This is a good old school first person shooter. I just finished the Quake 2 main campaign for the first time and overall liked it. The navigation help they added in this version is something that prevented unnecessary backtracking for me. Without it, I see why one would criticize the level design. The game sometimes reminded me a bit of Metroid Prime 1, I wonder if this was kind of an inspiration for the Metroid Prime devs back then. All in all an enjoyable game for anyone that likes boomer shooters, but not a must play.
This is like if they took quake 1 and removed the fun parts.
O que fizeram com Quake 2 é uma palhaçada, tudo que o jogo tinha foi piorado ao extremo
Buttery smooth and fun shooting, level design leaves a bit to be desired. Simple but propelling musical score
FPS
(Star rating is for Call of the Machine; the base game would likely be a 1.5 or a 2)
To this day, I think Doom 1 and 2 are the only truly great games out of id's 90s output (in singleplayer at least; I've heard the Quake games are far better in multiplayer but I can neither confirm nor deny this myself). Wolfenstein 3D and Quake 1 were likely great games upon release (I wasn't alive so I can't really say for sure) and in retrospect they're still technical achievements for the time, but they're also...dated in the present day, for lack of a better term. Wolfenstein is too rudimentary to be anything but a curiosity, and Quake is a drab game that botches the basics of FPS mechanic design. Doom 1 and 2 are polished, imaginative, and frenetic, if imperfect; even when modern boomer shooter designers take influence from other classics, it often feels like the energy they take to their games' pacing is derived from the primordial cultural concept of Doom, and this isn't to mention the thousands of Doom WADs that build upon its structure more directly. Doom is the sort of masterpiece that comes once in a century; to expect id to make a worthy followup to it within the decade would be foolish.
Quake 2 isn't a worthy successor to Doom, but it fills its place in id's legacy well enough. Infamously, it isn't really a successor to Quake either, though I'm apathetic enough towards Quake 1 to not really care. Quake 2 does utterly trounce Quake 1 in terms of mechanical design (having guns and movement that feel good does a lot) and it's a forward-thinking game for 1997; the interconnected levels and objective-based progression prefigure Half-Life from the next year, but the game avoids the more tedious and naturalistic design choices from Valve's seminal title in favor of a more "boomer" arcade sensibility...well, in most regards at least.
Unfortunately, Quake 2 is also a very toothless game, especially compared to the ball-busting difficulty of Doom 2 and Quake 1. The game floods you with resources, and while some of the enemies are kinda annoying, every encounter is pretty easy to cheese. The game introduces an inventory system (which goes against everything Doom and Quake 1 stood for but I digress) but none of the combat-related items are particularly helpful other than for speeding up the process of shredding through enemies like a knife through warm butter, and I forgot they were even there for most of my playthrough. It's a shame, because the game really could've been good; the gunplay and movement is genuinely excellent, and despite my more Luddite views on first-person shooter design I can't deny the possibilities that the engine brings to mapping. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Nearly 26 years later, though, Quake 2 did finally reach its potential. With the 2023 remaster came Call of the Machine, developed by MachineGames, and with it I think Quake 2 has finally become an excellent game. While it still doesn't have the elegance or expandability of Doom, it is a mechanically solid game that finally has the confidence to use every mechanic to its fullest and to give the player a meaty, but fair challenge. Elements of crowd control and resource management that felt underutilized in the original campaign are brought into sharp relief, and the maps transport you to their locations in a way that the main game never did. If I could nitpick, I do think this campaign is a bit stingy with health and armor pickups, and the encounter design forcing players into large open spaces makes the grenades feel almost useless. The campaign is also fairly meaty, but it's difficult to shake off the feeling of "wait, was that it?" at the end. You can select areas non-linearly, but the final level unlocked after finishing the first six is just a final boss; it doesn't feel like the difficulty ramps up or the game remixes elements you saw earlier. You just fight a boss and it's over. CotM is meant to be an extra itself, so I can understand it not having a full game arc, but it all just comes across as kind of underwhelming. Regardless, it's excellent, and I think it's worth the price of admission alone.
The remaster also includes both original expansion packs and the unique campaign from the Nintendo 64 version; for people who want more of a Quake 2 fix, these will suffice nicely, but I wasn't too interested in them. From what I played of the first expansion and the N64 campaign, they hew fairly closely to the original game's design philosophy without being as bold as CotM, so if you want to play all the remaster's content, I'd recommend saving CotM for last.
Now, when's the Quake 3 remaster coming?
