It might polarize some purists with the drastic changes to enemy behavior and balancing, but personally I feel that it and the compass fix Quake II's biggest flaws (being too easy and having tedious exploration at points) and breathe new life into the game that'll be very welcoming to newcomers and veterans that wish the game would be more challenging alike. The new expansion content, ported N64/PS1 content, crossplatform multiplayer, and other bells and whistles are also excellent. Definitely give this one a look even if you didn't care much for Quake II the first time you played it.
no es tan bueno como el 1 (ya de base el setting y atmosfera molan mucho menos) pero hace algunas cosillas guapas con lo de que los niveles esten interconectados y el port esta hecho de super puta madre
los ultimos niveles se los podian haber metido por el culo con tantas esponjas de balas tambien te digo
los ultimos niveles se los podian haber metido por el culo con tantas esponjas de balas tambien te digo
Quake 1 has it beat with more interesting atmosphere and enemy design (eldritch stuff is definitely way more interesting than another sci-fi alien war), but this is still a fun and satisfying campaign to run through. Feels a bit on the easy side but I loved the level design, the optional compass tool is a nice feature, and the gunplay feels great.
Lo bueno de este remaster:
- Opciones de accesibilidad.
- Mejores gráficos, apartado visual y modelados, además de opciones para configurar los efectos visuales a tu gusto.
- Cinemáticas muy bien rehechas.
- Cambiar de una arma a otra es mucho más rápido y es algo que mejora la fluidez del juego.
- La IA de los enemigos ha sido mejorada considerablemente, de manera que algunos enemigos ahora dan más reto que antes.
- El uso de objetos es considerablemente mejor al poder pulsar Q y seleccionar con el mouse el deseado en lugar de tener que asignar una tecla específica del teclado para cada uno de ellos, aunque tiene un 'pero' del que hablaré más adelante.
- Poder jugar al juego base, todas sus expansiones (la de Call of the Machine es nueva) y la aventura de Nintendo 64, la cual es atroz (a mi parecer) en su sistema original tanto por sus controles, texturas emborronadas, problemas de rendimiento y animaciones pobres.
Lo no tan bueno:
- La brújula. Es una herramienta que facilita en gran medida la navegación al jugador, ahorrándole el esfuerzo de tener que observar y memorizar los mapeados a recorrer para orientarse por sí mismo (aunque su uso sea opcional es algo que está ahí).
- Que tanto para ver los objetivos de misión como para seleccionar objetos y armas, el tiempo se ralentice. Esta es otra característica a favor del jugador que va en contra del frenetismo de la saga Quake al dar demasiado margen para tomar decisiones en mitad de la acción, y, como resultado, termina disminuyendo bastante la tensión. Aún así, sigue siendo posible cambiar de arma rápidamente con los números del teclado o con la rueda del ratón.
- Ahora los power-ups (como los Quad Damage o la invulnerabilidad) son objetos que se pueden guardar para usarlos cuando uno quiera (excepto en la campaña de Nintendo 64). De esta manera, uno puede perfectamente reservar varios de ellos y usarlos a la vez contra los jefes más fuertes del juego para que acaben siendo derrotados patéticamente en cuestión de segundos.
- Poder guardar y cargar la partida siempre que uno quiera lastra bastante la experiencia, pues gracias a esta función permite que cada cosa que hagamos en los niveles sea prueba y error. Por ejemplo, si uno va en busca de secretos en zonas peligrosas (como fosas con ácido o lava), puede lanzarse a ellas y cargar la partida en caso de que al final no encuentre nada y haber perdido en vano un traje de protección.
En definitiva, aún con ciertas cualidades que considero negativas para la experiencia que trata de ofrecer, el remaster de Quake II es la mejor opción para jugar a este juego. Lo mejor de todo es que es una actualización gratuita si ya tenías comprado el original.
- Opciones de accesibilidad.
- Mejores gráficos, apartado visual y modelados, además de opciones para configurar los efectos visuales a tu gusto.
- Cinemáticas muy bien rehechas.
- Cambiar de una arma a otra es mucho más rápido y es algo que mejora la fluidez del juego.
- La IA de los enemigos ha sido mejorada considerablemente, de manera que algunos enemigos ahora dan más reto que antes.
