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
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