviews

Beben III

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iOS
| Beben III
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Beben III
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iOS
| Beben III

For me, playing Quake III is a lot like riding a bike. Except with more rocket launchers, and less knee pain. My formative multiplayer experiences were with the game, perfecting rocket jumps as a 56k modem buzzed and frothed to keep up.

And playing Beben III, those memories came flooding back. The nooks and crannies of the arenas, the combinations of weapons, the ranges, the power-ups, the twitchy rocket launcher ballet all leapt back to the front of my mind like witty comebacks after the fact.

But all that glorious nostalgia can't cover the fact that this touchscreen version of id's classic just doesn't work well enough. The tapping, sliding controls can leave you chasing opponents in hilarious miss-offs that are entertaining for a while, but never in the way they should be.

Quake slide

There are three options when you start the game. You can download one of two free versions of Quake 3, or use the install files from a copy of the game you already own and transfer them to your iPad.

Whichever version of the game you choose, you're going to find the same glaring problem - the controls. There's an adequate floating joystick and a couple of buttons that let you jump and use objects, but rather than using a button to shoot, you need to double-tap on the screen.

It's a clumsy system, and one that just doesn't work with the twitchy, fast paced gunplay of Quake III. Sometimes you'll accidentally fire because you're making an adjustment to the direction you're looking. Other times you'll just stare blankly at an opponent as they fill you full of lead.

Even when you're navigating the menus the controls feel like they're trying to block you at every turn, and it all makes for a frustrating experience.

Don't touch it

The underlying game is still as spectacular as ever. It's a finely tuned, pared-back multiplayer arena shooter that trades in quick deaths and gory kills, but you'll find yourself snarling as you accidentally stare at the floor instead of moving forwards, and instantly get turned into mush by an AI opponent.

Connecting to multiplayer games is tough too, and the whole package feels rough to the point of jagged around the edges.

Quake III is still great, but my advice would be to play it on a PC.

Beben III

While it's a great port of the engine, Beben III doesn't have the controls to recommend it as a game
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.