- El uso de objetos es considerablemente mejor al poder pulsar Q y seleccionar con el mouse el deseado en lugar de tener que asignar una tecla específica del teclado para cada uno de ellos, aunque tiene un 'pero' del que hablaré más adelante.
- Poder jugar al juego base, todas sus expansiones (la de Call of the Machine es nueva) y la aventura de Nintendo 64, la cual es atroz (a mi parecer) en su sistema original tanto por sus controles, texturas emborronadas, problemas de rendimiento y animaciones pobres.
Lo no tan bueno:
- La brújula. Es una herramienta que facilita en gran medida la navegación al jugador, ahorrándole el esfuerzo de tener que observar y memorizar los mapeados a recorrer para orientarse por sí mismo (aunque su uso sea opcional es algo que está ahí).
- Que tanto para ver los objetivos de misión como para seleccionar objetos y armas, el tiempo se ralentice. Esta es otra característica a favor del jugador que va en contra del frenetismo de la saga Quake al dar demasiado margen para tomar decisiones en mitad de la acción, y, como resultado, termina disminuyendo bastante la tensión. Aún así, sigue siendo posible cambiar de arma rápidamente con los números del teclado o con la rueda del ratón.
- Ahora los power-ups (como los Quad Damage o la invulnerabilidad) son objetos que se pueden guardar para usarlos cuando uno quiera (excepto en la campaña de Nintendo 64). De esta manera, uno puede perfectamente reservar varios de ellos y usarlos a la vez contra los jefes más fuertes del juego para que acaben siendo derrotados patéticamente en cuestión de segundos.
- Poder guardar y cargar la partida siempre que uno quiera lastra bastante la experiencia, pues gracias a esta función permite que cada cosa que hagamos en los niveles sea prueba y error. Por ejemplo, si uno va en busca de secretos en zonas peligrosas (como fosas con ácido o lava), puede lanzarse a ellas y cargar la partida en caso de que al final no encuentre nada y haber perdido en vano un traje de protección.
En definitiva, aún con ciertas cualidades que considero negativas para la experiencia que trata de ofrecer, el remaster de Quake II es la mejor opción para jugar a este juego. Lo mejor de todo es que es una actualización gratuita si ya tenías comprado el original.
This is how you do a remaster of an old title. Clean up the confusing bits, buff out the rough spots, and don't gut anything out in the process. Quake II is a fantastic game that only gets negativity for being a sequel to Quake while having nothing to do with Quake (This is legit because id software were thinking of a different title for the game at the time but couldn't think of one, so they just called it Quake II.) That does not take away from how damn good this game is, and how Nightdive have done far and beyond what a modern remaster is. $10 for a classic is an absolute steal.
Whilst not as groundbreaking as Quake, this is still a great old-school shooter. Quake II Remastered is easily the best way to play this classic. Tons of new content & QOL improvements.
I prefer the first Quake game to this one. However, as a remaster, this is probably THE best one I've ever seen.
For $10 (or free, if you already owned Quake II on Steam), you get the base game, as well as both of it's two expansions, all in widescreen with touched up textures that don't trample over the original game's art direction. In addition to that, you ALSO get the Quake II 64 campaign, as well as a brand new, extra difficult campaign by MachineGames.
You'd think it would stop there, but no. You ALSO have the "id Vault", which contains basically every little piece of development history you could think of, including tech demos from the mid 90s. Aaaaaaand in keeping with old id Software tradition, they released this remaster's source code on GitHub FOR FREE.
Seriously...how do you top this?
For $10 (or free, if you already owned Quake II on Steam), you get the base game, as well as both of it's two expansions, all in widescreen with touched up textures that don't trample over the original game's art direction. In addition to that, you ALSO get the Quake II 64 campaign, as well as a brand new, extra difficult campaign by MachineGames.
You'd think it would stop there, but no. You ALSO have the "id Vault", which contains basically every little piece of development history you could think of, including tech demos from the mid 90s. Aaaaaaand in keeping with old id Software tradition, they released this remaster's source code on GitHub FOR FREE.
Seriously...how do you top this?
New expansion Call of the Machine is so good maybe even better than the og campain
Un fps dove perdersi è l'ordine del giorno. Il che distrugge la frenesia che il primo quake aveva.
In questa remaster hanno pure aggiunto una bussola che ti guida verso il percorso, peccato che ho dovuto interrompere la mia partita perché punta un luogo dove non c'è niente.
Per quanto riguarda la remaster in sè, è tutto al top, inoltre la possibilità di giocare quake 2 per n64 è una delle cose più belle che si potessero mettere in una re-release.
In questa remaster hanno pure aggiunto una bussola che ti guida verso il percorso, peccato che ho dovuto interrompere la mia partita perché punta un luogo dove non c'è niente.
Per quanto riguarda la remaster in sè, è tutto al top, inoltre la possibilità di giocare quake 2 per n64 è una delle cose più belle che si potessero mettere in una re-release.
I should start by saying I have never played Quake II before and have no ties to that original release, so unfortunately much of the improvements or lack thereof are likely lost on me with this shiny new remaster from Nightdive.
I played and adored the remaster of Quake in 2021. A distinctly 90s package that managed to feel refreshing over 20 years later, offering an approach long abandoned by first person shooters. Now, 2 years later, Nightdive releases their overhaul of Quake II and it is magnificent. A more fast-paced, objective based run-and-gun that feels less scaffolded off it's predecessor and more like a new vision of Quake.
Gone are the dull-grey castle structures, knights in armor, Shamblers, and dark ambient tracks of NIN. There are minor 3D cutscenes and a narrative through-line as you blast your way across Strogg territory. It is up to you and you alone to strike at the heart of the alien enemy. The levels are more varied and larger, going between maps often to complete objectives. The levels transition between interiors and exteriors, always elegant and logical. I especially enjoyed the many skyboxes of the exterior environments. You will meet the sorry souls captured by the Strogg, watch them be decompressed or liquified by their machines. They cry with madness and pain until you either run past them or put them out of their misery. The narrative is simple and doesn't get in the way, but it makes you feel like you're fighting for something and that you've accomplished an important misson when reaching the finale.
The combat itself isn't all that different from Quake. You are given 8 different weapons ranging from your projectile-based pistol, to the BFG, and of course the super shotgun. The enemies are deadly, you can't stop moving or you're done for. I used the super shotty most of the time naturally, turning much of the enemies into bloody gibs every 1 to 3 shots. Some of the bigger bads can take up to 8 missiles. You'll do a lot of enemy managing, taking out the smaller targets first. Occasionally the enemies will friendly fire and they will turn on each other, giving you a temporary ally or distraction.
A fantastic game that looks incredible and has punchy, quick combat. The enemy designs are varied and nasty. All of the Strogg look like they need to be put in the dirt, miserable messes of flesh and steel. The Flyers in particular are an insane design. I can't wait to play all the other campaigns included, especially MachineGames inclusion CALL OF THE MACHINE. I loved their inclusion on the Quake remaster. They really push the engine into new and interesting territories, often appearing much more impressive than anything in the base game.
I played and adored the remaster of Quake in 2021. A distinctly 90s package that managed to feel refreshing over 20 years later, offering an approach long abandoned by first person shooters. Now, 2 years later, Nightdive releases their overhaul of Quake II and it is magnificent. A more fast-paced, objective based run-and-gun that feels less scaffolded off it's predecessor and more like a new vision of Quake.
Gone are the dull-grey castle structures, knights in armor, Shamblers, and dark ambient tracks of NIN. There are minor 3D cutscenes and a narrative through-line as you blast your way across Strogg territory. It is up to you and you alone to strike at the heart of the alien enemy. The levels are more varied and larger, going between maps often to complete objectives. The levels transition between interiors and exteriors, always elegant and logical. I especially enjoyed the many skyboxes of the exterior environments. You will meet the sorry souls captured by the Strogg, watch them be decompressed or liquified by their machines. They cry with madness and pain until you either run past them or put them out of their misery. The narrative is simple and doesn't get in the way, but it makes you feel like you're fighting for something and that you've accomplished an important misson when reaching the finale.
The combat itself isn't all that different from Quake. You are given 8 different weapons ranging from your projectile-based pistol, to the BFG, and of course the super shotgun. The enemies are deadly, you can't stop moving or you're done for. I used the super shotty most of the time naturally, turning much of the enemies into bloody gibs every 1 to 3 shots. Some of the bigger bads can take up to 8 missiles. You'll do a lot of enemy managing, taking out the smaller targets first. Occasionally the enemies will friendly fire and they will turn on each other, giving you a temporary ally or distraction.
