Note: This review I wrote for my new fanzine version of 2.5D which can be downloaded in PDF form here

I was late to PC gaming. My family wasn't the richest, and buying a PC when I was younger was out of the question. There was no such thing as a $400 Dell PC. In fact, even an average PC was a couple grand. Quake II was 1997's biggest PC game, but I didn't finally get to experience the PC version (I owned the 64 version which is a completely different game) until 2005.

    Though it bears the Quake name, Quake II has very little to with the original. In fact id never planned to used the Quake name with it, but due to some difficulties in acquiring a new trademark, they decide to use the name they already owned.

    Quake II is a straight up old school in-your-face first person shooter. The story, that is progressed via computer updates throughout the game, is minimal, and the action is heavy and intense. Overall the focus is on the gameplay over telling a narrative.

    Modern FPS fans who are used to their games being glorified wannabe movies with overdone convoluted plotlines, played-out "epic" battle scenes (where the game essentially plays itself), and regenerating health systems that force players to hide from the action every few minutes or so will probably a game like Quake II as simplistic, and outdated. To be honest, the blatant simplicity of such games is really the appeal.

    From start to finish in QII you are thrown into the action. The developers give the player an intricately designed level, a simple objective,a nd then get out of the player's way. The levels in the game are well designed, and filled with hordes of baddies as well as tons of hidden areas which net you helpful items. Unlike most modern FPSes who's levels are treated as just the stage to unravel the narrative, some real thought was put into the design of QII's levels. The design of these levels, and the exploration of those designs becomes almost as much a part of the gameplay experience as the action does.

    The objectives of the game are the simple get the colored key, and throw the switch variety. Simple objectives like those are the most complained about by modern FPS gamers when attacking games like Quake II. What they don't realize is modern FPSes still used those same objectives, they just disguise them as something else. Whether a colored key, or saving some Russian guy in a house be the objective, they are both used as the carrot to lead the player into progressing the game further. QII, as previously stated, just has a more simple way of going about it.

    Another great thing about the design is that though you are confined to a level, the gameplay still has a feeling of openness to it. Not open as in GTA open mind you, but open in the way it leaves progression and exploration entirely up to the player. Though the objectives are always the same, the design still gives the player total control over how they decide to proceed through the level. The player is not constantly being pestered into scripted events by the designers. There are no annoying allies screaming "hey you" every five seconds forcing you to play a scene the developer's way instead of your own. They instead give you a level, and then get out of your way. There are some scripted events that must take place, yes, but you have more freedom within the confines of the levels.

    Well designed levels are extremely important in old school FPS games, however there is a part that is arguably more important, it's the action stupid. There is just something to the action in games like Quake or even Doom that has been lost in most modern FPS games. First of all, the game moves extremely fast. You aren't handicapped by slow moving lead character. Your marine can move, dodge, rocket jump, and perform aerobatics that would make Lara Croft's head spin.  Also, the feeling of taking on some of the baddest enemies (in Quake II you take on the Strogg who are essentially like the Borg from Star Trek minus the adaptation) around with an extremely satisfying arsenal of weapons, and in an in-your-face manner just makes you feel like a bada**. With modern health systems, you rarely feel that way, because you have to stay back and hide. Not that I don't understand the strategy behind it, but sometimes you just want to rush in "rambo style" and blow some s*** up. Quake II has that balls-out style that few modern FPSes have retained (Serious Sam and a few others) in their focus to emphasize story over gameplay.

    Some people wager the complaint about the health pack system saying it forces you to backtrack, and that's true, but because of the way the game is designed, backtracking can get you killed. You never know when an enemy is going to pop out of nowhere in an area you thought you already cleared. To be honest, the health pack system allows players to take more damage, but also makes it more intense in the times when you are low on health. You'll never play better than when you know that even so much as one hit can kill you. In theory regenerating health systems are supposed to keep that same intensity of a few hits can kill you, but they always result on quick cheap deaths, and a lot of hiding.

    In Quake II you feel like just as big of a bada** as the strogg enemies you are facing. They get in your face, and you respond by turning them into a chunky red paste with your super shotgun (one of the most satisfying shotguns to use in gaming history). The enemy AI isn't always the brightest, but overall gives a good challenge. The cast of baddies is varied, and each requires their own strategy to take down. Often times enemies will pop out of "monster closets" keeping you on your toes. Again, to those who complain about monster closets, this practice is still in use, it's just disguised in modern FPS games. Any time you get to a certain point, or complete an objective, and enemies surprise you by popping out of nowhere, it's essentially just a monster closet. Again, games like QII just have a simpler way of going about it.

    The arsenal of weapons in Quake II sounds pretty standard by today's terms. Your usual arrangement of Shotguns, grenade launchers, and rocket launchers.  While the arsenal sounds like standard fare, what isn't standard it the satisfaction one gets by using the weapons in Quake II. To many times in FPS, you feel like your guns are underpowered, or ineffective against your foes who don't even react to getting hit half the time. Quake enemies react in a way that they know they've been hit. You put your super shotgun up to an enemy's face and unload, they definitely know they've been hit with something big. This gives the player the feeling that every gun in the game holds weight . Perhaps the most unique weapon in the arsenal besides the BFG that was brought over from Doom is the inclusion of the Rail Gun. No game since has gotten it right. Not even the Quake games since. There's is something so terrifying about the sound the Quake II rail gun makes when it goes off. Offline, or, especially, online, the rail gun is definitely a force to be reckoned with in Quake II. You only get one shot at a time, and there it a reload period, so the Rail Gun requires spot on precision, but does exactly 100 points of damage meaning, if you don't have armor, you're a goner.

    Speaking of online play, there is still an active online community for Quake II. The online play is fast, furious, and extremely fun even to this day. Quake III may be the more popular online, but I personally prefer Quake II. I like the weapons better. The Rail gun, and Shotgun in Quake III just don't have the same oomph to them as they do in Quake II. When first playing online, the first thing you must realize is that the game is 13 years old, and a good number of those still playing have been playing since 1997. This is what initially scared me off from playing the game online. I knew I wouldn't have a chance. To be honest, I still mostly suck at playing Quake II online, and yet I still have a blast playing it every time I do. It can be frustrating at times throwing everything you've got at an opponent only to have them kill you, but the game just moves so fast and is filled with so much mayhem that you can't help but have a blast. It takes time to learn, and learning against the best is rough at first, but if you stick with it, you'll be all the better for it. I'd also like to suggest using Xfire to find servers for the game.


Bottom Line: Quake II isn't for modern FPS snobs who will dismiss it as nothing more than an out-of date relic of gaming's past, but if you're still an old school FPS enthusiast (and somehow managed to miss this game), or are just curious about the evolution of FPS gaming, then give Quake II a try. It's a bonified classic.

Here are vids of Quake II's Online play that I uploaded to youtube: