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

Matar Aliens Nazistas é gostoso demais!!!

É simplesmente satisfatório jogar este game após ter jogado os primeiros Doom e o primeiro Quake. O jogo consegue ser uma evolução perfeita de todo o universo que a Betesda já havia criado.

Todas as versões do jogo envelheceram muito bem. O game conta com mecânicas de tiro responsivas que oferecem uma diversidade de armas ABSURDA, além da movimentação alucinante do personagem controlável. Algo que ajuda muito a gameplay são as novas "ajudas" no menu de itens do jogo, uma delas é o compasso. Ele indica para onde o jogador deve ir, evitando prejudicar o ritmo do jogo, já que algumas missões duram quase 1 hora.

Apesar de super simples, óbvia e subjetiva, o jogo consegue contar uma história ao jogador (Ao invés de você só jogar em "levels separados" para ir progredindo no game).

PRÓS:
- IA desafiadora.
- O game envelheceu bem e diverte até hoje.

CONTRAS:
- Problemas de desempenho (Teve uma missão que se eu matasse um inimigo bugado o jogo simplesmente CRASHAVA).

Quake 2 is probably my least favorite out of the single-player Quakes. I don't like the music and not a huge fan of the orange color palette. Also some enemies and enemy placements are bullshit. Of course it's not nearly as atmospheric as the first game either. There's a reason Nine Inch Nails decided not to do the soundtrack this time around.

But other than that, it's still a solid game with a cool setting and scripted scenes, and the gameplay isn't much different from Quake 1, which was great. The level design can get a bit confusing sometimes, but this remaster kinda fixes that problem with the addition of a compass.

That being said, something of exploration is lost with the compass. I remember playing the old version and constantly reading the tasks and paying more attention to the environment to find the locations I must reach. There were only a couple of moments in this remaster when I had to do that. I was playing co-op (which I don't think existed in the original?) with my friend, and we basically talked about other stuff while blazing through the enemies without putting too much thought into it. With the exception of a few moments, when the compass wasn't working and we had to stop and discuss where to go.

I like that this remaster allows you to turn off the graphical improvements. And the addition of hit markers on the crosshair is very useful.

Other than that, it plays more or less the same as the original version, which is a good thing. You don't want a remaster messing with the original game too much.

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.

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!!!

Weird how everyone who complained about the compass in the Bioshocks is now saying on here that it’s one of the single greatest improvements for this remake. Unlike me, of course, who with my big brain knows that it’s good to have if you need it and fine to turn off if you like to measure your dick with other gamers online. It’s easily worth an entire half star.

I was expecting this otherwise to be not as interesting as the first, especially in light of Trent Reznor calling it boring, which I mean when Trent Reznor calls you boring that’s it, it’s over, you cut off your topknot and go into exile. It seemed that way for a while until the factory level, where you find out the baddies are made up of the corpses of their fallen enemies. You have to go around and deactivate shit called like “bio-assimilation tank,” “organic material liquifier,” and my favorite, the “emulsifying flesh press.” Yeeowch! After that it’s mostly more industrial areas with vaguely-nazi imagery and, unlike the N64 port, an actual final boss and ending!

Trent Reznor wasn't lying this really doesn't have any atmosphere.

Okay so it's not terrible, and seeing as how this remaster is meant to be the "better" version that's a bit of a problem. Quake 1 suffers from that early id Software problem of a really dope first 2/3 and a last third that then leaves you wanting a bit more. Also might include an enemy added in at the last second that ruins everything. Kinda like FromSoft when you think about it. Quake 2 on the other hand is kind of all over the place with highs and lows constantly at odds with each other. Again while I'd be hard-pressed to call the game terrible it does really feel less interesting from both an art direction and "idea" perspective. Trading the more Lovecraftian and dark medieval fantasy with occasional hints of grungy sci-fi aesthetic instead comes a game I can best describe as Kill Murder Death late 90s space marine game you'd see as the parody of a real game in a sitcom. Game is fun as shit though. I'd be lying if during its highs I wasn't enjoying my time with it and I had a huge grin on my face upon acquiring the BFG10K. The music rules too I fucking love this game's soundtrack even before playing it that was the one thing I was excited to see in context of the levels and some of them do not disappoint. Descent into Cerberon fucking cums. Every time it'd play I'd get so hype.

Quake is a game I genuinely feel myself itching to play every few weeks since finally going through it and while I enjoyed my time with the base game of Quake 2 (as this remaster brings a bunch of extra campaigns and Quake 2 64 that I will be playing) I don't think I'll be itching to go back to this one as much.

The technological leap from Quake to II in the span of a year seems evident even 26 years later. But gone is the unique neo-industrial Egyptian inspired atmosphere and in its place a generic sci-fi goo of mostly browns and dumb looking enemies.

Still. Peak shooter game design. Just the perfect blend of guided exploration, puzzles and shooty parts. A Quake in the vein of nuDoom would be hella sick (so long as they don't go all Eternal with it). Games theoretically never got better than this really.

~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.

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.

“Conman,” you ask, “is Quake II (2023) the complete package? I heard it includes Original Recipe™ Quake II, Quake II 64, and a few other sub campaigns including a brand new one by the supposed Indiana Jones devs. I also heard that multiplayer, achievements, numerous QoL additions, playable demos of prerelease builds of Quake II, concept art, models, and multiplayer support are all included! Is this true?”

Yes my child, Nightdive is at it again. “But why only 4 stars, great sage? I hypothetically care about star ratings or whatever. You’re very handsome by the way.”

Well, my delicious snap pea, the game in question is Quake II.

I like Quake II. I think it’s a good shooter, and I’ve had a bit of a soft spot for it since I first played it within Quake 4. Yeah. Anyway, unfortunately, kiddo, I can’t say I like it as much as Quake. I guess I could, but it would be a lie, baby. I won’t lie to you. I’m tired here’s a list.

Weapons: Nice selection overall. I’m not a fan of guns sharing an ammo pool but that happens in lots of games like this. Railgun absolutely clears.
Enemies: feels like there’s only three kinds and they range from okay to kind of annoying to fight.
Music: Big Bumpin’
Level design: I could have used a few more level gimmicks. I’m serious, the waterway level was cool. Overall I didn’t hate any of the levels though, and that means a lot in a game like this. Good job Quakers.
Story:
Aesthetics: Cohesive, but if they ever do a modern reboot of Quake they should reboot Quake. The overall aesthetic here is maybe even more varied than the first game, but is generic by comparison.

Did I forget anything? Oh yeah I actually don’t love that you store items in an inventory. I barely ever used the items. Didn’t really need to, and I played on Hard and found most of the secrets in the game. I did so because I liked playing it despite the aforementioned issues. Four bags of popcorn and one soda.

“Conman, my king, I agree and/or disagree with this review” sick you’re my new best friend we should be friends in real life.

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.

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.

Nightdive's newest masterwork of restoration somehow improves on the already stunning foundation of Quake 1's remaster to do justice to its superior sequel. Quake 2 comes with more quality-of-life improvements, including deeper HUD customization and separate weapon and item wheels, the latter of which comes in particularly handy for this remaster's newest campaign.

Quake 2 trades the first game's dark Gothic fantasy aesthetic and general vibe for a more militaristic, hard sci-fi style. At first, it's less visually appealing than Quake 1, but it does draw you in more as you venture further into the alien landscape of Stroggos, the homeworld of the cybernetically enhanced Strogg.

This change in style and tone, of course, brings with it a larger arsenal and a bigger focus on combat, with less emphasis on platforming and puzzles and more on arenas and boss encounters. This works out for the better since Quake 2's weaponry feels much better than the original's already solid offering, with punchy sound design and weight behind each shot. They don't quite feel as fast as in the first game, but it feels like you have much more control over them, so the trade-off is accepted.

In terms of the main campaigns, I much prefer MachineGames's Call of the Machine to the OG id-developed one. I opted out of playing the mission packs as the consensus seemed to be more of the same rather than something that tries new things with existing assets like CotM does here.

If I had any main criticisms, it would be that the soundtrack falls short of the original. Although that's not exactly Sonic Mayhem's fault, since it's kind of hard to compete with Nine Inch Nails there. Enemy designs and some of the level designs in the base campaign also fall short, not quite leaving the impression that Quake 1 does with its eldritch horrors and spooky castles. The Strogg bases and factories all seem somewhat generic by comparison.

Regardless, Quake 2 is a very impressive follow-up to the first game, with its own style and quirks that are fun to uncover, elevated significantly by MachineGames's excellent campaign Call of the Machine, which brings new lore connections to the series and truly great level design throughout.

7.5/10

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/

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 hadn't heard much about Quake 2 before playing it, other than that it was a bit of a black sheep and that people didn't really like it. I played the Nightdive remasters of both Quake 1 and 2, and for Quake 1 I didn't enable any of the new effects the remaster added as I thought they looked kind of tacked on and like an afterthought, but with Quake 2 I kept most of the new effects on as they fit much better with the game's artstyle this time around.

I was shocked when shortly after starting Quake 2 I learnt that it wasn't a traditional mission-based episodic structure like, well, pretty much every FPS of that era, but instead they were interconnected levels with somewhat open-ended exploration, backtracking, and unlocking shortcuts. This is a game that predates Half-Life by two years and yet I rarely see anyone bring up the level/world design of it. On top of this the levels are also a notable evolution. Quake (like many other shooters) had levels that were more abstract series of corridors and brushes that were supposed to represent an area, but Quake 2 levels feel real, they feel purposeful and functional, which is something Half-Life is often credited for being the pioneer of.

