Quake II - Is it out of this world? (Quake II)

Member Name: Jazzy09

Product:	Quake II
Date:	28/05/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great gameplay and quite addictive either online or over a network

Disadvantages: Some bugs which were later fixed with modifications

Developer: ID Software
Publisher: Activision
Version: PC
Released: 1997

Quake has got to be one of the all time great first person shooter game. So could Quake 2 live up to its predecessor? I believe that it did. The game has an incredible soundtrack which was created by Sonic Mayhem and Bill Brown who also contributed with a couple of tracks.

PLOT
The game is set in a made up world and you take up the role of a marine called Bitterman. I always thought that the name was a bit stupid but that's my opinion. It a bit like Duke Nukem in that you have to stop the evil aliens from invading earth. Most of your army has been wiped out and it is your mission to defeat the alien race all by your self.

WEAPONS
A few of the weapons from the first Quake were kept but more weapons were added to the already great list of quake weapons. For example a few of the newly added weapons were called the Blaster and BFG10K (I called it the Big Friendly Giant) but it was great for taking out hordes of aliens.

POWER UPS
These remained the same as the first quake.

MODES OF PLAY
Like most first person shooter games you can play Single player as well as Multiplayer. I mostly played this over a local area network which was great for playing against your friends or family.

Single player mode had quite a few successful upgrades from the first Quake game e.g. the plot was much more thought out and was encompassed into the gameplay. You are also given mission targets which you have to achieve to complete a level which I found quite difficult but you do get through it bit by bit.

Multiplayer can be played many different ways for example you can play a free-for-all game which involves just doing what you like or my favourite was deathmatch games in which the first person to kill a certain target would be crowned the best.

HOW WAS IT RATED BY OTHER?
The game was highly successful and sold many copies. The game was also one of the most popular games online when it was released.

SPECIFICATIONS
To run Quake 2 you did require a decent graphics card and a fairly large amount of hard disk space and RAM (Random Access Memory).

GRAPHICS
The graphics improved on the last instalment and did so as the series of Quake progressed. The skies in the game looked great with the fabulous light effects. Also the rocks looked realistic and the aliens were quite creepy.

SOUND QUALITY
Having played this game many times the sound was great and never let you down. The sound really did come to life during the cut scenes and animations in the game.

GAMES SIMILAR TO QUAKE
Duke Nukem, Half Life and Soldier of fortune all used the same game engine as quake and you can actually see it in the gameplay of these different games.

CONCLUSION
I would rate quake as one of the all time great first person shooter games and is up there with the best. With great graphics, sound and gameplay this is a must for any hardcore gamer.

MY RATING: 5/5

Summary: Great game offline or online and one of the best first person shooter games!