I'm one of those, that actualy prefer Quake II over the OG Quake. The original is still a good game, but I enjoy the level design, gunplay and monster design of Quake II more.
ME TOO! I love Quake II with my heart. It took me a little bit to get used to the different art style. But now I love the art style. I more like the half-life like story than the level to level format type of story.
STROGGLY disagree - QUAKE II is awesome. Godlike soundtrack, kickass weapons, great dark desperate plot and atmosphere where you really feel that you are the last hope for mankind. Seems to me that you probably don't like grounded science-fiction as much as hellish/lovecraftian stuff.
I play a lot of quake 1 & 2, and all old shooters from 1993-2003. Quake II's guns remind me of the first episode of Daikatana. They're really jerky and always feel as if theyre doing something a little off than what you want them to be doing, or what you expect. I honestly think this is purely an issue of keyframes and interopolation. I've found a mod for QII that, while have horrendous vertex jelly compared to vanilla, it just kinda feels a bit less "jerky" when shooting them. It made me fall completely in love with quake II, fully. Quake2XP feels good, but the clean textures on the weapons mixed with their own animation stiffness kinda leaves me wanting more from it. Also the lack of muzzle flashes kinda takes away from the kick of firing the weapons, and I cant find a mod that makes them ANYWHERE ; ;
quake was my first entry into the multiplayer world. i was young, the internet was mystical as were the multiplayer options in menus. lol! but quake 2 multiplayer was where it all really hit the bigtime for me tbf. so many hours spent kicking ass. ahahahaha. one on one duels, ctf, and ofcourse who could forget Eraser / Gladiator bots. ohhh man... it was da bomb. miss those days actually. would go back!
@@chain872005 how tho?? the only thing i enjoy more in quake 1 is the level design and maybe the atmosphere.. just about everything else is improved on in quake 2 better music/gun balance/enemies, and it just had overall a better arsenal to play around with i never liked how useless the nailgun felt after you just got an objectively better 'super nailgun' why not balance it a little bit out like they did with the shotguns (by making the single barrel shotgun be faster with less spread).. you don't have any reason to return to the nailgun after you get the 'super nailgun' quake 1 also had waaaay to many 'charging' enemies...overall tho these are nit-picks quake 1 is still one of my all time favourite... quake 2 is just a tad better
Not at all. I played through only once the Q2. Of course we liked the grafiks with 3Dfx card because its a big thing back then but i enjoyed the multiplayer only a few months from this game... Half life mp was more fun. In the other hand i played through Q1 many times and enjoy mp for years. When Q2 released i totally don't understand the "quake" name tag. Of course id used the name because of marketing reasons... and let be honest the last good game from id was Quake. Q3 just mp and its was a tech demo. I enjoyed UT more then Q3. Q4 also boring and its about the Q2 story line. I didn't remember Q4 at all. Doom3? Compared to HL2? Rage? No comment... I didn't play all the way through that game. The new Doom game not for me also and let be honest this id not that id was it was. After Q1 the classic lineup was ended and this situacion was clearly seeable at the Q2. End of story. :)
Love the Pantera intro. You cant judged Quake 2 by today's standards or standards decade ago. When this game came out in 97 it was far ahead of other games. Quake 2 in Open GL was truly a sight to behold.
Not true, Q2 was an awesome game when it was released, good SP, addictive MP, LAN parties, good times. Yes is you play it now after Crysis it's gonna look bad. But you are also wrong about weapons, they were nicely balanced for MP they set the standard for future FPS.
Strongly disagree - Quake 2 was a god enjoyable shooter, with a clear plot, played it many times, 1st quake was a weird mess without a story. I like the visual of the quake 1 but...to this date I absolutely do not know what the hell was going on, some weird medieval sci-fi world with soldiers, zombies and demons... it never drawn me in.
The story of Quake 1 was literally the same story from classic Doom - just with the demons from Hell replaced by eldritch, Lovecraftian horrors. But aside from that, it's exactly the same storyline. A futuristic space Marine stationed at a science/military facility in which experiments with teleportation and interdimensional travel go very wrong. Evil monsters from "the other side" notice the doorway into our realm and invade. Space Marine is the only survivor and has to fight his way through the military/science facility, and journey into 'the other side' in order to stop the invasion. Space Marine winds up lost in the 'other side' for eternity (similar to Doomguy choosing to remain in Hell after Doom 64). Space Marine goes insane, but is still a badass despite going crazy. Same exact plot.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Quake 1 has a story and you just proved that you've never played it because if you've actually played it then you'd know that it has a story, so stop spreading nonsense. Quake 2 has nothing to do with the story of quake 1.
@@DeadPixel1105 It's very similar, but it is more interesting and a little bit more complex. The Dimensions in which we are playing, are an interdimensional but subjective creation of the Dark-Witch Goddess Shub-Niggurath. That's why they look like ancient realms, and filled with nightmarish monsters. Only the slipgate levels happen in "our" cosmos. That's why you don't see monsters there. Only human enemies and dogs. Precisely, the slipgate portals will send you to those dimensions, which are both real and an illusion at the same time. This is a very Gnostic and Philosophical concept, and I believe it was intentional. In Doom, there are different worlds and dimensions, but they are all 100 % "real." Plus, in Quake, everytime you finish an episode, you receive a different rune. They have different and very cool shapes, and each rune controls a different type of magic. And all these details are explained in the texts. And those texts are actually very creative. After you gather the power of the four runes, then you are set to face Shub-Niggurath. So yeah, in the age of internet search engines, if someone says Quake "has no story..."... for fuck sake. People just write everything that pops up into their minds without even making a small effort and try to confirm it. It's unbelievable. When it's videogames, I couldn't care less. But yeah...
I love Quake 2. Way better than the original. Holds up better than the original Dooms and Quake. When it came out it was loved. Seems there's a lot of revisionism going on. I don't think it lacks identity. It's enemy designs and soundtrack and live rent free in my head. Hell I was playing it 2 days ago and it's crazy good fun.
quake 2 blew my tiny young mind and absorbed me in to playing i t for nearly 8 years through the galaxy of mods. and editors available for it. quake 2 was my minecraft lol
1:42 - Quake 2 was actually the first FPS where the story was an integral part of the game, affecting the gameplay, instead of a bit of text in manual/at the end of episodes/some hidden places within the game. Shallow? Maybe. Impactful? Definitely!
So you're saying that a bunch of scrapped fantasy RPG assets have more coherent identity than narratively and stylistically consistent game? ID never "threw stuff at the wall to see what sticks" with Q1. They were exhausted by overly ambitious project, realized that they can't pull it off, packed whatever they had at that point and hoped for the best. Q1 was never a product of bold experimentation, it was a salvage attempt. Yes, it worked splendidly, and I do enjoy Q1 the best, but your critique is misplaced. Q2, unlike its predecessor, was envisioned. Story driven sci-fi military shooter, with the plot based on "Guns Of Navarone" WW2 epic, hosting the cybernetic hyperbole of humanity's militaristic totalitarian regimes as enemies. Q2 never had an identity crisis on itself - the Quake series had. I also can't understand how can you say that Q2 had no original qualities compared to Doom and Q1, then proceed to name qualities of Q2 never present in other ID shooters before that (And your list is far from exhausting! What about more intricate enemy AI, with zigzag patterns, crouching and infighting hierarchy? Or more animate level design, with bits of tech always pumping, pulsing, or otherwise moving?) You also deserve to be thrown into stroggification plant for mocking the Q2 BFG. As it stands, this iteration of the gun became more iconic, since its mechanic was reused both in D3 and reboots.
