There have been some who read PCMech that would like to shoot me in the face.

Well, you may get your chance.

Last week on PCMech LIVE, the subject turned to gaming and I said I wanted to give PCMech readers an option to play a game with a real live PCMech author, that being yours truly.

The problem has been that people have different computers that use different operating systems, and it was really difficult trying to find something fun that everybody could play no matter what they used. In addition, I wanted something that was attractive to old and new gamers that was easy to play and be fun at the same time.

Someone (and I’m so sorry but I can’t remember the guy’s user name – forgive me) in chat recommended I check out QUAKE LIVE.

Some of you just read that and thought, "You mean that QUAKE? The one that was so frickin’ cool and super-awesome back in the day?" Yes, that QUAKE.

For those that have no idea what QUAKE is, it was one of the first FPSes (first person shooter) that really made a splash in multiplayer 3D environment PC gaming. This is what LAN parties were made of. It was the successor to DOOM and filled those shoes very well.

Here’s what makes QUAKE LIVE amazingly cool:

First, it’s all in-browser. It runs in Windows, Mac or Linux. All that’s required is a simple plugin download along with registering a free account.

Second, it’s free.

Third, and what I consider to be the best part, it’s stupidly easy to play. The strategy is simple. Join a game and shoot everybody. Pick up ammo and weapons that are in spots around the arena and just keep blasting away. Whoever score the most kills/frags wins. It’s as simple as that.

For the older gamers:

This is QUAKE pretty much exactly as you remember it. You may think in-browser 3D games suck, but with QUAKE it is so, so smooth. Add in the fact that it’s all multi-player’d extreme with ladder rankings and so on, and you’ll quickly see that yes, this is quite an awesome port.

For the newer gamers:

For an in-browser 3D FPS, you’ll be impressed by it. No, it doesn’t have the super-awesome realistic nature of games on XBOX or PS3, but the fact it doesn’t cost you anything and it’s so easy makes it really cool. Trust me, this is no Runescape. This is a true FPS in every sense of the term. And it’s fast. Really fast.

For those who have never played QUAKE:

QUAKE LIVE does have a training mode, and a darn good one at that. If you’ve never played the game, or haven’t played it in years, don’t worry. You’ll get in the swing of things fast n’ easy with this. It follows the same WASD (up, left, down, right) that so many other FPSes use, so it won’t be anything that’s totally unfamiliar.

Quick note before continuing: Yes, it does have a full screen mode.

Is this something you think you’d be interested in?

I’ve been trying for a while to find a game everybody could get into. QUAKE LIVE is looking pretty good right now. It is OS-independent, browser-independent and should run on just about any computer. It’s easy to use, easy to play and has all the right stuff.

If this is something you think sounds good – or not – let me know.

Also be sure to join PCMech LIVE Wednesdays 8pm-10pm EST. I’ll be happy to field questions about it there as well.

If enough of you want to get in the game, you’ll get the chance to shoot me in the face with a rocket launcher. Virtually, of course.