Name: Quake Mission Pack No. 1 - Scourge of Armagon
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Hypnotic Interactive(now known as Ritual Entertainment)
Media: 1 CD
HD Installation: 34.5 megs, above and beyond the original Quake's installation size.
Got it for: $0.80(yes, .80 cents!)
QMP#1 was played on my Power Mac G4, 450Mhz machine under OS 9.2.2 with a 64 meg ATI Radeon 8500 card and 1 gig of ram. It was running with all options turned to their highest settings and at a screen resolution of 1280X1024. The game was played through on the "Hard" difficulty level.
Patches? Just for kicks, let me present the system requirements:

None that I have found. Though if you're interested in any of the new code that was used in the expansion, it's all available in the game's Official Download section.

Any Power Macintosh with at least 16MB of Ram, color monitor and CD-Rom drive.(Quick Note: As this expansion wasn't originally developed for the Mac, there are no system requirements to speak of...though if your Mac can play Quake, you can play this)

After destroying the evil Shub-Niggurath, you arrive back at the original military complex where you started your horrific journey. Noticing that the place is empty, you begin your investigation into where everyone has gone. Looking over the various control stations, you come across a message from the base's commander: "The minion's of Quake have created a portal, and have invaded the entire base." All forces have been evacuated, and the base has been sealed to prevent them from making their way out into the world. Now, it's up to you to find the source of this new portal and shut it down for good...

Ha, ha, Shamber is getting fried by some Lightning traps!
 What's it all about?
Well, it's a lot like the original Quake: A very straightforward shooter, no complicated paths to endless door switches, no reloading, hell, no cocking...no bullshit. In SoA you'll get to explore a lot more of the Earth-based areas that you were briefly shown in the original game. You'll make your way through the military base to the weapons storage facility, then into the research center and finally back into the world of Quake. The military base levels feel a lot like Quake II, and does a great job of fleshing out the story as you get to see more of the military's involvement in the Slipgate project and how the original invasion started. Kicking the action up quite a bit, you'll notice that SoA keeps a much faster pace than the original Quake. There are multiple enemies in virtually every location, which has the gameplay relying on all-out action rather than exploration. Now, that's not to say that you won't need to look around levels to find your way through, but rather you'll be fighting your way from location to location rather than just sort of waltzing on through.

The expansion plays out to three new episodes that consist of seventeen new levels and one new deathmatch arena. Also added are three new items: A Wet Suit that allows you to breathe under water and swim much faster, the Horn of Conjuring that will summon a creature to fight along with you and the Empathy Shield that will send half of the damage from an attack back at enemy. Past that there are also three new weapons: A Laser Cannon that pumps out death-dealing lasers at an extremely high rate, Proximity Mines that will explode when an enemy gets close enough to them(great for setting up traps) and finally, the Mjolnir Hammer which is said to be Thor's actual weapon; slamming it onto the ground produces streams of electricity that will fry anything in your immediate vicinity. New enemies are also included, and are discussed under the "AI" section of the review. Oddly enough, the three norse-based items give the game sort of a "viking" theme...it just comes at you out of left field....weird.
Graphics - A lot like the original Quake's graphics...but with some new textures and advanced architecture. In SoA you're treated to huge levels that always have some sort of slick, level-based effect that you can interact with: There are particle bridges, breakable walls, underwater fans, energy shields, collapsing floors, hanging gondolas and more. You also get interesting new areas like a mining facility, an underworld cathedral, a crypt and even a series of hellish areas from the "Shores of Reality" as the game calls them(think of them as the "Final Doom" levels of the expansion: Fucking hard, and fucking huge). Past the levels, the new enemies, weapons and items look great...they have that same gritty look that everything in the original game had, so it all blends in seamlessly. About the only problem with the graphics, and it only happens in the Earth-based levels(military base, mines, research center, etc.), is that the game seems to have occasional framerate problems where it will dip down. Perhaps the advanced architecture is too much for the engine? I don't know, at any rate, it's not that bad but is noticeable. Finally, minor graphical improvements are available via the Options menu, from there you can turn on the flames, shadows and other things...be sure to do so, trust me, your Mac can handle it.