@@ZZ-hb1ho well, actually, Descent is the first truly 3D first person shooter (and there were couple of other true 3D games before Quake). I'm also not quite following you on level design - it was the continuation of Doom's trend, abstract and often boxy (even signature Sandy Petersen style was used for the final episode and with great success), albeit with more verticality this time. But Quake indeed had some technological innovations, yet what I'm talking about is the method with which ID approached the Quake's release. Maybe for us, the consumers, Quake was mind blowing on its release, but the whole experimentation phase was dropped way before that from the ID perspective. They tried to experiment in the beginning - realistic physics, VR tie-in, persistent world. But it was too ambitious, so they dropped it and channeled leftover resources into the thing they were most proficient with - straightforward FPS.
I think that Quake 2 has improved and diversified the good things we had in Quake 1. In the first one, the weapons are extremely OP. We use an automatic rocket launcher. I think that's enough, isn't it? Haha. Obviously, the monsters were also OP. In Quake 2, everything was given a balancing touch. The monsters dodge bullets and use firearms instead of just dealing deadly melee blows, and we use automatic and semi-automatic weapons similar to what exists in real life. In addition, Quake 2 added several male (normal humans and cyborg soldiers) and female characters, opening the space for us to speculate about their backstory, just as was done in 1 with the boxes with the skull symbol with wings and the human teleportation technology that interacts with obscure dimensions. The content and identity are in the game, you just have to look deep to see it.
you bring up this point and I'm now realizing that Quake never got a proper sequel. Q3 is just a competitive arena deathmatch, and Q4 is the sequel to Q2, and Q Champions is just another arena combat game. Where's my grotesque Eldrige horror slaying Ranger been all these years?
This just seems like you're ragging on Quake 2 for not being a carbon copy of Quake 1, which is the sort of trap a lot of younger retro FPS fans fall into. They just want Quake 1 copy pasted, but you might as well just play custom campaigns for Q1. Also Quake 2 DOES have high DPS weapons to deal with bullet sponge enemies. you have the chaingun and hyperblaster, which yes have a winddown but it's there so you don't use them on lowly individual enemies. plus, the quad damage is an inventory item that you can toggle when needed, and they're not too rare to freely use either. Quake 2 *does* have an identity, ask any long timers and they'll tell you they remember the sound of the supershotgun, or the iconic railgun sound. or the sound of COMPUTER UPDATED. plus the multiplayer and peoples memories contribute to identity as well. i'm glad at leas you aren't calling Q2 a pile of crap like a lot of people, but again it just seems you're judging it for not being Quake 1.
@@Rountree1985 Bruh, it’s not even about that. People are allowed to disagree with others. He’s right. To me Quake 2 is far superior than the first game.
I was around when this came out, and there was nothing like it - - this just blew my mind when I got it on Christmas 1997. Sure its level design is not abstract as its predecessor and is much more in line with what became the norm, but back in the day this was the best game you could buy - I remember as a kid I prefered this over Quake 1. Quake 1 by comparison, just looked like Doom with better graphics.
I've always loved Quake 2 more than the others in the series tbh. But the reason it's named "Quake 2", was because the engine was being built as a successor to the Quake engine, so the game was called that during development, even though they always wanted to name it something different. The problem was that they were never able to secure a name, since all the proposed property names they had in mind were already taken, and in the end it was too late, and were just forced to use the working title as the final name for it.
Quake 2 was my entry to the franchise when I saw my dad play it on CD as a kid. It was an early level, I remember Half Life looking rooms with water tanks, (my brother even told me the game was like Half Life, citing it was first person and Half Life was how I learned of first person games) a loading zone on a lift that appeared to be invisible to me at the time, and the rocking music. I still can’t find exactly the rooms I remember when I played it myself on Steam years later as my memory is too hazy with Quake 2 compared to many other games I played and/or watched at the time. Looking at it now, it should have been “War!” like id intended as it just isn’t Quake, and neither are any Quake games that came after except Dimensions of the Past and the Dimensions of the Machine. Only the second game of these two is Lovecraft themed, but Unreal 1 and DUSK are better Quake sequels, and that’s despite 90% of all Unreal games after the first being multiplayer only focused total garbage. Quake 2 might have been looked at more favourably with its original title and the strogg considered interesting villains, even if it still had all the other problems it does. Just like you, i don’t think it’s bad per-se; just ugly to look at, boring a lot of the time and feeling like it’s lacking soul, though it does get fun at times too. I feel the same way about the Unreal Tournament games as hinted above: I like a couple of them such as Championship on Xbox, the PC game it’s based on & the original and they pull off what they’re trying to do, but they steal the spotlight from proper Unreal games (even the awful Unreal 2), being glorified tech demos for their engines like Quake 2 was and they should have remained a spin-off series of Unreal only, like Sonic Riders & the All Stars Racing trilogy, Mario Kart and Portal are for their respective franchises (Portal’s being Half Life).
I mostly missed the original quake. My computer at the time wasn’t quite good enough to run it. I played the shareware version at potato-res, but by the time I got my first full-fledged gaming PC with Voodoo graphics, Q2 was in full swing. I referred to map Q2DM1 as “home away from home” with all the time I spent death matching that map. I’ll always have a deeper connection with Q2 because I never spent any quality time with Q1 until at least 15 years after it’s release.
I don't understand how you can see Quake 1, a hodge-podge of half-baked fantasy roleplay ideas later abandoned to just be a standard shooter as having more of an "IDENTITY" compared to Quake 2 which knows what it wants to be and sticks to it. Quake 2 is a sci-fi alien shooter game. What is Quake 1? Well it's a shooter, but sometimes you're in castles shooting knights (already weird), and sometimes you're in swamps shooting lovecraft monsters... wat?
so true. i wanted to comment something like that too. The hard RPG stuff got cut in q1 and what survived was a classic shooter with just some remains of its former rpg elements sprinkled in.
Quake just has soo much more atmosphere imo. Its so creepy and eerie. Even Trent said Quake 2 lacked atmosphere, which is why he didnt come back to do the ost
Quake 2's release was perfectly timed with me getting to college and first having access to broadband internet. Tons of great memories and tons of time wasted. Quake 1 multiplayer was a revelation in it's day (mods, the invention of CTF). But with Quake 2, Id Software fully realized that potential and ran with it. Once players grabbed ahold of it, the Quake 2 multiplayer scene and organization of clan vs clan tournaments via websites was the absolute beginning of what has now grown to become an esential part of games to this day and maybe even the start of esports. Looking back at the game without having experienced it at the time, I can see how you wouldn't fully appreciate it. But Quake 2 did for multiplayer gaming what Quake 1 did for 3D graphics. You can't fully talk about the game without giving due credit to that aspect of it.
I still play Quake 2 multiplayer till today. Narrow maps, slower weapon switch, loads of traps and loads of thinking + positioning involved. Allot more precise and tactical compared to Q3 and Live. I don't listen to Civvie here. The single player is pretty awesome. The movement feels super robust and free. You can approach the game in anyway you like. You can literally rocket jump, strafe and do all that multiplayer/speed running stuff. I replayed the game 30 times already along with the expansion packs! Try out the "Strogg Gone Mad" Mod if you want crazier and tougher enemies. They can jump, strafe and swarm you hard!