A fantastic game that looks incredible and has punchy, quick combat. The enemy designs are varied and nasty. All of the Strogg look like they need to be put in the dirt, miserable messes of flesh and steel. The Flyers in particular are an insane design. I can't wait to play all the other campaigns included, especially MachineGames inclusion CALL OF THE MACHINE. I loved their inclusion on the Quake remaster. They really push the engine into new and interesting territories, often appearing much more impressive than anything in the base game.
Level designs make more sense, but not less impressive. Enemy A.I. is also impressive considering the technology devs had in 1997.
finished the base game but on to the DLC!, never got around to ever playing this gem but i'm glad i did with this updated version. i played games like DUSK, Ion Fury, ULTRAKILL and i felt right at home. these games did take inspiration from old school games like DOOM and Quake but having the chance to play a Quake game for myself, i can see it now and it genuinely aged so well. updated visuals, sounds and effects with QoL features? give this game a shot if you're like me!
I can’t believe this is “the bad one.”
The remaster definitely does a lot to streamline it with the compass, and elevate the gameplay with refined weapons and tightened a.i., but the core game here whips…
And then I played the new Call of the Machine expansion! Absolutely rocked my mind, it’s staggering how slick these levels are (thematically and gameplay wise) and pairing the new weapon drop system with more enemies than god has absolutely changed the way I’m using all my weapons. It’s almost like doom eternal the way I keep switching to the optimum weapon. I’ve only played one of these levels so far, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this campaign bumps it to a five stars by the time I’m done
The remaster definitely does a lot to streamline it with the compass, and elevate the gameplay with refined weapons and tightened a.i., but the core game here whips…
And then I played the new Call of the Machine expansion! Absolutely rocked my mind, it’s staggering how slick these levels are (thematically and gameplay wise) and pairing the new weapon drop system with more enemies than god has absolutely changed the way I’m using all my weapons. It’s almost like doom eternal the way I keep switching to the optimum weapon. I’ve only played one of these levels so far, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this campaign bumps it to a five stars by the time I’m done
Feels amazing to play, the weapon variety is fantastic and they all feel great to use (I wasn't even only using the super shotgun as usual) and the remake does so much to streamline everything to make it very accessible today. One of the best older FPSs I've ever played
Difficulty changes were great, but Hard mode is still not as hard as it should be. Should've played onh Nightmare probably.
in the grim dark future of 2023, the target audience for pc games is tech illiterate unmodded switch owners
Прошел обновленную версию с кайфом за вечером, а также версию с ps1 и n64, которая шла в паке. Не знаю почему, но всё прошел на геймпаде.
Не повторяйте моих ошибок.
Могу отметить, что новшеств здесь весьма много. Начнем с того, что некоторые противники получили новые навыки и были обновлены некоторые у старых. Один чел с гранатомётом и пилой вместо руки теперь может прыгать, а механическая собака теперь может застрять языком в стене. Враги в целом стали более агрессивнее и даже пытаются менять позиции. Хотя все равно остаются такими же балбесами, как и раньше.
Баланс и поведение оружие также поменяли, чему я не сильно рад. К примеру автомат теперь стреляет вообще без отдачи, хотя для своего времени это была уникальная фишка. Пулемет почему-то продолжает стрелять некоторое время, даже если перестал нажимать кнопку для огня. Лазерная пушка вообще теперь стоит на небольшом кулдауне , после прекращения огня. Возможно в оригинале было точно также, но я в него играл очень давно, поэтому не могу сказать наверняка.
Также добавили компас, который буквально служит как GPS навигатор, лол. Если раньше не могли осилить игру из-за хитровыебанных уровней, то можете попыть удачу с этой штукой.
Отдельно хочу отметить то, что колесо для выбора оружия, во время игры на геймпаде, немного неотзывчивое. Были моменты, когда я четко выбирал одно оружие, а герой достовал совершенно другое. Такое было нечасто, от очень бесило.
Короче, обновили игру, слегка поменяли баланс и добавили ко всему прочему вырезанный контент и переработали некоторые идеи. Мне грех жаловаться, ведь обновленную версию я получил на халяву лол.