To this day, I think Doom 1 and 2 are the only truly great games out of id's 90s output (in singleplayer at least; I've heard the Quake games are far better in multiplayer but I can neither confirm nor deny this myself). Wolfenstein 3D and Quake 1 were likely great games upon release (I wasn't alive so I can't really say for sure) and in retrospect they're still technical achievements for the time, but they're also...dated in the present day, for lack of a better term. Wolfenstein is too rudimentary to be anything but a curiosity, and Quake is a drab game that botches the basics of FPS mechanic design. Doom 1 and 2 are polished, imaginative, and frenetic, if imperfect; even when modern boomer shooter designers take influence from other classics, it often feels like the energy they take to their games' pacing is derived from the primordial cultural concept of Doom, and this isn't to mention the thousands of Doom WADs that build upon its structure more directly. Doom is the sort of masterpiece that comes once in a century; to expect id to make a worthy followup to it within the decade would be foolish.
Quake 2 isn't a worthy successor to Doom, but it fills its place in id's legacy well enough. Infamously, it isn't really a successor to Quake either, though I'm apathetic enough towards Quake 1 to not really care. Quake 2 does utterly trounce Quake 1 in terms of mechanical design (having guns and movement that feel good does a lot) and it's a forward-thinking game for 1997; the interconnected levels and objective-based progression prefigure Half-Life from the next year, but the game avoids the more tedious and naturalistic design choices from Valve's seminal title in favor of a more "boomer" arcade sensibility...well, in most regards at least.
Unfortunately, Quake 2 is also a very toothless game, especially compared to the ball-busting difficulty of Doom 2 and Quake 1. The game floods you with resources, and while some of the enemies are kinda annoying, every encounter is pretty easy to cheese. The game introduces an inventory system (which goes against everything Doom and Quake 1 stood for but I digress) but none of the combat-related items are particularly helpful other than for speeding up the process of shredding through enemies like a knife through warm butter, and I forgot they were even there for most of my playthrough. It's a shame, because the game really could've been good; the gunplay and movement is genuinely excellent, and despite my more Luddite views on first-person shooter design I can't deny the possibilities that the engine brings to mapping. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.
Nearly 26 years later, though, Quake 2 did finally reach its potential. With the 2023 remaster came Call of the Machine, developed by MachineGames, and with it I think Quake 2 has finally become an excellent game. While it still doesn't have the elegance or expandability of Doom, it is a mechanically solid game that finally has the confidence to use every mechanic to its fullest and to give the player a meaty, but fair challenge. Elements of crowd control and resource management that felt underutilized in the original campaign are brought into sharp relief, and the maps transport you to their locations in a way that the main game never did. If I could nitpick, I do think this campaign is a bit stingy with health and armor pickups, and the encounter design forcing players into large open spaces makes the grenades feel almost useless. The campaign is also fairly meaty, but it's difficult to shake off the feeling of "wait, was that it?" at the end. You can select areas non-linearly, but the final level unlocked after finishing the first six is just a final boss; it doesn't feel like the difficulty ramps up or the game remixes elements you saw earlier. You just fight a boss and it's over. CotM is meant to be an extra itself, so I can understand it not having a full game arc, but it all just comes across as kind of underwhelming. Regardless, it's excellent, and I think it's worth the price of admission alone.
The remaster also includes both original expansion packs and the unique campaign from the Nintendo 64 version; for people who want more of a Quake 2 fix, these will suffice nicely, but I wasn't too interested in them. From what I played of the first expansion and the N64 campaign, they hew fairly closely to the original game's design philosophy without being as bold as CotM, so if you want to play all the remaster's content, I'd recommend saving CotM for last.
Now, when's the Quake 3 remaster coming?
Quake 2 is ahead of its time in a lot of the things it does but mostly lacks fun or interesting gameplay, paired with a level design that leaves you confused. This remaster thankfully added a pathmarker along other quality of life improvements, as well as collecting all expansions, the Nintendo 64 game, and a whole new expansion.
I love what this game does with its enemies in terms of animations, especially how some models change the more they're damaged and how a lot of enemies will shoot some final shots before dying, which you can also stop by shooting them again. Things that you don't even see often today. The enemies itself however are simple and dull. And the most confusing thing is still that some of their enemies go heavily underused. I forgot this game had medics and some very similar enemy type until they were heavily used in Call Of The Machine. You will mostly fight food soldiers, the annoying simple flying guys and those overall guys who have a machine gun, a grenade launcher and are very mobile. It still strikes me as odd, as the fact the grenade launcher guy from Quake 1 being slow was the very intentional design to counter balance his grenade launcher and chainsaw, and it's not like Quake 2 is a more mobile or fast-paced game.
The main game was alright though too long, the original expansions were worse, the 64 game was I'd say better than the original and especially had a nice length, and Call Of The Machine is the best.
A bit unfair, as this not only has 25 years of hindsight but also the modern technology. Resulting in the most visually striking, mechanically complex and best designed levels. While there are still quite a lot of games, including Quake 1, I would replay first. Although, the episode "Deepest Depths" was a standout in how great it was. Most visually beautiful, tightest designed and with a really cool surprise at the end.
