Played the remastered version on Steam Deck, so I'm sure the N64 version has awful controls, as is tradition for console FPS at the time.
The short, concise mission structure makes this much more streamlined than the PC version, though it was overall very, very short (about 1.5-2 hours I reckon). Solid game, not great.
The short, concise mission structure makes this much more streamlined than the PC version, though it was overall very, very short (about 1.5-2 hours I reckon). Solid game, not great.
Enjoyable experience with an ACTUAL final level. Really like the little level transitions and the mission thing is cool too. Adds some immersion. Weapons are solid, and I like the visuals a lot.
DOOMATHON entry #12/20
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
An interestingly oddity that's thankfully been preserved for a modern audience in Nightdive's remaster, even having the honor of being listed among Quake 2's other campaigns despite being a markedly different experience. This port sits somewhere between Doom 64 and my understanding of the PS1 port of Doom; all of the content here is exclusive to this version, but it's also a conversion at its core rather than an outright new game.
Due to hardware limitations, this campaign consists entirely of brief, disconnected levels that are much more linear than anything that's come before in this marathon and sometimes even feature distinctive gimmicks seen nowhere else in Quake 2, such as icy surfaces. The bite-sized nature of these levels prevents most of them from being as memorable as the mazes of Quake 2's predecessors despite keeping the pace brisk for the entirety of its mere two-hour duration.
The heavy use of colored lighting along with the N64's characteristic texture filtering give this port a much appreciated distinctly vibrant look, while Aubrey Hodges's dark ambient soundtrack frankly feels misplaced here. A new soundtrack certainly wasn't a bad call given that I so heavily associate Sonic Mayhem's rip-roaring metal tunes with the overwhelming brown industrial aesthetic of the original game; this version, however, simply doesn't have a strong enough identity to warrant such a radically different soundscape. Doom 64's aesthetic works because every aspect of the game works in tandem to instill a sense of dread, while Quake 2 64 is still ostensibly more Quake 2. Given the length, there's really no reason at all to pass this up as opposed to the overlong mission packs, even if I don't think it's as cohesive as it could have been.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1755533823021101231
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
An interestingly oddity that's thankfully been preserved for a modern audience in Nightdive's remaster, even having the honor of being listed among Quake 2's other campaigns despite being a markedly different experience. This port sits somewhere between Doom 64 and my understanding of the PS1 port of Doom; all of the content here is exclusive to this version, but it's also a conversion at its core rather than an outright new game.
Due to hardware limitations, this campaign consists entirely of brief, disconnected levels that are much more linear than anything that's come before in this marathon and sometimes even feature distinctive gimmicks seen nowhere else in Quake 2, such as icy surfaces. The bite-sized nature of these levels prevents most of them from being as memorable as the mazes of Quake 2's predecessors despite keeping the pace brisk for the entirety of its mere two-hour duration.
The heavy use of colored lighting along with the N64's characteristic texture filtering give this port a much appreciated distinctly vibrant look, while Aubrey Hodges's dark ambient soundtrack frankly feels misplaced here. A new soundtrack certainly wasn't a bad call given that I so heavily associate Sonic Mayhem's rip-roaring metal tunes with the overwhelming brown industrial aesthetic of the original game; this version, however, simply doesn't have a strong enough identity to warrant such a radically different soundscape. Doom 64's aesthetic works because every aspect of the game works in tandem to instill a sense of dread, while Quake 2 64 is still ostensibly more Quake 2. Given the length, there's really no reason at all to pass this up as opposed to the overlong mission packs, even if I don't think it's as cohesive as it could have been.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1755533823021101231
Basically Doom 64 for Quake 2. Nothing terrible, but also nothing crazy or special like Call of the Machine. Expected since it's a game from 1999 that has to run on the N64 and the latter is an expansion made with 26 extra years of advancement in video game development. What you get is nice though. Short and brisk. Not a fan of some of the very Dissolution of Eternity type stuff where enemies are just dumped at you in tight spaces, but it's not unmanageable.
It's not as good as the original, but the Nintendo 64 version of Quake II is challenging and refreshingly linear. I played it via the Nightdive remaster of Quake II, which is excellent—par for the course for Nightdive.
I didn't realise barely anyone's rated or reviewed this so now I feel bad for rating it low when I don't really like Quake 2 anyway :)
The N64 vibe's cool. Got this weird space-y feeling with its colour palette of deep purples and greens which kind of clashes with Quake 2's aesthetic but in this vaguelly nostalgic way that makes it kind of endearing.
I just don't really like Quake 2's combat. Enemies take a lot of hits without having designs that feel like they warrant it and so I just find it kind of sluggish (but end up forgetting this and coming back to it for a bit before rememberring). The quirks of this version are cool but they're not enough to distract me from the combat and the lack of music (or at least odd placement of it) only brings more attention to it.
don't read this though, there's another review below which probably wasn't written by an insane person that plays alternate versions to games they don't like
The N64 vibe's cool. Got this weird space-y feeling with its colour palette of deep purples and greens which kind of clashes with Quake 2's aesthetic but in this vaguelly nostalgic way that makes it kind of endearing.
I just don't really like Quake 2's combat. Enemies take a lot of hits without having designs that feel like they warrant it and so I just find it kind of sluggish (but end up forgetting this and coming back to it for a bit before rememberring). The quirks of this version are cool but they're not enough to distract me from the combat and the lack of music (or at least odd placement of it) only brings more attention to it.
don't read this though, there's another review below which probably wasn't written by an insane person that plays alternate versions to games they don't like
Suffers from a less engaging OST much like Doom 64. Solid shooting action with some enjoyably nasty encounters regardless. I never got past level 5 on 64 before the ND remaster. It was nice to finally revisit the dimly recalled first chapter of the game after all these years.
Played this in the Quake 2 remaster. Honestly just a really fun and breezy time, well worth playing if you want a little more Quake 2.
Very Quirky version of Quake 2, basically being its own game or, I guess a side-story to the main game?
Level design is more similar to Doom or other N64 shooters, small closed off levels with limited objectives as opposed to the main Quake 2's sprawling levels.
It's honestly pretty fun for what it is, especially now that you can play through it the Quake 2 Remaster! I don't see why you shouldn't give it a quake romp.
Level design is more similar to Doom or other N64 shooters, small closed off levels with limited objectives as opposed to the main Quake 2's sprawling levels.
It's honestly pretty fun for what it is, especially now that you can play through it the Quake 2 Remaster! I don't see why you shouldn't give it a quake romp.
I never played the N64 version of Quake II when I owned the console. I hadn't realized how different it was from the PC version of Quake II. The levels are mostly unique, and some are reasonably challenging. Nightdive strived to retain the N64 quality textures, a nice touch. It's short and sweet—a new set of levels that doesn't rock the boat.
Played like 3/4 of it on console but ended up getting too frustrated at controls so I finished it on PC remaster. It's pretty decent, though feels more like an expansion pack with how short it is. MP is fun too. Quite hard on N64, though that's definitely part controls part not being able to save.
A much much shorter but I'd say streamlined version of the game. While not beating out the PC original, the gunplay still feels good and the level design at time works even better due to the changes with the mission system making the levels shorter and cutting anything unnecessary. Undoubtedly too much is cut, and the atmosphere of much of the design is lost due to the different colouring and graphical changes making it a clearly worse version of the game, but it's still really good fun and a different shorter experience that stands on its own