Кстати, если вы из России или Белорусии и у вас есть оригинальный Quake 2 в Стим, то обновленная версия вам также достанется просто так. За это отдельный респект, но только наполовину, потому что Quake 2 в этих странах не купить и по сей день.
Не повторяйте моих ошибок.
Могу отметить, что новшеств здесь весьма много. Начнем с того, что некоторые противники получили новые навыки и были обновлены некоторые у старых. Один чел с гранатомётом и пилой вместо руки теперь может прыгать, а механическая собака теперь может застрять языком в стене. Враги в целом стали более агрессивнее и даже пытаются менять позиции. Хотя все равно остаются такими же балбесами, как и раньше.
Баланс и поведение оружие также поменяли, чему я не сильно рад. К примеру автомат теперь стреляет вообще без отдачи, хотя для своего времени это была уникальная фишка. Пулемет почему-то продолжает стрелять некоторое время, даже если перестал нажимать кнопку для огня. Лазерная пушка вообще теперь стоит на небольшом кулдауне , после прекращения огня. Возможно в оригинале было точно также, но я в него играл очень давно, поэтому не могу сказать наверняка.
Также добавили компас, который буквально служит как GPS навигатор, лол. Если раньше не могли осилить игру из-за хитровыебанных уровней, то можете попыть удачу с этой штукой.
Отдельно хочу отметить то, что колесо для выбора оружия, во время игры на геймпаде, немного неотзывчивое. Были моменты, когда я четко выбирал одно оружие, а герой достовал совершенно другое. Такое было нечасто, от очень бесило.
Короче, обновили игру, слегка поменяли баланс и добавили ко всему прочему вырезанный контент и переработали некоторые идеи. Мне грех жаловаться, ведь обновленную версию я получил на халяву лол.
Кстати, если вы из России или Белорусии и у вас есть оригинальный Quake 2 в Стим, то обновленная версия вам также достанется просто так. За это отдельный респект, но только наполовину, потому что Quake 2 в этих странах не купить и по сей день.
Was so excited to hear this finally released a few days ago and my brother and I were splitting some skulls blasting through it! I love the new weapons and enemy types and the new way how its more about long stages with different areas. Some stages in itself with extra secret levels to find as well! Playing Co-op is definitely the way to go with this game if you are able to and you can customize your character and select different models. My main complaint with it is how some areas you go into were super dark and hard to see at some points. Also, how a lot of the areas and levels all had the industrial/factory type look with a few exceptions. Was definitely feening for some more Underquaker after playing the expansions for Quake 1 and looking forward to playing expansions for this one in the near future. So glad to be able to jump back into my next semester and definitely spend more time with my Gaming in the mean time so I will definitely be laying the smackdown on the games and backlog! Holler if ya hear me brother!! Also Quake II is damn good, but the first still reigns supreme!! Wooo!!!
I mentioned this in my review of Powerslave (and any other time I've brought up Nightdive, to be fair) but Nightdive really are the absolute masters of presenting a game that looks and sounds and feels exactly like your fond, rose-tinted memories of it. I love Quake II - it's Aliens to Quake's Alien - with the big, daft sci-fi action movie vibe really appealing to my 14 year old brain upon release. It has a lot more of the 'boomer shooter' revival DNA in it than the original game does and I think it has largely stood the test of time remarkably well. Nightdive have taken this opportunity to add a few new quality of life bits and add some unfinished beta content back into the game, all of which is a genuine improvement on the original release. I'm sure there's some mods someone can bore you to tears about, but for 99% of players this is the best way to play a great shooter that I feel gets a bit of a bad rap. After all, Aliens is better than Alien, right?
(Quake 2 64 also gets thrown into this package and is a totally different but also very enjoyable shooter and I recommend giving that a go too)
(Quake 2 64 also gets thrown into this package and is a totally different but also very enjoyable shooter and I recommend giving that a go too)
An excellent remaster of a great game, Quake II's advancements in world/level design for the time are impressive even today.
Starts relatively strong and generally feels good, unfortunately turns into a slog later on due to the excessive meat sponge monster usage. People always joked about how brown this game is, but for all that truth, it's not really ugly or off-putting at all. Greatly enjoyed the secret levels with low-grav.