@@FEVfallout Glad to still see some dedicated modders outside of Quake 1. I had a few save issues, but it's been like that for me on Q2 Pro Client, So I dunno if its the Mod or not. Besides that I got nothing else to add. I've only played on (old) Nightmare mode.
As a teen I always just assumed Quake II was originally supposed to be Doom III, but they probably started working on the new id tech engine half way through and decided to save the Doom ip for that.. and thus we ended up with Quake Touiee
I personally find Q2 an incredible, focused and well designed game. This time around, unlike Q1 which I love btw, everything makes sense and fits: music (Sonicmayhem all the way), art design, setting, sound, enemies and finally believable level design. Metal Hell - that's what I would call it, especially seeing Stroggs making disgusting human-machine hybrids in the later prison levels. I also enjoyed a lot the gunplay. In my opinion, what U propably didn't like but failed a bit to capture is the weapon swapping which is waaay slower in Q2 than in Q1. That makes the combat feel slower, but, my god, these weapons are (in general) much more powerful. Super shotgun in Quake 2 is a monster, just like chaingun, plasmagun, railgun and BFG. It's a bit unfortunate U didnt mention Q2's impact on graphic accelerstors market. It was one of the first if not the FIRST game using colorful lighting on PC. It was a revolution and Quake 2 was leading it. Summarising - fantastic shooter IMHO. Polished, hardcore with strong identity and a great multiplayer as well.
I disagree with the review. Quake 2 is more evolved and advanced than Quake 1. It does have a very strong identity - it's a futuristic war story mixed with cyborg horror. A typical id Software theme that is also pure 1990s in style. There are continuities between Quake and Quake 2 - just not concerning the story. The Q1 military base style (rusty industrial, trapezoid shapes etc) was like a prototype for the Strogg base style. The weapons are more balanced and diverse than in Q1. In Q1 they were experimenting with true 3D level design (though I have to admit, these experiments were fun and creative), but in Q2 id Software mastered 3D level design. The non-linearity, interconnectivity, implementation of secret areas and use of 3D space in combat is excellent in Quake 2.
I'm fine if the atmosphere is more "traditional" (or "bland" as some people call it) than Quake 1. It's a very solid game I'll play if I feel like playing a more intense, action focussed alternative to Doom episode 1. Also has that amazing soundtrack of course.
Should a new Quake game follow up on the Lovecraft elements or focus on the Strogg? Why not both? The next single-player Quake should have the Strogg assimilating the monsters from the first.
If you don't like Quake II not leaning as much into the sci-fi theme, then you'd probably like the Mission Pack, "The Reakoning". I actually prefer that mission pack to the original game. The last few levels take place in a partially zero-G environment where you need to hijack a Strogg freighter and destroy a moon base. It definitely leans more into the sci-fi themes of Quake. Also, the first level takes place in a swamp as opposed to the industrial wasteland as the base game (although the mission pack takes you to some of that stuff too). I appreciate the variety more than the base game which is just....brown...brown and more brown. With a tint of orange.
I def enjoyed the Reckoning more than Ground Zero. I liked its setting and really liked the new weapins it introduced...Ion Ripper and Phalanx Particle Cannon for the " W"!
This game's graphics is amazing considering it's modest hardware appetite. I am playing it with a I3 processor with 4GB and a Radeon HD 6450 with 1GB of memory. As far as tempo, I don't want to be constantly shooting. I like to have some time to take in the sights, investigate for items and secrets, and navigate without being under a 360 barrage. The new remake of the original Quake is so hardware hungry it's for people who are living in their parents' basement, have rich parents, or are in a well-paid profession. No offense, good for you. In the meantime. I am trying to score the original Quake which seemed to disappear in the main venues for secure software retail downloads as usual with any resource hungry remake of a no-worries original.
Quake 2 is awesome. Don’t know where your low appreciation comes from. Fast and understandable storyline in SP. Even more awesome Multiplayer mode. Totally customizable. Can easily create own levels, awesome Demoediting. Mods, custom textures. Well…..
At the time, Quake 2 was somewhat unique in many ways tbh and it looked fantastic. half life was mentioned, but that came out the year after filling the gaps of where Q2 left off by delivering a deeper story driven experience. at the time, the flaws that came to plague Q2s singleplayer campaign were not even on the radar. i thought it was amazing although a little jarring compared to the original Quake. However looking back at it now, yes, what you have said here is apparent for the most part. Just thought it was worth pointing out that for many of us at the time it came out, none of that was an issue in the slightest. We were just so excited for another Quake and it didn't disappoint on Christmas. hahaha.
Up until recently I didn't think that much about Q2, but after having played through the raytraced version of the game twice, I've found a new appreciation for the game. I like to explore and take it slow in my retro shooters, and I realized that the more slow-paced and methodical combat of Quake 2 tickles my fancies pretty nicely. And when you add in the eye candy from the raytracing, which I like to stop to admire every step of the way, you've got yourself a combination to win me over. I think in the end, it probably was the better choice to make Q2 raytraced instead of Q1, since the slower gameplay lends itself well for admiring the visuals more.
Just a note, objective based hub maps were done on the Quake 1 engine with Hexen 2. Arguable they were a bit more cryptic, but there was plenty of backtracking and item grabbing needed to move on to the next level. In terms of aesthetics, I think Quake 2 suffers a bit because of the need to stick to an actual story. This kind of limited the environment and enemy designs, since they had to be consistent for world building. This is why more people may feel it to be a bit boring, because it really sticks to a military themed scifi fps we have come used to. Quake 1 really had no limitations and the general mystery/nightmarish settings makes it more fascinating.
Quake 2 was far more consistent and better multiplayer than q1. Over the novelty of all3d environment, q1 has you fighting with steampunk soldiers on one level and medieval castles with zombies in another. And electrical yetis in another. Quake 2 was a redemption from quake 1. The inconsistent novelty of q1 never caught the multiplayer scene.
Never caught the multiplayer scene? Quake 1 had a HUGE multiplayer scene that is active until today. Quake 2 had great multiplayer, and I absolutely love the game, but Quake 1 certainly did not put off anyone from playing its multiplayer.
Strougly disagree here. I have very fond memories of Q2 and still play singleplayer from time to time. Sure, there's a portion of nostalgia in there since it came out when I was like 15 or 16 ... so prime time for a fast action paced game to satisfy my hormone-filled youth self. But for me, it still feels like Quake 2 was kind of a return to the roots of id software. It was fast, it was explosive and it was Heavy Metal as hell - just like the two Doom titles before. Yeah, Quake 1 was also pretty fast and I had a great time playing mods like Killer Quake on LAN-Sessions - but the single player of Q1 was pretty lackluster. The whole mood changed from comically fast, action based and superhero/comic-like character I was used to, into a dark and broody game. Quake 2 on the other hand brings back the feeling of being a badass in a arcade like environment - rocket-jumping down a courtyard switching inflight to the supershotgun, mowing down the strogg in front of you, switching to the railgun and picking off those nasty flying creatures. And yes, this was mostly because of the kickass soundtrack. I love NIN to bits - but it simply doesn't fit to a fast action game. But also the general brightness and color-palette was way more inviting to jump around and spew rockets. With Quake 1 the environment changed so often, I always felt nervous and was too cautious when turning corners since I always expected something new/weird appearing. Quake 2 on the other hand gave you a very consistent environment, very predictable enemies, a rocket launcher and sent you hopping around with some beats to shoot your rockets to... And THEN there were the biggest and most notable aspects of the game: the multiplayer and mods... god, I loved this game.