I love what this game does with its enemies in terms of animations, especially how some models change the more they're damaged and how a lot of enemies will shoot some final shots before dying, which you can also stop by shooting them again. Things that you don't even see often today. The enemies itself however are simple and dull. And the most confusing thing is still that some of their enemies go heavily underused. I forgot this game had medics and some very similar enemy type until they were heavily used in Call Of The Machine. You will mostly fight food soldiers, the annoying simple flying guys and those overall guys who have a machine gun, a grenade launcher and are very mobile. It still strikes me as odd, as the fact the grenade launcher guy from Quake 1 being slow was the very intentional design to counter balance his grenade launcher and chainsaw, and it's not like Quake 2 is a more mobile or fast-paced game.
The main game was alright though too long, the original expansions were worse, the 64 game was I'd say better than the original and especially had a nice length, and Call Of The Machine is the best.
A bit unfair, as this not only has 25 years of hindsight but also the modern technology. Resulting in the most visually striking, mechanically complex and best designed levels. While there are still quite a lot of games, including Quake 1, I would replay first. Although, the episode "Deepest Depths" was a standout in how great it was. Most visually beautiful, tightest designed and with a really cool surprise at the end.
Un gran remaster que, con las concesiones a ideas de diseño actuales que ayudan a que se juegue mejor, permite que se pueda disfrutar incluso más a día de hoy. El lavado de cara gráfico, muy bueno a la vez que muy respetuoso con el original, ayuda.
~FPS retrospective 11~
As fast and frantic as the first but the game misses the mark the first game had. It kind of drags on toward the end, level design is cool though because its kind of like all connected maps that flow seamlessly with backtracking to other maps in the level which was a first for the genre and is really creative but i think its the reason we have 30 minute levels. Also the enemies are such pain in the asses, its fun for a while until you get to the later levels. The game looks nice too i love how colorful it is compared to the browness of the first game. But what this game ultimately feels like is the start of the downfall of id software.
As fast and frantic as the first but the game misses the mark the first game had. It kind of drags on toward the end, level design is cool though because its kind of like all connected maps that flow seamlessly with backtracking to other maps in the level which was a first for the genre and is really creative but i think its the reason we have 30 minute levels. Also the enemies are such pain in the asses, its fun for a while until you get to the later levels. The game looks nice too i love how colorful it is compared to the browness of the first game. But what this game ultimately feels like is the start of the downfall of id software.
I had never actually played the PC Quake II campaign until now, and was impressed to learn that id had tried to string together the levels into a sort of persistent space per-chapter. This structure alone causes the game to stand out amongst its genre kindred.
Another immediate point of appraisal is how enemies here are just so reactive. Feeling far more responsive in the midst of a firefight than many target dummies that would come to populate shooters in the following years. While Quake II might not have the same brooding atmosphere as its predecessor, it certainly makes up for it in cranking the frenetic shooting action up a notch. The Strogg duck out of the way now and then, and will fire off parting blasts occasionally if they aren't gibbed by extreme damage. I was frankly shocked the first time I saw it happen and found myself wishing I could think of another frenetic FPS with such extra flourishes to the gunplay included. Besides Halo's Covenant and their high degree of reactivity, FPS enemies tend not to respond dynamically in my experience. A pity really.
While not a continuation of the much beloved aesthetic of the original Quake, this sequel still showcases id's ambitions to push game production forward with new techniques and technology. It also showcases a stronger sense of environmental storytelling which id games only had as the faintest hint by which to give context to the shooting action previously.
Perhaps this is down to the remaster juicing up the enemies after all these years, but I found my time in Quake II to be just as enjoyable if not moreso than in Quake I.
Another immediate point of appraisal is how enemies here are just so reactive. Feeling far more responsive in the midst of a firefight than many target dummies that would come to populate shooters in the following years. While Quake II might not have the same brooding atmosphere as its predecessor, it certainly makes up for it in cranking the frenetic shooting action up a notch. The Strogg duck out of the way now and then, and will fire off parting blasts occasionally if they aren't gibbed by extreme damage. I was frankly shocked the first time I saw it happen and found myself wishing I could think of another frenetic FPS with such extra flourishes to the gunplay included. Besides Halo's Covenant and their high degree of reactivity, FPS enemies tend not to respond dynamically in my experience. A pity really.
While not a continuation of the much beloved aesthetic of the original Quake, this sequel still showcases id's ambitions to push game production forward with new techniques and technology. It also showcases a stronger sense of environmental storytelling which id games only had as the faintest hint by which to give context to the shooting action previously.
Perhaps this is down to the remaster juicing up the enemies after all these years, but I found my time in Quake II to be just as enjoyable if not moreso than in Quake I.
This is the first game that I've ever beaten that hasn't been released in this millennium. Been wanting to play something from the past so I could finally say I've played some of the classics. And Quake II is absolutely a bonified classic, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Shout out to Nightdive for the modernizations they've added to the game, as I doubt I would have been compelled to play through the entire game if not for hitmarkers, the weapon wheel, and the compass to show me around. These additions allowed me to fall in love with the chunky gunplay, dynamic enemies, and twisted-level design.