Off the bat, Quake II is already a huge improvement over the already great first game to me. It's crazy just how much they were able to improve on the first one in just a year.
Add to it that this remastering job by Nightdive Studios is one of the greatest remasters I've ever seen. The full base game (with fantastic visual updates) PLUS all the expansions PLUS all of Quake II's Nintendo 64 version PLUS an entirely NEW expansion...for only $10? Or you can get it through Xbox Game Pass? OR you can upgrade to it for free if you already own the original game on Steam?
Meanwhile, Rockstar's trying to charge $50 for a lazy port of Red Dead Redemption...yeah, save your money and give it to a developer that actually puts love and care into their re-releases.
Add to it that this remastering job by Nightdive Studios is one of the greatest remasters I've ever seen. The full base game (with fantastic visual updates) PLUS all the expansions PLUS all of Quake II's Nintendo 64 version PLUS an entirely NEW expansion...for only $10? Or you can get it through Xbox Game Pass? OR you can upgrade to it for free if you already own the original game on Steam?
Meanwhile, Rockstar's trying to charge $50 for a lazy port of Red Dead Redemption...yeah, save your money and give it to a developer that actually puts love and care into their re-releases.
The Quake II remaster is fantastic. Not only is the original game there with enhanced graphics and AI, there's also the expansion packs, with a brand new one added on top of it, levels from Quake II 64 ported over, cross-play multiplayer, and a massive vault that showcases unused development assets that have been restored. You even get the original game files too so you can run it on an older machine. This has way too much love put into it, and you should absolutely give it a shot.
The original Quake II is a bit of a divisive game, often compared to its older Quake sibling and regarded as not nearly as impressive, varied or fun. If you think of the original game like this then the remaster may help you finally like it.
Presentation-wise, this remaster was done by porting the game over to a specialized KEX Engine, expanding the level of detail possible in lighting and models along the way. The new lighting and shadow effects are really good and they manage to keep the original atmosphere without being nearly as dull. Audio has been greatly enhanced as well, with footsteps taking into account the material you're on and rooms having reverb for better immersion.
In terms of gameplay, this is where the remaster adds the most to the game. Weapons now have near instant switching, muzzle flashes, and small rebalances like removing the recoil mechanic from the machinegun, gunplay is leagues more satisfying as a result. They have gone back and added cut content to the levels and enemies, updating the AI (which had already been updated with an expansion) to make it smarter and give enemies a wider variety of behaviors and attacks based on unfinished code. Enemies can now follow you by jumping and what were previously very harmless enemies like the common grunts or the Berserker are now a force to be reckoned with when you're not paying attention. The Berserker probably has the most notorious change, having a charged jump attack that can send you flying.
The smarter and more aggressive enemy AI completely changes the game, as you are now strategizing way more to avoid being damaged and probably getting forced into using your items and different guns more often. Unlike my previous playthroughs, I no longer spent a lot of time just shooting the super shotgun while hiding behind walls, as that strategy has become nearly useless. This is a good bump in difficulty (granted, the game's still mostly easy if you are into shooters) that actually makes the game way more engaging and I welcome this change completely.
Some smaller gameplay changes include an item and weapon wheel, with the item wheel in particular making inventory management much better, a compass that helps with navigation by giving you a waypoint and drawing a path on the floor, as well as making the Nightmare difficulty official and accessible on a new game.
Add onto everything that you get all expansions, a new one, and the Nintendo 64 levels, alongside a much more convenient multiplayer setup with official co-op support, plus an extras menu full of development content and playable demos, extensive accessibility options, and we got the best possible remaster this game could have gotten. Everything that was added wasn't necessary at all to do, but they did it, and they worked even harder for a game that people often dismiss when compared to its predecessors. My only nitpick is that I wish I could toggle the gameplay changes back, mainly the machinegun recoil, but I can't complain about the changes being bad at all and the original isn't going anywhere either.
This is the definitive Quake II experience and I'd definitely recommend reading this blog post on Bethesda's site where they explain the engine changes in more detail just to appreciate how much work went into this, because it's a lot, and very much worth playing the game for.