I can understand how Q2 can be an acquired taste. For me, it was my first full 3D shooter experience. Despite initially running the demo at a shambolic 5 FPS or so in software mode (Pentium 90MHz, etc), I was blown away by how immersive the world was... while it stuttered along! I suppose those of us who enjoy the game look at it through rose-tinted glasses. I'm still adamant the overall level design was a distinctive step up from it's predecessor, and 64 player DM on LAN was an experience in itself! The perceived slowness of gameplay was alright at the time - people barely knew how to strafe jump back in '97 - and also made the combat a bit more tactical. BTW: you have some weird gamma settings going on!
The whole quake series needs a total reboot like doom got, there's great potential in it. I personally like the idea of an alien race that scours the galaxy that assimilates other species into its ranks, sort of a body horror aspect to it. But it seems the whole series has been resigned to the dustbin of history
the OG Quake's... directionlessness... plays into its tension beautifully. There's a sense that you're going deeper and deeper into some kind of machine that you couldn't so much as begin to understand. And how do you beat the odds when you can't even comprehend what those odds are? Quake 2 feels more like you know what you're doing, you have a plan, and the horror is coming more from the likelyhood and consequences of your failure. I can see why that would appeal more to some people but the feeling of being, like... a weasel trying to stop a space shuttle, yanking out every connection they see and just hoping one of them was important... that's always going to be more compelling to me.
I've never liked Quake I and Quake II is a way, way better game. The singleplayer is much improved and the multiplayer is a revelation. I also prefer it over Doom because as much as love the granddaddy of shooters, it has some pretty big limitations, while Quake 2 has an incredible pace and the 3D rendering is amazing.
Yeah, I agree with most in the comment section: Quake II was pretty great. I agree that the story, lore, and monsters from Quake 1 was much better; but I just have more fun playing Quake II. As awesome as the original Quake is, I'd be lying if I said I don't get bored within a few levels and need to take a break. I think the weapons and enemy AI in Quake II is more entertaining. I'd love a proper reboot of the original Quake though. All the Strogg stuff is not the least bit interesting to me personally.
It brought the railgun, which give it its right to exist. I have good memories with Quake 2 and I love it. It is also the first game to have rtx. It's an icon. Bones.
In spite of a bunch of improvements over the first game, I definitely agree the second game was more by the numbers and didn't stand out as much as Quake 1 did. For me, the schizophrenic mess of the first game along with its interdimensional horrors spliced with grunts, knights and a psycho with a chainsaw and grenade launcher made a more lasting impression. And, well, neither story trumped over the other seeing as one was an undecided mess, the other was too safe and too generic. So I take the first game over the second for its appearance and atmosphere. That said, as far as I'm concerned, Quake 2 was anything but the weakest entry in the series and as Id Software as a whole. Just the fact you got another skin available with no modding was a small feature I appreciated. I did remember some in the fandom lamenting over not having a crackwhore back in the day. :P I did like the weapons I got to use, including the BFG...10k, I believe. I'm not a fan of the Strogg, but you still got some good monster variety, and at least you get to actually fight the Makron in the end as opposed to telefrag it. Also, Quake 2 continued the trend from the first game of allowing people to mod the game to whatever they felt like, so there were some nice mods out there at the time. In short, I loved Quake 2 and Quake 1. I can't say the same for the later entries.
One thing I didn't like about Quake 2 is how the music affected the mood of the game. I've probably played the shareware demo about 20 to 30 times. With no music. And the atmosphere of the game created with visuals and sound effects was amazing. When I finally replayed the game in it's entirety with the music playing, the atmosphere was completely different. I wonder what it would have been like if Quake 2 has a soundtrack more similar to Quake 1. I think it would have worked amazing with the body horror elements. The actual games music fights the eerie and lonely atmosphere. I love the soundtrack and I listen to it on it's own, but I don't think it has fully supported the game's atmosphere.
I think Bethesda is winding up to do a Quake game that will probably be both a sequel to Quake one and the Strogg Quake. The references to multiple worlds in the newest Wolfenstein and what was done in Doom Eternal makes me think they're setting up a world hopping game and we just may yet have the return of the Ranger; wouldn't shock me if near the end of the game he's stranded in the fight against the Strogg for a few levels and meets the Marine from Quake 4 or 2.
Not far behind my love of Doom 1+2 is my love of Quake 1. Quake 2 is nowhere near that and I preferred Unreal tournament to Q3 back in the day. Always wanted the true Quake sequel it deserved but sadly that will never happen. Q2 is a very solid game, especially compared to most modern games but compared to the classics it was such a huge misstep.
Yes! Quake 2 is solid on its own, but it's a shame we never got another Lovecraftian Quake game. At least the Strogg plotline was continued with Quake 4, which I think is actually pretty damn good.
Have no idea what you are talking about. Yes, personally I haven’t played Doom, but I did see it around 1997. However, in Russia back in the 1998 there were only 2 idols that everyone played and these idols were Starcraft and Quake II. First time I saw Quake II in the Glide mode, my jaw dropped to the floor.
@@Igorsov I played Doom 1, 2, Quake 1, 2 and 3 as they were released. Q2 is when I started to lose interest. Probably because Q1 was still a lot like Doom. Quake and Diablo were the big games where I'm at in the US. Q2 and Starcraft weren't as popular.
@@StodgyAyatollah That’s because you expected it to look like Quake 1. Quake II with 3Dfx rise brought many new players in. People play Quake II to this day. Quake 1 is also great. I like both. Quake II and Starcraft were crazy popular in Europe.
They should just remake the series, DooM-style, Quake I as, well, Quake, and Quake II as Wor or whatever the wip name for the project was when it was in dev. The success of DooM series showed that there is a market for games modern in technology, but polished oldschool at heart. TAG2 for Eternal ended this chapter of Slayer saga and it doesn't need to be put on a conveyor, better open a fresh new page of top quality remasters in the face of Quake franchise.
I love Quake II, but animations and lack of muzzle flashes has always bothered me. The keyframes and interpolation makes things feel jerky. I feel like the exagguration animations were a bit much and oversold the weapons when given their sounds and lack of muzzle effects. It felt like the bullets and your animations were miscommunicating or something. I've been playing this game since release, and it's never felt goo firing the first shot from the weapons. It's always been a thing I tried to ignore so I could enjoy romping through the levels and seeing the gore. I feel like they went way too crazy with animations when they got interpolation working. Adding flash effects and not just lighting, while toning the animations back a bit might really make the guns feel way more powerful and controlled.
Back in the 90's you didn't really completely expect a sequel in a series to be the exact same game. Studios would develop new games that were radically different from the previous game. And the expectation in general wasn' t to have a "franchise" when you made games and you didn't expect the many things you do now. The last few years that you've experienced of the game industry have probably been some of the most boring. In the 90's the whole thing was just almost all comparable to modern indie titles in their process. Even the biggest titles were tiny in scale compared to now a days.
I don't agree about the weapons or the weapons feel, especially compared to the games before it. Even just playing the RTX version recently it felt great.
I dunno know man you wernt around for the release . It was the shit back in the day . I played the single player alot . Me and my brother had pc lan link . It was super cool . Look at halo its comes straight fom quake 2. It has extra missoin packs aswell for single and co op .Servers still run to this day 2022. Its a great game . lighting ,cool guns , Gun types i love by the by . Its a fucking rock solid classic and i played it with a mate tonight before looking up vids on q2.
lol...you enjoy quake 2...in multiplayer This was the whole fun of the game on the various DM maps. Multiplayer as in network not internet. In school at the IT labs or in dedicated "internet cafe" places where network gaming was the thing to do, and less internet browsing. Back in those days, internet was sluggish as hell so you'd go only to play videogames with several friends for hours over hours.