It's a surprise party...with guns!
Sound - The soundtrack consists of eight all-new pieces, and is an interesting mix of instrumental, heavy metal guitar, techno and some serious distortion. Believe it or not, it works well for the new, faster pace of SoA. As for the sound effects, Hypnotic uses pretty much all of the original effects from Quake and goes so far as to add quite a few new effects as well; stuff like your character zipping up the Bio Suit, breathing in Wet Suit while underwater, the sharp Laser Cannon sounds and more. About the only issue I have with any of it, and it's more of a technical issue than anything to do with the actual quality of the sound, is that the music tracks often times won't loop or move on to the next track when they finish. You'll be going along in a level, the music piece will end...and then that's it...no music, nothing. The only way I've been able to get it to come back is to save the current game, start a new game(which will start the intro music track), then finally reload your saved game. It's an annoying exercise, and sadly, one you'll have to do quite a bit throughout the game...
Control - Excellent. Like most FPS's, using the keyboard and mouse setup results in an extremely smooth control scheme. On top of that there are no "use" or "reload" keys to worry about, just shooting, jumping and movement...nice and easy. Control configuration is a snap: With keyboard setup...you have your functions, you set them to the key you'd like to use them on, that's it. Basic Mouse setup is the same, though advanced functions(like weapon scrolling via the wheel, or the assignment of the mouse's extra buttons) have to go through Game Sprockets. For those of you who would prefer to use the iShock, configuration is also very easy thanks to Apple's Game Sprockets that Quake, thankfully, makes use of. Just hit "Configure Controller, assign your buttons and you're done. There is one odd thing, and it's about my only complaint on the control: There's no way to assign "previous weapon" to your mouse wheel. It shows up when configuring the iShock, but not in Mouse setup. Weird...

The Laser Cannon kicks ass!
(quick note: as the game runs off the original Quake install, the Options screen and controls are *exactly* the same, so I've pretty much just cut and pasted the text above from the original Quake's review)

A Death Knight in my service, thanks to the Horn of Conjuring.
 AI - A lot like the AI in Quake, it does a great job of busting your ass....and like any good expansion, SoA kicks that up a notch by throwing in an insane amount of enemies, not only in the levels(typically, there are 70 to 110 enemies in any given level), but on the screen at the same time. In the original Quake, the most amount of enemies I've ever seen on the screen at the same time were about five or six. Now, in SoA, every area seems to not only match that number, but beat it...and with harder enemies. There are now areas where they will throw multiple Shambers, Vores, Deathknights and Fiends in the same room you're in. The pinnacle has to be during the last section of Mortum's Keep where *four* Shambers show up and proceed to zap your ass to dust WHILE two Ogres, standing on the cliffs overhead, hurl grenade after grenade at you. Hypnotic also pulls some interesting stunts by putting enemies in places that the guys at id never would have in the original Quake. I won't give anything away....but just remember to be on your toes at all times...
The two new enemies don't really add much to the overall AI as they seem to rely on gimmicks rather than intelligence. The Gremlins will actually steal your weapon and use it against you while the Centroids move incredibly fast, almost jittering across the screen while peppering you with their dual mounted Nail Guns. Another new, and interesting, piece of AI comes in the form of a new item called the "Horn on Conjuring", which will actually summon an creature(one of the enemies) that will fight at your side until its death. Though its an incredible display of what could be done with early AI NPC's, it's still pretty sub-par as the creatures just have so many problems with the environment(going down stairs, making it around corners, etc).

Hypnotic has also added quite a few traps into the actual environment as well. Stuff like falling rocks, the Spike Mines, Lightning traps, the infamous rock tumbler and many more. All of these new pieces of AI add up to one very hard game....I'm talking *fucking* hard. There are parts in the game where you will die in mere seconds, only to reload...and die again...and again, it gets to be incredibly frustrating at times...

