Quake II

As the title says, this is Quake 2... if you feel it needs a review about 26 years since first launched then I doubt that anything I, or anyone else, would have to say wouldn't be enough to sway you one way or another. With the new Enhanced update, the game is better than ever. There's plenty of content for first-time players and veterans alike, and the gameplay is as snappy and responsive as ever. Hard to not recommend. Run. Gun. Solve extremely basic puzzles. Find the next switch. Move on. Not that hard, but dressed in a pretty coat of pain that handles modern PCs wonderfully. Also, there's the N64 version of the game bundled in. For a couple hours of fun, I think it's worth the download.

Finally Quake 2 is remastered for modern PCs. I'm actually playing it on an M1 Mac using Crossover. It runs flawlessly. But the remaster does come with a few annoying problems that I think the dev need to address. First off most of the elevators are semi-broken in the game. They just don't trigger when you stand on it, and they immediately trigger as soon as you step off, if you don't run back to it fast enough, a fall damage is ensured (for elevators that go down). Than the player shadow. It's quite annoying cause you don't see your own body in old FPS games, so seeing a dynamic shadow of yourself is quite jarring. I tried turning off dynamic shadow in the menu. It had absolutely zero effect. Then comes the problem with the berserker enemy. It's always been the scariest enemy for me, now it even has a jump move which is impossible to predict and to dodge. I mean, why? The last problem comes with its CRT mode. While it's definitely a welcomed feature, there is no way to adjust the CRT'ed resolution. I'm playing it on the Studio display which has 5k resolution, and the pixels of the CRT mode are so big they are laughable. I know the 5k monitor is capable of much higher CRT resolution but there is no way to change it.

I played ‘Quake II’ when it first came out and loved it. It was one of the games that converted me from adventure games to first-person shooters. Although its predecessor, ‘Quake’, is generally held in higher esteem by many people, it never appealed to me since I’m not a fan of gothic horror. On the other hand, the sci-fi theme of ‘Quake II’ was just up my alley. There was no subtlety in ‘Quake II’, or many FPS of that era for that matter. Stealth? Silent kills? Regenerating health? No such things! Shadows were your enemy, not your friend. It was all about in-your-face action, blowing up your enemies with all the firepower you can unleash. All those shades of brown, gray and red/orange showed this game was gritty and meant business! Single player campaign story hardly mattered in ‘Quake II’ despite the developers intending to make a more story-driven game. It was simply going from A to B, and completing objectives, with no real drama to keep you engaged. No, ‘Quake II’ was all about the multiplayer matches. This game was the last game that I dedicated my time to playing multiplayer online. Some of my fondest memories of the late 1990s was playing ‘Quake II’ Deathmatch and CTF at LAN parties. In between, I’d log into a couple of trusted dedicated servers over the phone line to play with strangers. If the phone line was busy, I’d play with (third-party) bots, which were a real innovation back then. I still remember playing the game with no 3D accelerated graphics, which actually gave me an edge in multiplayer. Since my PC couldn’t render any lighting, I could see and kill all my enemies who were hiding in “shadows”. Good times. ‘Quake II: Quad Damage’ is a loaded package, containing all 3 official expansion packs, Eraser Bots, and the CD soundtrack. While it may seem simple by today’s standards, it’s really worth checking out this influential multiplayer FPS. For older players like me, it’s great game package to add to your online/digital game collection.

There is not much to be said about Quake 2, it is an all-time classic among FPS. A clear development from the first game with a more fleshed out story and levels that are not abstract labyrinths, but more realistic. But they can still be tricky to navigate, the newly added compass that shows the way to the next goal is really helpful, as is the wheel for items, similar to a weapon wheel on console fps. The two official Addons The Reckoning and Ground Zero as well as a port of the Levels of Quake64 into the engine are included, which offer more, solid gameplay. The Addons add some new enemies, but most of them are just variants of already known foes. The new weapons also don't do anything groundbreaking. All are also relatively short with about 2-4 hours of gameplay (beaten on normal difficulty) The graphics seem similar, although many of the assets (like textures and models) have gotten some work, but I can only see the differences in side-by-side comparisons. They aren't many and if, they can be subtle to spot. Music and Sound stay the same. Another addition is the Archives, which include goodies like concept art or models from the game to view. Also, some early versions of the game, that were demoed at tradeshows are available to play, showcasing the rapid progress during the game’s development. Nothing that is an absolute must-have, but pretty neat. The clear highlight of this release is the new "Call of the Machine" episode. It consists of six mini episodes and a final boss fight; the structure reminds me more of the first game of the series. The environments range from the known futuristic styles of the base game to some very different. All the levels are well designed, I rarely needed the compass for orientation. There are no new weapons or enemies, but the developers take advantage of everything developed for the older addons. Overall, while I think the other addons can be skipped, this is must-play for fans.

It's got music, its got visuals, its got a compass. The helpful compass points the way so you won't get lost hopefully. That was in my opinion the biggest problem with this game, which might be why it took me 20 years to finally finish it. It's fun, challenging, and gets better the further in to it you get.