The guns are a bit of a mixed bag compared to Quake 1, which had a relatively quaint but functional roster of weapons, Quake 2's weapon selection feels bloated by comparison, and it's detrimental in multiple ways. The most immediate one is that several weapons step over each other in terms of usefulness. The grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and railgun all feel like they're used for the same purpose, same with the hyperblaster and chaingun, both are guns with notable wind-ups (and downs) that do heavy damage and chew through ammo. The shotguns, machine gun, and BFG 10K are the only weapons that feel like they truly stand on their own and aren't competing for usefulness (also small tangent, but the super shotgun in this game is absolutely godlike. The sound design and animation is incredible and several stronger enemies get visibly staggered and knocked back by it if they don't get gibbed altogether).

Another new thing introduced by this game is how power-ups are used. If you've played any 90s shooter you are well aware that power-ups are just something you generally pick up and they're instantaneously used on the spot, you have a limited amount of time to make do with your newfound godhood and that's completely fine. Quake 2 shakes things up, now you have an inventory and power-ups get put straight into it, waiting to be used for later. There are things I like and dislike about this system. Obviously it adds a layer of strategy to using power-ups instead of just going hogwild whenever you come across one, and also stops that horrible feeling when you clear a room of enemies, explore around for secrets, and then find a quad damage you could've used on them but now there's nothing around anymore. But this design was very intentional, FPS games of the time would design encounters around this limitation to make exploring more rewarding or making cathartic rooms where you get something like a quad damage and just unload on all the enemies around. In Quake 2, nothing can be balanced around power-ups, as there's no guarantee as to if you'll be able to use one or not. This also means intentionally difficult sections can be cheesed by popping a quad damage. This isn't a horrible drawback for a game like Quake 2, as even on hard it's not a very challenging game (and that's fine), but it is something lost from shooters of its era.

Story is not worth covering, it's about as light as any other 90s shooter, although it is slightly more in your face instead of just being delegated to a manual or end of episode text block, and it's told more diagetically as well.

The visuals are similar to its predecessor's in some ways, mainly in the color choice of browns and grays, but the environments are a tiny bit more varied. The music is where the real split in presentation between the two games occur. Quake 1's OST was a masterclass in atmosphere and immersion, being famously composed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, it was industrial, ambient, and harrowing, and I often found myself being unnerved by some songs. Quake 2's is quite the opposite, being composed by Sonic Mayhem, it's much more traditional, being full of blood pumping and memorable tunes. I don't like one more than the other, both fit their respective games incredibly well, and I wouldn't change anything about either of them (but Quake 2's is probably the one you'd catch me actively listening to).

Overall I enjoyed Quake 2 more than the first one, it was an incredibly enjoyable and fairly unique experience that I'm glad Nightdive has put in the spotlight. The remaster is only 10 dollars and comes with 4 or so expansion packs and a port of Quake 64 as well, which is a whole other (yet more traditional) beast.

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.

Truly one of the games of all time.

I grew up on first person shooters but came into the genre after the boomer shooter took off, missing out on classics like DOOM, Wolfenstein, and relevantly Quake. It's with this lack of affinity for a bygone genre that I've tried to sort of retroactively understand the hype behind such a landmark franchise. Sometime last year I played the Nightdive remaster of Quake I and had an alright enough time, and with some time to kill I figured it would be a good excuse to delve even further into one of the titles that made id the mammoth of influence that it is today.

Quake II being on Gamepass was the perfect pricepoint for its shorter runtime, with players seemingly clocking in at an average of seven hours. I didn't keep track of my own runtime with the game, but ultimately I felt like even that was too long. I appreciate the legacy of titles like this, but going back and playing them has felt more like a chore than an enjoyable experience as they are intended to be. The levels are intricately designed, which is neat especially for a game of this caliber originally released into to the world in 1997, but it comes with the unintended risk of turning the campaign into a McGuffin hunt. One thing leads to one thing that leads to one thing that leads to one thing... which isn't abhorrently bad game design but feels like it is uneccesarily dragging the game along.

My main qualms with Quake II outside of the monotony of its enemy encounters and the needlessly intricate level sequencing is that the combat didn't feel... good. As an avid Unreal Tournament enjoyer, and a mostly-fan of the recent Doom iterations, I love a good run and jump shooty mcshoot game. Freedom of movement in FPS' creates a level of player agency that makes the titles enjoyable, in lieu of staying stagnant and mowing down enemies as they appear, you are crafting intricate patterns throughout the arena's space. in Quake II you have this, somewhat, but there was a severe lack of reasonable health options. Many encounters in which I thought I was jumping and avoiding attacks well left me beaten and battered. Instead of being able to leap around and take advantage of the game's attractive movement, I was greatly limited to hiding around pillars and firing in between enemy volleys.

Quake II is a game that I understand, but do not enjoy overall. I get that the legacy of this game is far stretching and is probably a magnificent achievment in the first person shooter genre at the time, but it is unfortunately not a title I found myself engrossed with enjoyment in. I can't recommend Quake II unless you're looking for a nostalgia trip or on a quest to understand the history of the genre.