Quake II

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: November 30, 1997
• Genre: Shooter
• Style: First-Person Shooter
• Similar Games: Duke Nukem 3D (IBM PC Compatible), Quake (IBM PC Compatible), GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64), Final Doom (IBM PC Compatible), Doom II (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

After successfully completing a mission in space, your ship was hit by a stray laser blast. You crash landed on an alien world, filled with countless buildings and cities. As you look around, you realize that the only way you're going to escape is to fight your way through it all, crumble this alien empire and ultimately destroy their hopes for advancement throughout the galaxy. The world is depending on your skills as a space marine to save all of mankind. Are you up to the task?

Quake II is the sequel to the smash hit Quake. The sequel features a brand new adventure that will have you swimming through the dark, murky cesspools of the alien world, entering and conquering various military-like bases and eliminating any resistance. You'll need a powerful arsenal of weapons, and luckily, you're supplied generously. Railguns, hyperblasters, grenade launchers and even a BFG (we all know what that means, don't we?) are all waiting to be found as are various items and armors to help you along the way. And of course, there is a multiplayer feature which adds so much life to this game, that people will be playing it for years to come.

Review: Overall

id Software has followed up Quake with Quake II, a game that should have been called "Doom III." The company known for its revolutionary 3D corridor shooters (Wolfenstein 3D, Doom) has replaced the murky crypts and dark cathedrals of Quake with sci-fi inspired base levels and a bad "story." Well, it's about as much of a story as we can expect from id: you're a marine who has crash-landed on the Stroggos alien base. Surprise, surprise, it is now your job to escape and crumble the alien empire at the same time. Sure it's lame, but we all know that the gameplay is the important aspect of 3D corridor shooters!

Quake II is mission-oriented and features military base levels. Unlike Quake, you must complete missions in order to advance through them. These range in complexity from gaining energy cubes for powering-up a factory to setting up comlinks. Not a bad idea, in this reviewer's opinion. However, the levels are often very uninspired. The base theme of the game gets old, leaving you desperately wanting a crypt from Quake. Also replaced are the mutated monsters from hell. In Quake II, you are fighting alien machines or half-humans. The enemy AI is very good, and the characters fit in with the sci-fi theme.

They have also taken out the rather harsh and brutal weapons of Quake (Nail Gun, Axe) and replaced them with a more military efficient arsenal. New weapons include a Chaingun, Railgun, BFG (an enhanced version from the Doom games), and a Hyperblaster. They have brought back new versions of the Super Shotgun, the Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher. You can also throw hand grenades, which is kind of spiffy. All in all, the new weapons aren't too clever, but they get the job done.

The game "feels" nothing like Quake. Surprisingly, it feels like the Doom games. The new, enhanced version of the Quake engine is superb. Navigating the world of Quake II is very easy thanks to tight controls.

Yet the beauty of Quake II is not in the single-player game, it's in the multi-player feature. Whereas Quake was a better single-player game because of its "laggy" multi-playing, Quake II features bulletproof gameplay and relatively no lag while duking it out on the Internet. You can download multi-player modes such as Capture the Flag and the new Jailbreak. There are literally thousands of servers that allow you to play Quake II, so the possibilities are quite endless.

If not for the multi-player aspect, Quake II would just be another ho-hum corridor shooter. The game itself is good but lacks the inspiration needed to carry it above all other 3D corridor shooters released prior to 1997.

Review: Enjoyment

The single-player aspect of Quake II is sort of dull, but the multi-player aspect saves it. Nothing can replace the enjoyment of walking into a room of ten people, anihillating them all with a furious BFG blast and then making fun of them because you are awesome!!

Review: Graphics

Stunning 3D graphics (especially with 3dfx card) with little bells and whistles, such as flies buzzing around dead corpses, really stand out from other 3D corridor shooters.

Review: Sound

The sound is superb. From weapon blasts to a heavy soundtrack from White Zombie's own Rob Zombie, the sound is a treat for the ears.

Review: Replay Value

The replay value is infinite thanks to the fabulous multi-player modes.

Review: Documentation

The instruction manual is handy in telling you about the Stroggos and some of the weapons that are found in the world of {*Quake II}.

Production Credits

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