There's barely a story to latch onto, but that doesn't matter when shooting dudes and finding secrets is so much fun. The game feels simple, but that's to be expected from a 1997 game. But the art design of the enemies and the brutal environments are enough to carry me through the game.
I still want to go back and play some of the DLC and use some of those dope-looking new weapons, but this game is just so one note that it can be easy to get tired of it after only a few hours. But it was fun to go back and see some of the origins of the genre I love so much.
Hope I can get around to more older games in the future!
Shout out to Nightdive for the modernizations they've added to the game, as I doubt I would have been compelled to play through the entire game if not for hitmarkers, the weapon wheel, and the compass to show me around. These additions allowed me to fall in love with the chunky gunplay, dynamic enemies, and twisted-level design.
There's barely a story to latch onto, but that doesn't matter when shooting dudes and finding secrets is so much fun. The game feels simple, but that's to be expected from a 1997 game. But the art design of the enemies and the brutal environments are enough to carry me through the game.
I still want to go back and play some of the DLC and use some of those dope-looking new weapons, but this game is just so one note that it can be easy to get tired of it after only a few hours. But it was fun to go back and see some of the origins of the genre I love so much.
Hope I can get around to more older games in the future!
The Remaster makes the base game look a ton less drab, still lacks soul compared to Quake 1
Es una poronga comparado al QUAKE original..
It's not as well-regarded as Quake, and it's not as pure fun as Quake 3 Arena, but Quake 2 is the one that I spent many afternoons as a kid playing. Now granted, that was the Playstation version which is a little different to the PC version, which is what is remastered here.
It's just as fast and frantic as you'd like from a "boomer shooter", with a nice range of satisfying weapons and enemy types to blast them with. The environments are pretty bland, as much as Nightdive Studios has spruced them up, and the map design can often be confusing as to where exactly you have to go next, especially in the later levels. Luckily there's a handy little "compass" feature to point you in the right direction.
A solid shooter experience that doesn't outstay it's welcome.
It's just as fast and frantic as you'd like from a "boomer shooter", with a nice range of satisfying weapons and enemy types to blast them with. The environments are pretty bland, as much as Nightdive Studios has spruced them up, and the map design can often be confusing as to where exactly you have to go next, especially in the later levels. Luckily there's a handy little "compass" feature to point you in the right direction.
A solid shooter experience that doesn't outstay it's welcome.
This was a nice surprise; From my memory, playing Quake 2 at 12 years old was the disappointing sequel following Quake in 1997. It was the first game I played that had somewhat of a narrative, along with missions that was not just, find the red key, open the red door, advance, rinse, wash repeat. There was a ton of backtracking but the maps were super confusing. The remaster adds a welcomed compass to the HUD that helps players navigate the confusing landscape.
The HD remaster does not add much in terms of aesthetics to the maps. They are still boring, unimaginative and tedious, especially when you play through the Ground Zero or Reckoning campaigns. The new campaign “Call of the Machine” is definitely worth checking out and works similar to how the Quake remaster added in their new campaign and adds in the new modern flavor of map design. It also throws a ton more enemies at you than what was possible back in the 90s. Quake is MUCH longer than this remaster however.
The HD remaster does not add much in terms of aesthetics to the maps. They are still boring, unimaginative and tedious, especially when you play through the Ground Zero or Reckoning campaigns. The new campaign “Call of the Machine” is definitely worth checking out and works similar to how the Quake remaster added in their new campaign and adds in the new modern flavor of map design. It also throws a ton more enemies at you than what was possible back in the 90s. Quake is MUCH longer than this remaster however.
Quake 1 is the SM64 of the FPS genre, the level designers were terrible, but the guys working on the core gameplay loop accidentally created perfection with the perfect stew of talent mixed with creativity. (as well as dumb luck just finding the right shit to stick)
Part of that creativity is people like John Romero and John Carmack.
You take the Carmack away from Romero, you get a game with an idea, but a team that's too slow and uncreative, which is Daikatana.
You take the Romero away from Carmack, and you get a game that's just a scientifically calculated game-shaped grey slop, that's Quake 2.
Yeah, sure, having more standard hitscan weapons, having less frustrating major enemies, having a more grounded style, not having powerups be automatically consumed, having more realistic air control and having easier to find secrets sounds better for the average player... but you're left with a game that's just empty.
The roster of enemies is just dull, the weapon pool is generic, the AI has like 2 modes, either run directly towards you or run in your general direction then hit-scan, and it's just draining, sometimes they shoot a few shots directly in-front of them after dying for some reason?
No idea who thought making the pistol a slow annoying projectile was a good idea, makes the first impressions of the game egregious until you get the shotgun, and then you get to bask in how disgustingly ugly all the weapon models are, just a bunch of AI generated weapon blobs, at the very least they kept the weapons shooting straight.
Remember how Quake's rocket jumping was like, the best thing to ever happen to movement in FPS games? Yeah, you can only do that in straight lines now because your air control is nonexistent.