Presentation-wise, this remaster was done by porting the game over to a specialized KEX Engine, expanding the level of detail possible in lighting and models along the way. The new lighting and shadow effects are really good and they manage to keep the original atmosphere without being nearly as dull. Audio has been greatly enhanced as well, with footsteps taking into account the material you're on and rooms having reverb for better immersion.
In terms of gameplay, this is where the remaster adds the most to the game. Weapons now have near instant switching, muzzle flashes, and small rebalances like removing the recoil mechanic from the machinegun, gunplay is leagues more satisfying as a result. They have gone back and added cut content to the levels and enemies, updating the AI (which had already been updated with an expansion) to make it smarter and give enemies a wider variety of behaviors and attacks based on unfinished code. Enemies can now follow you by jumping and what were previously very harmless enemies like the common grunts or the Berserker are now a force to be reckoned with when you're not paying attention. The Berserker probably has the most notorious change, having a charged jump attack that can send you flying.
The smarter and more aggressive enemy AI completely changes the game, as you are now strategizing way more to avoid being damaged and probably getting forced into using your items and different guns more often. Unlike my previous playthroughs, I no longer spent a lot of time just shooting the super shotgun while hiding behind walls, as that strategy has become nearly useless. This is a good bump in difficulty (granted, the game's still mostly easy if you are into shooters) that actually makes the game way more engaging and I welcome this change completely.
Some smaller gameplay changes include an item and weapon wheel, with the item wheel in particular making inventory management much better, a compass that helps with navigation by giving you a waypoint and drawing a path on the floor, as well as making the Nightmare difficulty official and accessible on a new game.
Add onto everything that you get all expansions, a new one, and the Nintendo 64 levels, alongside a much more convenient multiplayer setup with official co-op support, plus an extras menu full of development content and playable demos, extensive accessibility options, and we got the best possible remaster this game could have gotten. Everything that was added wasn't necessary at all to do, but they did it, and they worked even harder for a game that people often dismiss when compared to its predecessors. My only nitpick is that I wish I could toggle the gameplay changes back, mainly the machinegun recoil, but I can't complain about the changes being bad at all and the original isn't going anywhere either.
This is the definitive Quake II experience and I'd definitely recommend reading this blog post on Bethesda's site where they explain the engine changes in more detail just to appreciate how much work went into this, because it's a lot, and very much worth playing the game for.
video game/10
The remaster itself is a 8/10, the base game is still fucking mid. Good job nightdive!
Playtime: 23 Hours
Score: 10/10
Hot Take: Quake is the best franchise Id Software ever made, even more then Doom. Change my mind! All jokes aside, I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. It was my first "boomer shooter", my first Id Software game and the first FPS game I ever played. As a kid I used to play this game with my dad on his old PC, and it was one of my most fondest games from my childhood. So it was a great day for me when they released this remaster and because I owned the original game on Steam, I got it as a free upgrade!
I always loved the setting of this game with you fighting these half alien, half cyborg race known as the Strogg. Some of the enemies are just iconic like the tank commanders, who I remember being too scared to fight and my parents had to help me. There still my favorite enemy in the game. Some are still annoying like the gladiators with their rail guns which can mess you up if your not careful. Also the Berserkers got an upgrade, as there a lot more aggressive and powerful when they engage with you. The enemy AI in general has been improved to be more like the modern Id Software games, as you constantly have to be on the move and switching your weapons depending on what enemy your fighting. Overall, these are welcomed changes and it makes the game more challenging.
The weapon line up is awesome too with each of them feeling good to use. Guns like the super shotgun and machine gun are work horses and good for most enemies. I also found the rail gun to be my favorite once you get used to using it. It can one hit kill the weaker enemies which I enjoyed. And the BFG as always is awesome.
The music is iconic with its upbeat tracks and it really helps get you pumped to play. The locations can get repetitive visually, but I always like the grundy art style and its what made me love that PS1 era of graphics, even though the PC version looked the best. I also came to appreciate the hub based level design as you have connected areas that you need to explore to find items or flip switches to return to the main area, to progress. It was when Id was trying to progress pass the simple collect key cards then find the exit button, level design of their older games. I also appreciated one of the things they added was a directional compass, that you can use to see which direction you need to go in, similar to the ones in Bioshock Infinite and Dead Space. Its an optional feature, but I found it quite useful in the more confusing areas.
