I actually ended up really enjoying my run through the Reckoning, up until the laser-sniper infantry coupled with gladiators in The Hangars convinced me I didn't have the patience to continue on without save-scumming anymore.
Anyway speaking of the infantry, I was glad to encounter 3 new types. My favorite enemies to duke it out with in shooters have low HP, are deployed in numbers, and can each pose a problem to your survival if left unattended. Likely why I enjoy EDF so much. The Reckoning has lots of intense firefights scattered throughout with a slightly increased level of overall challenge that the maincampaign arguably could have benefited from.

Better than the 2 official Quake 1 mission packs, and maybe slightly better than Dimensions of the Past. The spongy enemies are only annoying in the last unit, and they're more fun to fight than the hordes of Death Knights in that mission pack. Only thing I really disliked was that sometimes you'd see items where you'd have to rocket jump to get, and some of them randomly would have invisible walls stopping you from jumping up. Recycling bosses was kind of whatever too, but at least you can horde power ups to deal with it quick. Maybe a little too long, but overall had fun with it.

I won't lie this is definitely me when I make an expansion that is fucking insane. Gotta be real each mission being upwards to an hour long and not getting the Super Shotty until near the end of the second or so mission will make you feel a fear and anxiety the base game could only imagine. Also the enemies are much harder with much nastier placement at points. The new weapons rule too big fan of the Ion Ripper. Any vidya gun whose gimmick is the shots bounce off the walls and go around causing damage is enough to bump anything way the fuck up in terms of dopeness. Phalanx is sick too absolute lifesaver in latter areas. Also it may be Stockholm Syndrome talking but the Railgun felt much better in this than the base game.

All in all sicko mode expansion. Doesn't do anything new for Quake 2, but that's alright cause it instead gives Quake 2 a much more aggressive and violent pacing that feels more in line with the first game and its expansions. Damn solid video game.

Played this as part of the new Quake 2 Remaster. I only ever played the base game in the past so this was new content for me. It was an okay expansion overall but it follows crappy DLC design 101 which is throw as many enemies at the player as possible and give them bugger all ammo to deal with them. Like even in the basic grunts have decked out weapons and can kill you in seconds. It does add some new weapons which is cool like the Phalanx and the Ionripper which are fun to use. The final boss is recycled from the base game though which I found to be a litte lazy. Overall, decent if you want more of Quake 2.

All DLC I have Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-dlcs-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/

A decent expansion to the original Quake II that is significantly harder than the original, and nowhere near as good. Added hitscan enemies were not appreciated and the new weapons were fairly lackluster and/or gimmicky; the trap however, it always hilarious.

I enjoyed some of the new setpieces which were extremely atmospheric, esp the first Operation, however later on the enemies become far more numerous and it becomes a bit of a slog, but still recommended if you're hungering for more Quake II.

"A Fun Expansion, But One That Changes Little"

(Playtime not recorded through Steam, but took around 5-6 hours with quake2xp mod)

The Reckoning had so much more potential to improve upon the Quake II formula. New weapons, new enemies, and a new objective - all wasted on very boring environments. I wasn't too much of a fan of the base game's level designs, so I was hoping for a little more in terms of variety in this level pack. Sadly, the only new things provided were a handful of new weapons, some of which were cool to use, and others which felt supremely underpowered.

The new laser rifle packs a punch, although it pales in comparison to the original laser cannon. Additionally, the dual rocket launcher is a massive disappointment, with its damage output being very low on many of the game's tougher enemies.

While the new enemies were interesting to fight, they felt like bullet sponges by the final levels. Either the weapons were too weak, or these enemies could have used a lowering for their health pool, but I was not enjoying the final few levels for this expansion.

The soundtrack is pretty good too, if only sounding a bit generic for "metal". I felt the music in Quake was more distinctive and supported the title more, although this one is easier to listen to outside of the game.

I still think the core experience of Quake II is here, albeit with some flaws. In a way, it feels like more was added to the game, but it resulted in less at the end. I can still Recommend this to fans of the series, old-school FPS games, and pretty difficult games where it feels like the enemy has the edge on the player, not the other way around!

Final Verdict: 6/10 (Above Average)

Plays to the weaknesses of Quake II.

Has a ridiculous amount of terribly placed monster closets, focuses heavily on the most bullet spongey enemies and adds new ones on top of that. Elevators that cannot be called up top so you have to take falling damage. Minimal amount of supplies to take care of the amount of enemies the game throws at you.

Basically, all things the original game did, but elevated and multiplied.

This is fine. Better than either of the original Quake 1 expansions, I think. Not too surprising that Xatrix is the only one of these Quake 1/2 expansion devs to go on to anything particularly notable afterwards (not counting MachineGames, obviously).

I liked the new weapons in this one a lot, particularly the Phalanx. The maps are a bit of a mixed bag, some really good, some really bad (particularly the lazy final map that recycles the Makron boss fight from the base game but set in a much worse arena). The new enemies aren't anything special, and there are way too many enemy encounters that involve you getting ambushed from behind by an enemy that was hiding behind a secret door. But overall I had an OK time playing through this.