This game wasn't intended to have, and really does NOT deserve the name of Quake, this feels like a crumby shooter you'd see a large publisher shit out in response to a game as groundbreaking as Quake 1, just go play one of many great Quake mod packs instead of this insult to rocket jumping.
Part of that creativity is people like John Romero and John Carmack.
You take the Carmack away from Romero, you get a game with an idea, but a team that's too slow and uncreative, which is Daikatana.
You take the Romero away from Carmack, and you get a game that's just a scientifically calculated game-shaped grey slop, that's Quake 2.
Yeah, sure, having more standard hitscan weapons, having less frustrating major enemies, having a more grounded style, not having powerups be automatically consumed, having more realistic air control and having easier to find secrets sounds better for the average player... but you're left with a game that's just empty.
The roster of enemies is just dull, the weapon pool is generic, the AI has like 2 modes, either run directly towards you or run in your general direction then hit-scan, and it's just draining, sometimes they shoot a few shots directly in-front of them after dying for some reason?
No idea who thought making the pistol a slow annoying projectile was a good idea, makes the first impressions of the game egregious until you get the shotgun, and then you get to bask in how disgustingly ugly all the weapon models are, just a bunch of AI generated weapon blobs, at the very least they kept the weapons shooting straight.
Remember how Quake's rocket jumping was like, the best thing to ever happen to movement in FPS games? Yeah, you can only do that in straight lines now because your air control is nonexistent.
This game wasn't intended to have, and really does NOT deserve the name of Quake, this feels like a crumby shooter you'd see a large publisher shit out in response to a game as groundbreaking as Quake 1, just go play one of many great Quake mod packs instead of this insult to rocket jumping.
I never got the chance to touch this game because of its archaic steam port or the emulation needed to fix the original
But of course NightDive in all there glory gave this game the shine it needed and it became one of my favorites of 2023
A solid weapon roster, fun enemies to fight and a god tier soundtrack to go with it
Ive got a huge soft spot for this game
But of course NightDive in all there glory gave this game the shine it needed and it became one of my favorites of 2023
A solid weapon roster, fun enemies to fight and a god tier soundtrack to go with it
Ive got a huge soft spot for this game
went into this completely blind; didn't even know it wasn't a quake sequel. also tried the original version first, which definitely made for rough initial impact
quake ii kicks off in a way that i can lightly describe as "complete dog shit". for some ungodly reason, Club Carmack decided it'd be a nice idea to start players off with the worst pistol and shotgun combo known to mankind (even complete without muzzle flash if the og release is your preference). the fun doesn't stop not starting there, though, because then you pick up the grenades and boy oh boy - my personal favorite aspect about them is how they take 35 years to throw, which makes them only remotely viable either around corners or as a tool to very slowly kill yourself with
it was during the entirety of this first level that i thought to myself, "why does this suck so much fucking dick? who enjoys this? can john carmack really be trusted to call steve jobs an idiot for designing a mouse with one button when he actually thinks quake ii is fun?" then i got the one-two punch: the super shotgun and the chaingun
suddenly - enemies died from being shot. i no longer needed to constantly pop from cover to reliably fight hitscan baddies spongier than those seen in 'chasm: the rift' (which, ironically, is a quake clone). things only went up from here - especially in level 3 where the 90 or so grenades i'd been eagerly not using were finally given purpose via a launcher that didn't have 600 frames of startup. i'd say this is when the game really begins
...and barring the last stage - which definitely gets to a point of feeling sluggish due to its over-eagerness in spamming the most aggravatingly tanky two-legged enemy in the game - it doesn't let up. every later earned weapon (that isn't the rocket launcher) continues to feel pretty fantastic. the BFG in particular took me by surprise with its insane splash and chain damaging. you can fire this thing at one enemy and it'll clear out an entire fucking room. it's awesome and thanks to it using the same ammo as the standard laser rifle, there's no shortage of opportunities to let it loose
i'm not much for movement tech in my fps, but the levels here were designed in ways where i was pretty eager to push myself even on that front. lotsa opportunity to master bunnyhopping and circle jumping. i even skipped some chunks of levels with a few well-placed rocket jumps. fun stuff and it made me just a little more interested in giving quake 3 another shot
sonically and atmospherically, everything's obviously downgraded from q1 due to the lack of trent reznor (note: "HUH" is still intact (phew)) but the sonic mayhem soundtrack isn't totally unwelcome. i'll certainly take a competent albeit standard metal ost over the mick gordon-branded djent slop that this genre is so overly saturated with now
i've yet to play any expansions, but i did try a smidge of the n64 stages and found them to be really charming. kinda surreal to see a take of this game with so much color in it. definitely gonna get back to that, but for now i think i'm just gonna go straight for quake 4
