Replaying the Quake II campaign via Yamagi has only made me appreciate the Remaster even more. There's so many small gameplay tweaks in the Remaster that sum to an overall smoother and more engaging experience. My biggest peeve with the original is how movement down slopes feels so incredibly shitty.

I'm surprised it also took me this long to start using the Power Shield. It trivializes the entire game. At least the remaster more strongly incentivizes burning cell ammo against enemy shields, but I'm not sure that's enough to fix the overarching issue of Quake II turning into a cakewalk at the press of a button. It's a real "just don't use it" piece of design that mars the title.

Play the Remaster instead.