Ugh... The only thing about the weapons I can agree with is that... you didn't like them :P because they were different from Q1 🙄 Shotgun was slower than in Q1, but also more powerful and consistent(?), being able to kill the weaker enemies in one shot. Super-shotgun was even more powerful than before, being viable even against the Tanks, but also has much bigger spread, so to be properly used one had to consider it a melee weapon. This had a significant impact on the gameplay, requiring player to perform a dance of sorts to make the most out of this gun. It was superfun xD The Machinegun ("SMG") with it's recoil required to be shot in short bursts and was a perfect "default" weapon to wield while running through corridors. The Chaingun's wind-up and wind-down further underlined the game's ammo management concept. It was a powerful weapon that required caution not to waste the ammo. Grenade and Rocket launchers were almost the same as in Q1... aside from no longer using the same ammo, which IMO was a downgrade (because of ammo management I've mentioned). And then there was the Hyperblaster... The gun that felt like a perfect weapon... that (fortunately) couldn't be used excessively/exclusively, because it shared ammo (energy cells) with BFG... and player's energy shield 😅 As for BFG - it was the first proper implementation of this weapon. In Doom devs had to resort to some trickery to make it work 😅 And, least but not last, the Blaster - a pistol equivalent. Good enough to provide some long range solution, but bad enough so that it didn't overshadow the shotgun. Perfect to provide means of hitting switches without spending ammo 😅
Man I couldn't disagree with you more about this one. I loved quake 2, blowing fuckers away with the super shotgun and chain gun was awesome. I hated the original quake. Super ugly and the death sounds of the grunts always got under my skin, like GYAH! GYAH! over and over was like a power drill in my ears. Still not as bad as the cultists in blood though.
Personally, I think the gunplay in Quake II is superior to that of the first game. In particular, the shotguns, which felt weak as fuck in Quake, but easily and consistently blow enemies to tiny giblets in Quake II. Quake had better movement, though. Quake II felt like they gimped the jump height and speed.
Should they lean in on creepy gothic lovecraft or scfi-fi space marine body horror? ... Why not both for Quake 5? Hell for the multiplayer let Quake 3 and Champions have some influence
Wait, so is Quake 2 the weakest of ID's games? I thought that was Doom 3 not Quake 2, actually I love so god damn much Quake 2, is the reason I'm into arena shooters rn
Sorry mate, but you are completely wrong on this one. Quake 2 is undoubtedly ID's greatest game - it is a quantum leap forward over Doom and Quake 1. The lighting is absolutely brilliant and the music and soundtrack unrivalled. The gameplay is superb in terms of control - I should know I've been playing it continuously since it was released 26 years ago. That's how good it's fundamentals are - it has endless replay value. Show me a game in 2023 you can boot up in 30 seconds, save in 10, and be right in the heart of high intensity action in no time in a brilliant lit, relentlessly challenging world.
Not a big fan of Quake 2 either but your problems here are your expectations. 1998 wasnt same as 1993 or even 1996 for FPS games so yes Quake 2 is not 100 percent boomer shooter, its stuck somewhere between. Making exact same game like two years ago wasnt the option here, landscape was changing. Hub system is not that awful, clear linear path where to go is always visible. Guns yeah, after jumping from Quake 1 to Quake 2 I was pissed by delays in animations as well but enemys were balanced around that too so all player have to do is pick up the pace and rhythm, slower than Quake 1. Artstyle didnt age well because tons of shooters later overused same brown aestetic but it has its moments like horrors that stroggs did on human prisoners. And most of all, the music.
Missed the opportunity to call the video "Id-entity Crisis"
LOL ffs
@@FPMedia_ why not change it now?
@@FPMedia_ do it
I'm one of those, that actualy prefer Quake II over the OG Quake. The original is still a good game, but I enjoy the level design, gunplay and monster design of Quake II more.
Same.
Same here.
Well, the Q2 was definitely more fleshed out in many ways... though it also broke some things along the way :/
Same, Quake II was better than Quake 1.
ME TOO! I love Quake II with my heart. It took me a little bit to get used to the different art style. But now I love the art style. I more like the half-life like story than the level to level format type of story.
STROGGLY disagree - QUAKE II is awesome. Godlike soundtrack, kickass weapons, great dark desperate plot and atmosphere where you really feel that you are the last hope for mankind. Seems to me that you probably don't like grounded science-fiction as much as hellish/lovecraftian stuff.
It wasn't that grounded tbh lol
but quake 2 isnt quake. strogg = quake 2 and 4. Quake 1 and 3 are occult, gothic, hellish themes. quake 2 and 4 is some sci-fi BS
the weapons really arent kickass compared to doom and quake 1. the super shotgun actually feels pretty weak!
I play a lot of quake 1 & 2, and all old shooters from 1993-2003. Quake II's guns remind me of the first episode of Daikatana. They're really jerky and always feel as if theyre doing something a little off than what you want them to be doing, or what you expect. I honestly think this is purely an issue of keyframes and interopolation. I've found a mod for QII that, while have horrendous vertex jelly compared to vanilla, it just kinda feels a bit less "jerky" when shooting them. It made me fall completely in love with quake II, fully.
Quake2XP feels good, but the clean textures on the weapons mixed with their own animation stiffness kinda leaves me wanting more from it.
Also the lack of muzzle flashes kinda takes away from the kick of firing the weapons, and I cant find a mod that makes them ANYWHERE ; ;
@@dmer-zy3rbnot to mention the regular shotgun…… the RAILGUN can’t even 1 shot the weakest common enemies
Quake 2 was one of my favorite games as a kid. Still love it.
One of the most influential games of my life.
quake was my first entry into the multiplayer world. i was young, the internet was mystical as were the multiplayer options in menus. lol! but quake 2 multiplayer was where it all really hit the bigtime for me tbf. so many hours spent kicking ass. ahahahaha. one on one duels, ctf, and ofcourse who could forget Eraser / Gladiator bots. ohhh man... it was da bomb. miss those days actually. would go back!
Quake 2 is easly one of the best game ever created. End of story.
That's just your opinion. Quake 1 is way better.
@@chain872005 Quake 2 is better and has a better engine, physics and controls. Quake 1 is ok but not as good.
@@chain872005 how tho??
the only thing i enjoy more in quake 1 is the level design and maybe the atmosphere.. just about everything else is improved on in quake 2
better music/gun balance/enemies, and it just had overall a better arsenal to play around with
i never liked how useless the nailgun felt after you just got an objectively better 'super nailgun' why not balance it a little bit out like they did with the shotguns (by making the single barrel shotgun be faster with less spread).. you don't have any reason to return to the nailgun after you get the 'super nailgun'
quake 1 also had waaaay to many 'charging' enemies...overall tho these are nit-picks quake 1 is still one of my all time favourite... quake 2 is just a tad better
Period.
