STORY

Through several centuries and four epic wars, the Vadrigar had tried and failed time after time. Invasion after invasion failed, army after army crumbled, and warrior after warrior fell... often at the hands of a mere mortal. Their only solace has been to steal the warriors that have defeated them to fight within the Arenas Eternal.

Quake, master of the Arenas and one of the high members of the Vadrigar, had had enough. He intended to take over the Earth Realm once and for all... even if he had to do it himself.

And so, the pieces began to fall into place. While humanity evolved, free from the threat of outside invasion, Quake laid plans to invade Earth from within.

There was one person who stood in the way of Quake's rule on Earth. The Zen monk, Xaero, had noticed the changes in the universe that signaled Quake's arrival. Working quickly, he rushed to the source of Quake's arrival. With no other means to stop Quake, he did the only thing he could; he forced Quake to manifest himself inside of Xaero's own body.

Quake was outraged by Xaero's intrusion on his plans. Unable to free himself, he brought Xaero and himself back into the Arenas. Now trapped within Xaero's soul, Quake awaits Xaero's defeat at the hands of one of the Arena's warriors, so he may return to his rightful place as ruler of the Arena.

Xaero, meanwhile, merely awaits his just defeat in order to bring his own soul to peace.


CHARACTERS

Iconic Character:
Visor - An enigma of Earth's history. Visor was the initial prototype of a new breed of cybronic warriors constructed by Earth megacorporations. No one knows where Visor, Gorre, or the other cybrons came from. If Visor knows, he doesn't seem to be telling.

Other Characters Include:
Anarki
Hunter
Lucy
Orbb
Slash
Sorlag
Xaero

WEAPONS

Gauntlet - part chainsaw, part glove, part tazer. On all accounts, nothing you want to be on the receiving side of.

Machinegun - the spawning weapon. Arena Gladiators used to be able to get a frag or two with these... it remains to be seen if they're worth their weight against the other Generations.

Shotgun - forget two types of shotguns; Gladiators need only one. More than enough power to kill, but only at close range.

Grenade Launcher - bounce grenades around corners, down stairs, and into any opponents you can find.

Rocket Launcher - a little bit of the best of all Rocket Launchers before it.

Lightning Gun - static electricity taken three steps too far. The Arena masters managed to create an electric weapon that doesn't short-circuit in water.

Railgun - point, shoot, kill. A little faster than the Strogg railgun, but not quite as damaging.

Plasma Gun - a great way to give your opponents the "blueball" treatment.

Q3BFG - This weapon was given an upgrade recently with a brand new effect. The Vadrigar noted the other BFG's took a bit more skill to use, and had much more spectacular results. The older one was faster than rockets, stronger than plasma. It was certainly a "big gun", but many people questioned the "F".


ARMOR

Arena Gladiators feature the same armor system present in Quake3. Red armor adds +100 protection, Yellow armor adds +50, and green shards add +5 each. The maximum armor, no matter what is collected, is 200. Arena armor absorbs 66% (two-thirds) of all incoming damage. Arena armor is the only one that rots; players lose 1 point of armor per second until they reach 100 armor.


STRATEGY

The Arena Gladiators, by their very nature, remain largely unchanged from their original combat plans. They do need to realize, however, that they have very different competition out there.

The Strogg and Earth factions are slower, while Doom and Slipgate are faster. Earth can deliver devastating power up close, Strogg is troublesome from a distance, and Doom and Slipgate dominate the midfield. There are now flamethrowers, nailguns, gatling guns, chainsaws, and much more to deal with.

By refusing to change, the Arena Gladiators have established their role as the middle ground. Their lack of specialization suits them to the player who doesn't strategize; rather, for someone who just wants to get their fragging on.