quake ii kicks off in a way that i can lightly describe as "complete dog shit". for some ungodly reason, Club Carmack decided it'd be a nice idea to start players off with the worst pistol and shotgun combo known to mankind (even complete without muzzle flash if the og release is your preference). the fun doesn't stop not starting there, though, because then you pick up the grenades and boy oh boy - my personal favorite aspect about them is how they take 35 years to throw, which makes them only remotely viable either around corners or as a tool to very slowly kill yourself with
it was during the entirety of this first level that i thought to myself, "why does this suck so much fucking dick? who enjoys this? can john carmack really be trusted to call steve jobs an idiot for designing a mouse with one button when he actually thinks quake ii is fun?" then i got the one-two punch: the super shotgun and the chaingun
suddenly - enemies died from being shot. i no longer needed to constantly pop from cover to reliably fight hitscan baddies spongier than those seen in 'chasm: the rift' (which, ironically, is a quake clone). things only went up from here - especially in level 3 where the 90 or so grenades i'd been eagerly not using were finally given purpose via a launcher that didn't have 600 frames of startup. i'd say this is when the game really begins
...and barring the last stage - which definitely gets to a point of feeling sluggish due to its over-eagerness in spamming the most aggravatingly tanky two-legged enemy in the game - it doesn't let up. every later earned weapon (that isn't the rocket launcher) continues to feel pretty fantastic. the BFG in particular took me by surprise with its insane splash and chain damaging. you can fire this thing at one enemy and it'll clear out an entire fucking room. it's awesome and thanks to it using the same ammo as the standard laser rifle, there's no shortage of opportunities to let it loose
i'm not much for movement tech in my fps, but the levels here were designed in ways where i was pretty eager to push myself even on that front. lotsa opportunity to master bunnyhopping and circle jumping. i even skipped some chunks of levels with a few well-placed rocket jumps. fun stuff and it made me just a little more interested in giving quake 3 another shot
sonically and atmospherically, everything's obviously downgraded from q1 due to the lack of trent reznor (note: "HUH" is still intact (phew)) but the sonic mayhem soundtrack isn't totally unwelcome. i'll certainly take a competent albeit standard metal ost over the mick gordon-branded djent slop that this genre is so overly saturated with now
i've yet to play any expansions, but i did try a smidge of the n64 stages and found them to be really charming. kinda surreal to see a take of this game with so much color in it. definitely gonna get back to that, but for now i think i'm just gonna go straight for quake 4
The first Quake is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, but the second one is very alright. I absolutely hated this game at first, mostly because the starting weapons are complete trash, but it started to grow on me as I progressed. Then it sort of fizzled out toward the end. I like the idea of the unit-based level design, and some of the maps are a lot of fun, but it occasionally brings with it some annoying backtracking that really kills the game's flow. The enemies are pretty bland and spongey as well, and while the later weapons are far better than what are maybe the weakest pistol and shotgun in video game history, they never come close to matching the satisfying arsenals in either Quake or Doom. Now that I've finished it, I don't feel as strongly opposed to this game as I did at first, but unlike its predecessors, it didn't leave me wanting more. I'm sure I'll give the expansions a shot at some point, but right now I feel like I've had my fill.
I don't know. I've never liked the campaign of this game. Felt really bland.
fun fact: Joe Rogan once spent 10 grand to get fast internet to play this game as best as possible.
Classic 90s FPS action with some blemishes that has new life breathed into it by its 2023 remaster.
Playing Quake 2 immediately after Quake 1 makes the differences easily apparent. Besides the obvious setting change, the game play mechanics are more refined, levels are more advanced, open ended, and are divided into units allowing traversal between them. Additionally, Quake 2 does try to string together some semblance of a story through actual mission objectives albeit this is mostly just to facilitate the gameplay.
The weapon selection is generally stronger here over its predecessor, though the absence of the lightning gun is unfortunate. The machine gun and chain gun are more interesting to use over the nailguns and the railgun and BFG are welcome additions to the roster. Power ups return with the added bonus of being useable when you choose rather than as soon as you pick up, at the drawback of being more scarce.
The biggest issue Quake 2 has is that the levels tend to blend together. The sci-fi setting on display here tends to be less interesting than the gothic horror of the original and this is exacerbated by the lack of creativity in the levels. Quake 2's level design has a consistent level of quality throughout the campaign that doesn't really have any major lows, but also never really impresses. It's just fine, good even. This is more apparent after witnessing some of the more interesting missions offered in the expansions.
The cybernetic Strogg replace the demonic and otherwordly enemies of Quake 1. Overall there's a larger enemy variety in Quake 2 over its predecessor, though whether their designs are more or less interesting is up to debate. Quake 2 does massively improve on the first game, by having actual boss fights, especially in the expansions. These, while mostly still simple, are more interesting than those encountered in Quake 1.
The Reckoning expansion is mostly more of the same though it does add some new weapons and enemy types. The levels feel likes remixes of the base game's with the exception of the final stages that involve stowing away on a ship and culminating on the moon.