Not at all. I played through only once the Q2. Of course we liked the grafiks with 3Dfx card because its a big thing back then but i enjoyed the multiplayer only a few months from this game... Half life mp was more fun. In the other hand i played through Q1 many times and enjoy mp for years. When Q2 released i totally don't understand the "quake" name tag. Of course id used the name because of marketing reasons... and let be honest the last good game from id was Quake. Q3 just mp and its was a tech demo. I enjoyed UT more then Q3. Q4 also boring and its about the Q2 story line. I didn't remember Q4 at all. Doom3? Compared to HL2? Rage? No comment... I didn't play all the way through that game. The new Doom game not for me also and let be honest this id not that id was it was. After Q1 the classic lineup was ended and this situacion was clearly seeable at the Q2. End of story. :)
Love the Pantera intro. You cant judged Quake 2 by today's standards or standards decade ago. When this game came out in 97 it was far ahead of other games. Quake 2 in Open GL was truly a sight to behold.
This was, is, and probably always will be my favorite Quake game.
Not true, Q2 was an awesome game when it was released, good SP, addictive MP, LAN parties, good times.
Yes is you play it now after Crysis it's gonna look bad. But you are also wrong about weapons, they were nicely balanced for MP they set the standard for future FPS.
Strongly disagree - Quake 2 was a god enjoyable shooter, with a clear plot, played it many times, 1st quake was a weird mess without a story. I like the visual of the quake 1 but...to this date I absolutely do not know what the hell was going on, some weird medieval sci-fi world with soldiers, zombies and demons... it never drawn me in.
The story of Quake 1 was literally the same story from classic Doom - just with the demons from Hell replaced by eldritch, Lovecraftian horrors. But aside from that, it's exactly the same storyline. A futuristic space Marine stationed at a science/military facility in which experiments with teleportation and interdimensional travel go very wrong. Evil monsters from "the other side" notice the doorway into our realm and invade. Space Marine is the only survivor and has to fight his way through the military/science facility, and journey into 'the other side' in order to stop the invasion. Space Marine winds up lost in the 'other side' for eternity (similar to Doomguy choosing to remain in Hell after Doom 64). Space Marine goes insane, but is still a badass despite going crazy.
Same exact plot.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Quake 1 has a story and you just proved that you've never played it because if you've actually played it then you'd know that it has a story, so stop spreading nonsense. Quake 2 has nothing to do with the story of quake 1.
i like quake 2 to mutch but love quake 1 also there both good and i have to many ports of them
@@DeadPixel1105 It's very similar, but it is more interesting and a little bit more complex. The Dimensions in which we are playing, are an interdimensional but subjective creation of the Dark-Witch Goddess Shub-Niggurath. That's why they look like ancient realms, and filled with nightmarish monsters. Only the slipgate levels happen in "our" cosmos. That's why you don't see monsters there. Only human enemies and dogs. Precisely, the slipgate portals will send you to those dimensions, which are both real and an illusion at the same time. This is a very Gnostic and Philosophical concept, and I believe it was intentional. In Doom, there are different worlds and dimensions, but they are all 100 % "real." Plus, in Quake, everytime you finish an episode, you receive a different rune. They have different and very cool shapes, and each rune controls a different type of magic. And all these details are explained in the texts. And those texts are actually very creative. After you gather the power of the four runes, then you are set to face Shub-Niggurath. So yeah, in the age of internet search engines, if someone says Quake "has no story..."... for fuck sake. People just write everything that pops up into their minds without even making a small effort and try to confirm it. It's unbelievable. When it's videogames, I couldn't care less. But yeah...
That's the good point about quake 1 -- weird medieval sci-fi with soldiers, zombies and demons =)
Quake 2 is outstanding. The multiplayer was cutting edge back then.
quake 2 didnt have its own personality? really alien robots that turn humans into machines i think quake 2 is the best quake game hands down
I love Quake 2. Way better than the original. Holds up better than the original Dooms and Quake. When it came out it was loved. Seems there's a lot of revisionism going on.
I don't think it lacks identity. It's enemy designs and soundtrack and live rent free in my head. Hell I was playing it 2 days ago and it's crazy good fun.
quake 2 blew my tiny young mind and absorbed me in to playing i t for nearly 8 years through the galaxy of mods. and editors available for it. quake 2 was my minecraft lol
same. ahahaha. multiplayer was where it was at for me.
1:42 - Quake 2 was actually the first FPS where the story was an integral part of the game, affecting the gameplay, instead of a bit of text in manual/at the end of episodes/some hidden places within the game.
Shallow? Maybe.
Impactful? Definitely!
So you're saying that a bunch of scrapped fantasy RPG assets have more coherent identity than narratively and stylistically consistent game? ID never "threw stuff at the wall to see what sticks" with Q1. They were exhausted by overly ambitious project, realized that they can't pull it off, packed whatever they had at that point and hoped for the best. Q1 was never a product of bold experimentation, it was a salvage attempt. Yes, it worked splendidly, and I do enjoy Q1 the best, but your critique is misplaced. Q2, unlike its predecessor, was envisioned. Story driven sci-fi military shooter, with the plot based on "Guns Of Navarone" WW2 epic, hosting the cybernetic hyperbole of humanity's militaristic totalitarian regimes as enemies. Q2 never had an identity crisis on itself - the Quake series had.
I also can't understand how can you say that Q2 had no original qualities compared to Doom and Q1, then proceed to name qualities of Q2 never present in other ID shooters before that (And your list is far from exhausting! What about more intricate enemy AI, with zigzag patterns, crouching and infighting hierarchy? Or more animate level design, with bits of tech always pumping, pulsing, or otherwise moving?) You also deserve to be thrown into stroggification plant for mocking the Q2 BFG. As it stands, this iteration of the gun became more iconic, since its mechanic was reused both in D3 and reboots.
Quake 1 being the first 3D first person shooter seems pretty experimental to me, along with the level design as well.
@@ZZ-hb1ho well, actually, Descent is the first truly 3D first person shooter (and there were couple of other true 3D games before Quake). I'm also not quite following you on level design - it was the continuation of Doom's trend, abstract and often boxy (even signature Sandy Petersen style was used for the final episode and with great success), albeit with more verticality this time.
But Quake indeed had some technological innovations, yet what I'm talking about is the method with which ID approached the Quake's release. Maybe for us, the consumers, Quake was mind blowing on its release, but the whole experimentation phase was dropped way before that from the ID perspective. They tried to experiment in the beginning - realistic physics, VR tie-in, persistent world. But it was too ambitious, so they dropped it and channeled leftover resources into the thing they were most proficient with - straightforward FPS.
1000% agree
I think that Quake 2 has improved and diversified the good things we had in Quake 1. In the first one, the weapons are extremely OP. We use an automatic rocket launcher. I think that's enough, isn't it? Haha. Obviously, the monsters were also OP. In Quake 2, everything was given a balancing touch. The monsters dodge bullets and use firearms instead of just dealing deadly melee blows, and we use automatic and semi-automatic weapons similar to what exists in real life. In addition, Quake 2 added several male (normal humans and cyborg soldiers) and female characters, opening the space for us to speculate about their backstory, just as was done in 1 with the boxes with the skull symbol with wings and the human teleportation technology that interacts with obscure dimensions. The content and identity are in the game, you just have to look deep to see it.
you bring up this point and I'm now realizing that Quake never got a proper sequel. Q3 is just a competitive arena deathmatch, and Q4 is the sequel to Q2, and Q Champions is just another arena combat game. Where's my grotesque Eldrige horror slaying Ranger been all these years?
