The major "Quake" machinima review sites of the day rated "Operation Bayshield" highly. In a short review, Stephen Lum of The Cineplex gave the work a 9.5 out of 10 and called it "one of the best and funniest Quake Movies ever made"; he saw inconsistent camera manipulation as the only flaw. Rating the film 100% out of 100%, Roger Matthews of the Quake Movie Library pointed to humorous parts of the work in his synopsis, and thought that the last scene was nonsensical. Paul Coates of Psyk's Popcorn Jungle, who gave "Operation Bayshield" a 10 out of 10 rating and awarded it a Golden Popcorn award, considered the work "very polished" and the most technologically advanced "Quake" machinima film until "Blahbalicious". He praised the humor, but said that repeated viewings weakened its effect. According to Paul Marino, executive director of the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences, "Operation Bayshield" received enough attention from the video gaming industry to help to advance Mustaine's career. id Software employee American McGee praised it in his .plan file.