The Centroid attack sentry: Dual mounted Nail Guns *and* a spiked tail.
Replay value - Moderate. It's a lot shorter than the original Quake, and definitely holds a much faster pace, making it almost arcade-like...so if you're looking for a quick game, something that's not too deep, you'll most likely come back quite a bit. Now, unfortunately, the extremely high difficulty of the game may also have you shelving it in fear of the constant ass whipping you know will be coming were you to dare start it up again...
Getting it to run - Extremely easy. Though this expansion pack wasn't specifically made for the Mac version of Quake, the great guys at MacSoft thought ahead, and made it so that it could still be played. To "install" the expansion, simply drag the "Hipnotic" folder off the CD and into your Quake folder on your HD. From there, to get it started, drag the new Hipnotic folder onto the Quake application and you're set. Like the original Quake, you don't have to have the CD in the drive to play the game, but if it's not there...no music will play.
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Though it's odd to have to actually do this via the console, Quake was a very early FPS...so it's not too unexpected....at any rate, hit the tilde key to bring up the console at any point during(or before) the game:

To enable the crosshair, type in "crosshair 1" and press Enter. To enable Mouse Look, type in "+mlook" and press Enter.
For those of you needing a bit more help, bring up the console and type in "Impulse 9" and hit Enter. This will give you all weapons and full ammo...

Past the console commands...
* Watch out when using the Laser Cannon, the shots will ricochet off walls and can hit you too.

* When fighting the trigger-happy Centroid(the scorpion-like attack sentry), if you can, always try to run in front of other enemies. It will most likely hit them and start a fight. There's nothing like watching about three or four other enemies attacking one of those things.

* Gremlins will actually rip the bodies of the dead to pieces....it's not only fun to watch, but makes for an extremely easy kill.

* The Spike Mines aren't nearly as dumb as the Vore's homing magic...to out run these things, you've got to be really quick and dodge like a madman. The best thing to do with these instant killers is to "hide" behind an enemy and let them take the hit...

* Gremlins *will* steal whatever weapon you have equipped at the time, if they get close enough. Though it's amusing to see one of these guys running around with *your* Rocket Launcher...it can be damn tough to take them down once they get it. Oddly enough, they won't steal your Axe, Single Barrel Shotgun or Mjolnir...so if you do happen to get a little too close to a pack of these fuckers, switch to one of those weapons and you'll be alright.

* The summoned creatures aren't exactly at the top of the NPC AI ladder, so you really need to work with them to get them to go where you want. The great thing about the summoned creature is that, not only will they attack anything they come across, they also do a great job of alerting you about enemies you didn't even see(or that came from a hidden door or passage). One final note: Be careful around the summoned creature, you *can* kill them...

* The Mjolnir is more powerful than the Axe(by about 2X), so if you're reduced to no ammo, it's hammer time!!

* Armagon's attacks are unbelievably powerful...so a head to head fight isn't going to pan out in your favor. Instead, take cover as soon as he shows up and attack him from around corners. Running a circle around whichever column you're hiding behind, while mowing him down every time he makes the corner should grant you a pretty easy victory...

* For those of you having trouble finding the secret levels, be sure to check out Brandon Fish's QMP#1 Level Secrets Guide.
(and for even more tips, check out the original Quake's review)

Still Supported?
Yes, though you'll find less than no actual support at Activision's site(thanks again guys). There is some limited support over at Ritual's site, and they actually have a nifty section for the game on their site that shows off the levels, new enemies, weapons and more.

My rating: 90(out of 100) - It's like Quake on steroids: Everything is faster, every enemy is harder and each new level is bigger. The straight-action of the game, coupled with the extreme amount of enemies it throws your way, really makes it quite different than the original Quake, and is an adventure that every fan should experience. Sadly, it looses points due to the overwhelming difficulty that some levels present as well as a few technical issues...but don't let that deter you from experiencing this scourge of Armagon...

Baraka's review: Wow, talk about total conversion! This isn't EVEN like the original Quake, all dry and boring, it's packed with hardcore action. Four paws up from this kitty!!!
Whipping ass with the Mjolnir.
Axe vs. Shotgun
The Gremlins, they want me shotgun...and perhaps me Lucky Charms!
Up close and personal with a Death Knight.
Fun Stuff on the CD:
The game's manual and a fairly comprehensive "ReadMe" file are presented on the disc, in *three* different formats(.html, .doc and .txt)...but that's about it. Again like with the original Quake disc, to make up for the lack of any real extras I've made a series of Quake SoA wallpapers from various scenes in the game. Check it out...
A sign of things to come:
Armagon looks a *lot* like the bio-mechanical nightmares in Quake II...makes me wonder if Hypnotic/Ritual had any inside info on the upcoming Quake II when they were making SoA. Then again, I also wonder if id, perhaps, used Armagon as a model for some of the enemies they put into Q2...