This just seems like you're ragging on Quake 2 for not being a carbon copy of Quake 1, which is the sort of trap a lot of younger retro FPS fans fall into. They just want Quake 1 copy pasted, but you might as well just play custom campaigns for Q1. Also Quake 2 DOES have high DPS weapons to deal with bullet sponge enemies. you have the chaingun and hyperblaster, which yes have a winddown but it's there so you don't use them on lowly individual enemies. plus, the quad damage is an inventory item that you can toggle when needed, and they're not too rare to freely use either. Quake 2 *does* have an identity, ask any long timers and they'll tell you they remember the sound of the supershotgun, or the iconic railgun sound. or the sound of COMPUTER UPDATED. plus the multiplayer and peoples memories contribute to identity as well. i'm glad at leas you aren't calling Q2 a pile of crap like a lot of people, but again it just seems you're judging it for not being Quake 1.
Hey, try this: www.moddb.com/mods/rampage-mod/downloads
It’s his opinion, get over it.
@@Rountree1985 Bruh, it’s not even about that. People are allowed to disagree with others. He’s right. To me Quake 2 is far superior than the first game.
I was around when this came out, and there was nothing like it - - this just blew my mind when I got it on Christmas 1997. Sure its level design is not abstract as its predecessor and is much more in line with what became the norm, but back in the day this was the best game you could buy - I remember as a kid I prefered this over Quake 1. Quake 1 by comparison, just looked like Doom with better graphics.
I've always loved Quake 2 more than the others in the series tbh. But the reason it's named "Quake 2", was because the engine was being built as a successor to the Quake engine, so the game was called that during development, even though they always wanted to name it something different. The problem was that they were never able to secure a name, since all the proposed property names they had in mind were already taken, and in the end it was too late, and were just forced to use the working title as the final name for it.
Why not Just call it S.F.A (Strogg force attack) ot just strogg idk
Quake 2 was my entry to the franchise when I saw my dad play it on CD as a kid. It was an early level, I remember Half Life looking rooms with water tanks, (my brother even told me the game was like Half Life, citing it was first person and Half Life was how I learned of first person games) a loading zone on a lift that appeared to be invisible to me at the time, and the rocking music. I still can’t find exactly the rooms I remember when I played it myself on Steam years later as my memory is too hazy with Quake 2 compared to many other games I played and/or watched at the time.
Looking at it now, it should have been “War!” like id intended as it just isn’t Quake, and neither are any Quake games that came after except Dimensions of the Past and the Dimensions of the Machine. Only the second game of these two is Lovecraft themed, but Unreal 1 and DUSK are better Quake sequels, and that’s despite 90% of all Unreal games after the first being multiplayer only focused total garbage. Quake 2 might have been looked at more favourably with its original title and the strogg considered interesting villains, even if it still had all the other problems it does.
Just like you, i don’t think it’s bad per-se; just ugly to look at, boring a lot of the time and feeling like it’s lacking soul, though it does get fun at times too. I feel the same way about the Unreal Tournament games as hinted above: I like a couple of them such as Championship on Xbox, the PC game it’s based on & the original and they pull off what they’re trying to do, but they steal the spotlight from proper Unreal games (even the awful Unreal 2), being glorified tech demos for their engines like Quake 2 was and they should have remained a spin-off series of Unreal only, like Sonic Riders & the All Stars Racing trilogy, Mario Kart and Portal are for their respective franchises (Portal’s being Half Life).
I mostly missed the original quake. My computer at the time wasn’t quite good enough to run it. I played the shareware version at potato-res, but by the time I got my first full-fledged gaming PC with Voodoo graphics, Q2 was in full swing. I referred to map Q2DM1 as “home away from home” with all the time I spent death matching that map.
I’ll always have a deeper connection with Q2 because I never spent any quality time with Q1 until at least 15 years after it’s release.
I don't understand how you can see Quake 1, a hodge-podge of half-baked fantasy roleplay ideas later abandoned to just be a standard shooter as having more of an "IDENTITY" compared to Quake 2 which knows what it wants to be and sticks to it. Quake 2 is a sci-fi alien shooter game. What is Quake 1? Well it's a shooter, but sometimes you're in castles shooting knights (already weird), and sometimes you're in swamps shooting lovecraft monsters... wat?
so true. i wanted to comment something like that too. The hard RPG stuff got cut in q1 and what survived was a classic shooter with just some remains of its former rpg elements sprinkled in.
EXACTLY, I hate that weird mix that makes no sense + absolute no storytelling or clear motivation
Quake just has soo much more atmosphere imo. Its so creepy and eerie. Even Trent said Quake 2 lacked atmosphere, which is why he didnt come back to do the ost
@@thisjointisloose yes the atmosphere is there but is not backed by any narrative.
@@handznet I’ll take better atmosphere, and gameplay over a story that isn’t really all that great in the first place.
Quake 2's release was perfectly timed with me getting to college and first having access to broadband internet. Tons of great memories and tons of time wasted. Quake 1 multiplayer was a revelation in it's day (mods, the invention of CTF). But with Quake 2, Id Software fully realized that potential and ran with it. Once players grabbed ahold of it, the Quake 2 multiplayer scene and organization of clan vs clan tournaments via websites was the absolute beginning of what has now grown to become an esential part of games to this day and maybe even the start of esports. Looking back at the game without having experienced it at the time, I can see how you wouldn't fully appreciate it. But Quake 2 did for multiplayer gaming what Quake 1 did for 3D graphics. You can't fully talk about the game without giving due credit to that aspect of it.
Quake 1 definitely much more fun to play than quake 2
I still play Quake 2 multiplayer till today. Narrow maps, slower weapon switch, loads of traps and loads of thinking + positioning involved. Allot more precise and tactical compared to Q3 and Live. I don't listen to Civvie here. The single player is pretty awesome. The movement feels super robust and free. You can approach the game in anyway you like. You can literally rocket jump, strafe and do all that multiplayer/speed running stuff. I replayed the game 30 times already along with the expansion packs! Try out the "Strogg Gone Mad" Mod if you want crazier and tougher enemies. They can jump, strafe and swarm you hard!
Hey, try this: www.moddb.com/mods/rampage-mod/downloads
@@FEVfallout I did. Good stuff for Coop. Are you the Dev?
@@spartan17696 Yup. Glad you like it. Any wishes? ^^
@@FEVfallout Glad to still see some dedicated modders outside of Quake 1. I had a few save issues, but it's been like that for me on Q2 Pro Client, So I dunno if its the Mod or not. Besides that I got nothing else to add. I've only played on (old) Nightmare mode.
As a teen I always just assumed Quake II was originally supposed to be Doom III, but they probably started working on the new id tech engine half way through and decided to save the Doom ip for that.. and thus we ended up with Quake Touiee
Lol at Touiee
Quake 2 blew me away as a kid. First multiplayer game I had. Still love it.
I personally find Q2 an incredible, focused and well designed game. This time around, unlike Q1 which I love btw, everything makes sense and fits: music (Sonicmayhem all the way), art design, setting, sound, enemies and finally believable level design. Metal Hell - that's what I would call it, especially seeing Stroggs making disgusting human-machine hybrids in the later prison levels.
I also enjoyed a lot the gunplay. In my opinion, what U propably didn't like but failed a bit to capture is the weapon swapping which is waaay slower in Q2 than in Q1. That makes the combat feel slower, but, my god, these weapons are (in general) much more powerful. Super shotgun in Quake 2 is a monster, just like chaingun, plasmagun, railgun and BFG.
It's a bit unfortunate U didnt mention Q2's impact on graphic accelerstors market. It was one of the first if not the FIRST game using colorful lighting on PC. It was a revolution and Quake 2 was leading it.
Summarising - fantastic shooter IMHO. Polished, hardcore with strong identity and a great multiplayer as well.