Ground Zero also doesn't deviate too much from the original game's theming while also adding a new selection of enemies and weapons. It does, however, significantly ramp up the difficult, almost too much so. The mines and hangars are the stand out levels here.
Included with the remaster is the N64 port of Quake 2. This is a simplified version of Quake 2 with shorter, less complicated levels, and some gameplay features absent such as crouching. Despite this, the quicker campaign was quite enjoyable. The level theming is much less grimy and industrial than the original, instead incorporating a cleaner, sleeker theme. After so many similar levels in the base game and first 2 expansions, this was a nice change of scenery.
Finally, the 2023 remaster includes an all new campaign, Call of the Machine. Featuring 6 level sets and a final boss fight, this is Quake 2 pushes to its fullest potential. Levels here sport a much wider variety of scenery, are more complex, and very challenging with a large number of boss fights. Nightdive did a fantastic job with this campaign. It was the highlight of the remaster for me.
Multiplayer is of course, a staple of the Quake franchise though the online servers don't have much of a community from what I could see. It was a titan back in the day, but you can still have a good deal of fun playing offline with bots. It's a shame that CTF doesn't work with bots though.
If you liked Quake, or liked old school shooters in general, the Quake 2 remaster has dozens of hours of content on offer. It has some issues with a somewhat generic theme and "safe" level design but that's not enough to detract from how polished and tight the gameplay is. A must play for any boomer shooter fan.
Playing Quake 2 immediately after Quake 1 makes the differences easily apparent. Besides the obvious setting change, the game play mechanics are more refined, levels are more advanced, open ended, and are divided into units allowing traversal between them. Additionally, Quake 2 does try to string together some semblance of a story through actual mission objectives albeit this is mostly just to facilitate the gameplay.
The weapon selection is generally stronger here over its predecessor, though the absence of the lightning gun is unfortunate. The machine gun and chain gun are more interesting to use over the nailguns and the railgun and BFG are welcome additions to the roster. Power ups return with the added bonus of being useable when you choose rather than as soon as you pick up, at the drawback of being more scarce.
The biggest issue Quake 2 has is that the levels tend to blend together. The sci-fi setting on display here tends to be less interesting than the gothic horror of the original and this is exacerbated by the lack of creativity in the levels. Quake 2's level design has a consistent level of quality throughout the campaign that doesn't really have any major lows, but also never really impresses. It's just fine, good even. This is more apparent after witnessing some of the more interesting missions offered in the expansions.
The cybernetic Strogg replace the demonic and otherwordly enemies of Quake 1. Overall there's a larger enemy variety in Quake 2 over its predecessor, though whether their designs are more or less interesting is up to debate. Quake 2 does massively improve on the first game, by having actual boss fights, especially in the expansions. These, while mostly still simple, are more interesting than those encountered in Quake 1.
The Reckoning expansion is mostly more of the same though it does add some new weapons and enemy types. The levels feel likes remixes of the base game's with the exception of the final stages that involve stowing away on a ship and culminating on the moon.
Ground Zero also doesn't deviate too much from the original game's theming while also adding a new selection of enemies and weapons. It does, however, significantly ramp up the difficult, almost too much so. The mines and hangars are the stand out levels here.
Included with the remaster is the N64 port of Quake 2. This is a simplified version of Quake 2 with shorter, less complicated levels, and some gameplay features absent such as crouching. Despite this, the quicker campaign was quite enjoyable. The level theming is much less grimy and industrial than the original, instead incorporating a cleaner, sleeker theme. After so many similar levels in the base game and first 2 expansions, this was a nice change of scenery.
Finally, the 2023 remaster includes an all new campaign, Call of the Machine. Featuring 6 level sets and a final boss fight, this is Quake 2 pushes to its fullest potential. Levels here sport a much wider variety of scenery, are more complex, and very challenging with a large number of boss fights. Nightdive did a fantastic job with this campaign. It was the highlight of the remaster for me.
Multiplayer is of course, a staple of the Quake franchise though the online servers don't have much of a community from what I could see. It was a titan back in the day, but you can still have a good deal of fun playing offline with bots. It's a shame that CTF doesn't work with bots though.
If you liked Quake, or liked old school shooters in general, the Quake 2 remaster has dozens of hours of content on offer. It has some issues with a somewhat generic theme and "safe" level design but that's not enough to detract from how polished and tight the gameplay is. A must play for any boomer shooter fan.
Grandisimo juego, sobretodo teniendo en cuenta la época.
Played this for about 70 minutes but there's only so many brown warehouse rooms filled with boxes that I can take. I completed the remaster of the original game last year, having never played it before, and I think that was enough for me to get what these games are about, so I'm happy to leave this. There are other more modern boomer shooters I'd rather play, or I could just run through Doom 2016 again to get my fill of high-speed FPS action. Next!
Quake 2 is superior to first game in one thing - there is a gun with infinite ammo at the start. Aside from that this bigger, grander sequel not only feels completely detached from what Q1 was aesthetically but also gampeplay-vise. It feels less arcade and more methodical with still great fast-paced combat but there is a significantly different touch to it. Similarly with levels as they become interconnected and more objective focused with more bland visuals of intustrial-military complex on Mars-like planet. Q2 feels like an band that after their hit first DIY album was signed to major label and executives decided to tone this shit down. Still enjoyable game but I missed the old Quake.
Feels more like a fps with the quake iconography slapped on top. It plays well at least
I could only play this game after the 2023 remaster. Always got lost in the original
I like 64 more.
DOOMATHON entry #9/20
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
Quake 2 is a very interesting piece of history - it continued id's trailblazing streak by being the first FPS that I know of to have a cohesive narrative and world, one in which every level is connected and gives clear context - but it lives in the shadow of both its more atmospheric predecessor from the year prior and Half-Life from the year to follow, a game whose commitment to naturalism and narrative design arguably outshines its gunplay.
The same cannot be said of Quake 2, which stands out almost entirely because of its damn solid shooting. Approaching this replay with the knowledge that it was a sequel in name only upon its release, I was able to better appreciate its specific brand of gameplay while still admiring iteration of the mechanics that allow it to still feel like Quake from moment to moment, something that will be relevant later in this marathon.
Although the overwhelmingly gray/brown interiors and orange skies of the Strogg homeworld blend together more than the mazes of any previous id game and make the backtracking between loading areas feel more protracted than it is in actuality (the bizarre decision to pause the soundtrack upon the completion of an objective also contributes to this), the level design is commendable for being the studio's first deviation from the classic formula. There's a stronger emphasis on rooms that are specifically designed for large combat encounters, and it allows the weapons and enemy behaviors to really shine. There's some redundancy in the weapon selection here, particularly with the hyperblaster feeling more like a variation of the chaingun than an adaptation of Doom's plasma rifle as it was clearly intended to be, but the weapons are perhaps the best feeling of any in this marathon so far. The super shotgun in particular is an absolute joy to use, especially with how it allows you to get an up-close look at the modular damage inflicted upon enemies and the increased frequency of gibs compared to its predecessor.
The previous game's effortlessly smooth movement is entirely maintained here as far as I can tell, allowing full 3D combat to be pushed farther than the before. The final few levels are relentless without relying too heavily on tankier enemies and will most likely remain one of the best stretches of shooting in this marathon despite being capped off by an unsurprisingly underwhelming boss. Quake 2 doesn't have as strong of an artistic identity as its predecessor, but it's not without reason that it would define the franchise going forward - it's a really fun shooter at the end of the day, one that stands the test of time even if it left less of a mark on history.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://x.com/mariofan717/status/1755166386064900368
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
Quake 2 is a very interesting piece of history - it continued id's trailblazing streak by being the first FPS that I know of to have a cohesive narrative and world, one in which every level is connected and gives clear context - but it lives in the shadow of both its more atmospheric predecessor from the year prior and Half-Life from the year to follow, a game whose commitment to naturalism and narrative design arguably outshines its gunplay.
The same cannot be said of Quake 2, which stands out almost entirely because of its damn solid shooting. Approaching this replay with the knowledge that it was a sequel in name only upon its release, I was able to better appreciate its specific brand of gameplay while still admiring iteration of the mechanics that allow it to still feel like Quake from moment to moment, something that will be relevant later in this marathon.
Although the overwhelmingly gray/brown interiors and orange skies of the Strogg homeworld blend together more than the mazes of any previous id game and make the backtracking between loading areas feel more protracted than it is in actuality (the bizarre decision to pause the soundtrack upon the completion of an objective also contributes to this), the level design is commendable for being the studio's first deviation from the classic formula. There's a stronger emphasis on rooms that are specifically designed for large combat encounters, and it allows the weapons and enemy behaviors to really shine. There's some redundancy in the weapon selection here, particularly with the hyperblaster feeling more like a variation of the chaingun than an adaptation of Doom's plasma rifle as it was clearly intended to be, but the weapons are perhaps the best feeling of any in this marathon so far. The super shotgun in particular is an absolute joy to use, especially with how it allows you to get an up-close look at the modular damage inflicted upon enemies and the increased frequency of gibs compared to its predecessor.
The previous game's effortlessly smooth movement is entirely maintained here as far as I can tell, allowing full 3D combat to be pushed farther than the before. The final few levels are relentless without relying too heavily on tankier enemies and will most likely remain one of the best stretches of shooting in this marathon despite being capped off by an unsurprisingly underwhelming boss. Quake 2 doesn't have as strong of an artistic identity as its predecessor, but it's not without reason that it would define the franchise going forward - it's a really fun shooter at the end of the day, one that stands the test of time even if it left less of a mark on history.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://x.com/mariofan717/status/1755166386064900368
I never liked Quake 2 much before this remaster came out. The changes to the enemy AI really liven this game up and I'm very glad to see it.