Your also just getting a wealth of content plus all the additional campaigns from the two original expansions, the new expansion by Machine Games and the N64 game even, which had its own unique campaign so has a single player game, this game offers a lot. Only thing I wish this remaster had was the PS1 port of Quake 2, since like the N64 game, it had its own unique story campaign and I've always been a PlayStation kid so it would have been nice.
Only real negative is the achievement list is very basic, with just simple complete all the different campaign achievements. It would have been nice to have some extra things to do like in the Quake 1 remaster. But overall, this is one of the best remasters I have ever seen and Nightdive Studios who made this port, did an outstanding job as they usually do! Here's to hoping we get a single player Quake reboot one day!
All Games Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Score: 10/10
Hot Take: Quake is the best franchise Id Software ever made, even more then Doom. Change my mind! All jokes aside, I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. It was my first "boomer shooter", my first Id Software game and the first FPS game I ever played. As a kid I used to play this game with my dad on his old PC, and it was one of my most fondest games from my childhood. So it was a great day for me when they released this remaster and because I owned the original game on Steam, I got it as a free upgrade!
I always loved the setting of this game with you fighting these half alien, half cyborg race known as the Strogg. Some of the enemies are just iconic like the tank commanders, who I remember being too scared to fight and my parents had to help me. There still my favorite enemy in the game. Some are still annoying like the gladiators with their rail guns which can mess you up if your not careful. Also the Berserkers got an upgrade, as there a lot more aggressive and powerful when they engage with you. The enemy AI in general has been improved to be more like the modern Id Software games, as you constantly have to be on the move and switching your weapons depending on what enemy your fighting. Overall, these are welcomed changes and it makes the game more challenging.
The weapon line up is awesome too with each of them feeling good to use. Guns like the super shotgun and machine gun are work horses and good for most enemies. I also found the rail gun to be my favorite once you get used to using it. It can one hit kill the weaker enemies which I enjoyed. And the BFG as always is awesome.
The music is iconic with its upbeat tracks and it really helps get you pumped to play. The locations can get repetitive visually, but I always like the grundy art style and its what made me love that PS1 era of graphics, even though the PC version looked the best. I also came to appreciate the hub based level design as you have connected areas that you need to explore to find items or flip switches to return to the main area, to progress. It was when Id was trying to progress pass the simple collect key cards then find the exit button, level design of their older games. I also appreciated one of the things they added was a directional compass, that you can use to see which direction you need to go in, similar to the ones in Bioshock Infinite and Dead Space. Its an optional feature, but I found it quite useful in the more confusing areas.
Your also just getting a wealth of content plus all the additional campaigns from the two original expansions, the new expansion by Machine Games and the N64 game even, which had its own unique campaign so has a single player game, this game offers a lot. Only thing I wish this remaster had was the PS1 port of Quake 2, since like the N64 game, it had its own unique story campaign and I've always been a PlayStation kid so it would have been nice.
Only real negative is the achievement list is very basic, with just simple complete all the different campaign achievements. It would have been nice to have some extra things to do like in the Quake 1 remaster. But overall, this is one of the best remasters I have ever seen and Nightdive Studios who made this port, did an outstanding job as they usually do! Here's to hoping we get a single player Quake reboot one day!
All Games Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Loving the overhaul. An amazing loving take on the original, with a few minor tweaks that change the feel of the combat for added variety. Will update once I play the new episode.
I'm not even done with finishing everything the singleplayer section of the remaster has to offer but it really shows how much Nightdive applied to what they did for the Quake remaster and doubled it for Quake 2. It's more insane to me that Nightdive also released the Rise Of The Triad remaster just around the same time too. This year really is the year of the remaster.
Insane to think people considered this game the inferior Quake. I very much prefer this one over the original Quake with all due respect (Before you start typing, I still very much enjoyed the original Quake. You can find my review of it on my profile).
Nightdive studios is quite literally doing the lord's work bringing these games back to modern consoles. I can't get enough of this series, I need a Quake 3 and 4 remaster and a new Quake installment YESTERDAY.
Nightdive studios is quite literally doing the lord's work bringing these games back to modern consoles. I can't get enough of this series, I need a Quake 3 and 4 remaster and a new Quake installment YESTERDAY.