DOOMATHON entry #10/20
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/

If not for my commitment to playing (almost) as much official content as possible for this marathon and the compass making backtracking a breeze in Nightdive's remaster, I probably would have skipped out on replaying Quake 2's mission packs. Even I hardly remembered them, so it's no wonder that they're largely forgotten by the wider id fandom. However, I ended up coming out of this replay really enjoying what The Reckoning brings to the table. For better and for worse, it's more Quake 2, expanding upon some of its strengths while exacerbating some of its weaknesses.

What these levels do best is offer a more varied and comprehensive depiction of Stroggos that, while sticking closely to the established aesthetic, is definitely more interesting to explore. The first unit offers a glimpse of the wildlife that's nowhere to be seen in the base game, and the moon base finale offers the most creative setpiece in any of the classic Quake 2 content. The Ion Ripper and Phalanx are fun new weapons as well, feeling right at home with the game's heavier gunplay despite being derivative in their functionality.

Where The Reckoning falters is with its new enemies and its pacing; this campaign did not need to add tankier versions of the base game's most dangerous enemies, and it did not need to be quite as long as it is. Trimming down the middle units that are pretty much directly recycled from the base game's level themes and placing greater emphasis on the more original ideas probably would have made this a stronger campaign overall, but even as it stands, I was not expecting it to be as solid as it is.

It must be noted that my stronger impression of this replay was likely colored by the many balancing tweaks present in the remaster. Although I haven't looked into the exact nature of the changes, simply knowing that they touched up even the largely forgotten expansions while still including the original versions (at least on PC) demonstrates Nightdive's commitment to offering the best possible versions of classic shooters. I suppose that Quake 2 is the only id game that has received such tweaks in a modern port doesn't speak well of its quality, but it's not as though the foundation was anywhere near unfixable. If you were turned off by the original version of The Reckoning, it may be worth giving it another shot in remaster.

Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1755430428104851927

Quake II is already not a very interesting game. Call of the Machine fixed that with inventive and varied levels that even incorporated some elements from the first Quake, and plenty of powerful guns, ammo, and health boosts immediately available at the start of each level, which you’ll need when you’re suddenly thrust into a room full of forty baddies at once.

The Reckoning has corridors, and uh, plenty of shells for your base shotgun.

(I’m being told that Quake II: The Reckoning is my 666th review. It sure felt like it)

Awful. Not even the remaster's rebalancing could save this one. I'm baffled anyone even calls this good because this quite literally has some of the worst level and encounter design I've ever seen in an official id software campaign/expansion.

Do you like base shotgunning bulletsponge enemies that take 5 SHOTS EACH to kill? Because the first unit of this campaign has you do it again. and again. and again. You don't even get the SSG until halfway through the third unit, and you're almost done with the campaign by that point. This campaign too is so stingy with powerups and ammo it's not even funny.

New weapons are also flat out useless and become redundant quick. The Ion Ripper becomes useless the moment you find the Hyperblaster again, The Phalanx is a worse rocket launcher that you'll only use once or twice before the final boss when you just run out of rockets, and the traps are just there.

If you're gonna play this for the remaster achievements, either play on easy or do this in Coop with a friend or two. Other then that, stay FAR away from this one. Never touching this again.

Thanks to the Quake II remaster, I played the Reckoning for the first time, and I quite enjoyed it.
It doesn't offer anything really crazy - it's pretty much the same as the base game. But I like the level design approach, which gives a more realistic and immersive dimension to the environments than Quake II in some aspects. From what I understand, the same team will later make Return to Castle Wolfenstein, one of my favorite retro FPS, which may explain why I like the feeling of those levels.

The expansion also offers some nice new weapons (including a trap that turns enemies into meat cubes that act as heals, which is a lot of fun to use). There are also some new enemies, but it's a shame that most of them are just new skins of the original game's enemies.

In terms of the atmosphere, it's a mixed bag. The nature levels are almost reminiscent of Turok, which is refreshingly different from the base game. The section on the moon base is also well done. It's a level in space that actually feels like Quake II (unlike Quake II 64, which is also set in space but is so colorful that it no longer feels like Quake at all).
On the other hand, there are lots of levels in sewers and box-filled warehouses, which is a shame.

All in all, this is a substantial and enjoyable expansion that I'd recommend.

PS: also as a fun fact, this was apparently one of the first games Viktor Antonov, the art director of Half-Life 2 and Dishonored, worked on.

It is very difficult to actually give this a score, it is a mixed bag of things. This addon was made by Xatrix. Already not "Redneck Rampage" Xatrix, but not yet RTCW Xatrix. Not too long, it is a decent size for expansion, and in general in terms of level design and gameplay it only a little bit below Quake 2. On one hand, it was made after, there a number of places where I liked detail and ideas a bit more than in original, on other hand, it rawer and less professional than id did it. The same goes with new enemy types, which are "same dudes but with new texture and more powerful". They are more powerful indeed, add-on is noticeably harder than the original game. Also, new weapons look a bit off with their much more high res textures. Overall, will be pretty decent experience for Quake II fans, just be prepared for some S-E-W-E-R level experience!