Even with other competing shooters like Descent and Duke Nukem 3D around in the mid-90's, Quake lives up to its name: it truly "Quakes" the competition with its fast, non-stop action and excellent level design. Duke Nukem 3D may have had a fully interactive environment, but nothing could match Quake's lightning-fast and tremendously entertaining action. Weapons consist of standard-issued stuff (axe, shotgun, rocket launcher) and innovative weapons for the time, like a nailgun, grenade launcher, and thunderbolt gun (which you shouldn't even think about shooting underwater!) In an attempt to speed up the pace, there aren't any reloading times, and switching from weapon to weapon is very quick.
Along with the gameplay, the graphics are also Quake's biggest strength. Unlike Doom or Duke Nukem 3D, Quake uses a true-3D graphics engine to create detailed and believable environments. Gone are the choppy animations of enemies and their flat-looking appearances. As in Duke Nukem 3D, you can also swim underwater. All of this at a super-smooth frame rate! (At least, if you have a Pentium or higher processor.) In 1996, once I played Quake, I was fighting the urge not to play anything else. If you're looking for a solid piece of nostalgia to play, then this is exactly what you're looking for. It's a classic.