Hey, try this: www.moddb.com/mods/rampage-mod/downloads
@@FEVfallout
Just played it. Whoa! it's very interesting :)! The AI makes all the difference + its been sped ap a bit
@@chaser1254 Cool, have fun, and give some feedback :D
I disagree with the review. Quake 2 is more evolved and advanced than Quake 1. It does have a very strong identity - it's a futuristic war story mixed with cyborg horror. A typical id Software theme that is also pure 1990s in style. There are continuities between Quake and Quake 2 - just not concerning the story. The Q1 military base style (rusty industrial, trapezoid shapes etc) was like a prototype for the Strogg base style. The weapons are more balanced and diverse than in Q1. In Q1 they were experimenting with true 3D level design (though I have to admit, these experiments were fun and creative), but in Q2 id Software mastered 3D level design. The non-linearity, interconnectivity, implementation of secret areas and use of 3D space in combat is excellent in Quake 2.
I'm fine if the atmosphere is more "traditional" (or "bland" as some people call it) than Quake 1. It's a very solid game I'll play if I feel like playing a more intense, action focussed alternative to Doom episode 1. Also has that amazing soundtrack of course.
In my opinion Quake 2's sci-fi atmosphere and Strogg are better than Quake 1atmosphere and monsters.
Should a new Quake game follow up on the Lovecraft elements or focus on the Strogg? Why not both? The next single-player Quake should have the Strogg assimilating the monsters from the first.
Neat, deserves more views. Only criticism is that the end feels like you're just repeating yourself over and over
If you don't like Quake II not leaning as much into the sci-fi theme, then you'd probably like the Mission Pack, "The Reakoning". I actually prefer that mission pack to the original game. The last few levels take place in a partially zero-G environment where you need to hijack a Strogg freighter and destroy a moon base. It definitely leans more into the sci-fi themes of Quake. Also, the first level takes place in a swamp as opposed to the industrial wasteland as the base game (although the mission pack takes you to some of that stuff too). I appreciate the variety more than the base game which is just....brown...brown and more brown. With a tint of orange.
I def enjoyed the Reckoning more than Ground Zero. I liked its setting and really liked the new weapins it introduced...Ion Ripper and Phalanx Particle Cannon for the " W"!
@@Marc_Araujo Same!! I'm currently in a playthrough of Quake 2 remastered and I can't wait to play the Reckoning!
Did you play the same game as everyone else? Quake II is fantastic. Probably best Id game after the Doom series, being better than doom 3
Hi, I've enjoyed your content so far so I'm gonna subscribe. Btw, a great choice for using Pantera in the intro! Keep it up!
This game's graphics is amazing considering it's modest hardware appetite. I am playing it with a I3 processor with 4GB and a Radeon HD 6450 with 1GB of memory. As far as tempo, I don't want to be constantly shooting. I like to have some time to take in the sights, investigate for items and secrets, and navigate without being under a 360 barrage. The new remake of the original Quake is so hardware hungry it's for people who are living in their parents' basement, have rich parents, or are in a well-paid profession. No offense, good for you. In the meantime. I am trying to score the original Quake which seemed to disappear in the main venues for secure software retail downloads as usual with any resource hungry remake of a no-worries original.
Quake 2 is awesome. Don’t know where your low appreciation comes from. Fast and understandable storyline in SP. Even more awesome Multiplayer mode. Totally customizable. Can easily create own levels, awesome Demoediting. Mods, custom textures. Well…..
There are sci fi military bases in Quake 1, in my head that's what connects 1 and 2
Love it. Has the best intros in the 90s.
At the time, Quake 2 was somewhat unique in many ways tbh and it looked fantastic. half life was mentioned, but that came out the year after filling the gaps of where Q2 left off by delivering a deeper story driven experience. at the time, the flaws that came to plague Q2s singleplayer campaign were not even on the radar. i thought it was amazing although a little jarring compared to the original Quake. However looking back at it now, yes, what you have said here is apparent for the most part. Just thought it was worth pointing out that for many of us at the time it came out, none of that was an issue in the slightest. We were just so excited for another Quake and it didn't disappoint on Christmas. hahaha.
I play quake 2 rtx and i agree
Up until recently I didn't think that much about Q2, but after having played through the raytraced version of the game twice, I've found a new appreciation for the game.
I like to explore and take it slow in my retro shooters, and I realized that the more slow-paced and methodical combat of Quake 2 tickles my fancies pretty nicely. And when you add in the eye candy from the raytracing, which I like to stop to admire every step of the way, you've got yourself a combination to win me over.
I think in the end, it probably was the better choice to make Q2 raytraced instead of Q1, since the slower gameplay lends itself well for admiring the visuals more.
I didn't get very far into Quake 2 myself, but at least the music kicks ass.
Just a note, objective based hub maps were done on the Quake 1 engine with Hexen 2. Arguable they were a bit more cryptic, but there was plenty of backtracking and item grabbing needed to move on to the next level.
In terms of aesthetics, I think Quake 2 suffers a bit because of the need to stick to an actual story. This kind of limited the environment and enemy designs, since they had to be consistent for world building. This is why more people may feel it to be a bit boring, because it really sticks to a military themed scifi fps we have come used to. Quake 1 really had no limitations and the general mystery/nightmarish settings makes it more fascinating.
5:00 the BFG is to ID Software as the Moonlight Greatsword is to From Software.
I just wish Quake 1 wasn't abandoned like it was. I love the whole theme behind Quake 1 a lot more than Quake 2.
"MY SKIN IS COLD!!!!!!"
i actually play quake 2 more than i ever did doom, quake, or wolfenstein. Especially since they made quake 2 rtx. I just cant get enough of it.
Love your videos but not sure I agree with you on this one. Love this game. Ok it's different - but I love it all the same.
Quake 2 was far more consistent and better multiplayer than q1. Over the novelty of all3d environment, q1 has you fighting with steampunk soldiers on one level and medieval castles with zombies in another. And electrical yetis in another. Quake 2 was a redemption from quake 1. The inconsistent novelty of q1 never caught the multiplayer scene.
And You suspiciously missed the most important weapon added to the scene, the railgun!!!!
Never caught the multiplayer scene? Quake 1 had a HUGE multiplayer scene that is active until today. Quake 2 had great multiplayer, and I absolutely love the game, but Quake 1 certainly did not put off anyone from playing its multiplayer.
@@christiancarassai9540 Yeah, Railgun is absolutely essential!
Strougly disagree here. I have very fond memories of Q2 and still play singleplayer from time to time.
Sure, there's a portion of nostalgia in there since it came out when I was like 15 or 16 ... so prime time for a fast action paced game to satisfy my hormone-filled youth self.
But for me, it still feels like Quake 2 was kind of a return to the roots of id software. It was fast, it was explosive and it was Heavy Metal as hell - just like the two Doom titles before.
Yeah, Quake 1 was also pretty fast and I had a great time playing mods like Killer Quake on LAN-Sessions - but the single player of Q1 was pretty lackluster. The whole mood changed from comically fast, action based and superhero/comic-like character I was used to, into a dark and broody game.
Quake 2 on the other hand brings back the feeling of being a badass in a arcade like environment - rocket-jumping down a courtyard switching inflight to the supershotgun, mowing down the strogg in front of you, switching to the railgun and picking off those nasty flying creatures.
And yes, this was mostly because of the kickass soundtrack. I love NIN to bits - but it simply doesn't fit to a fast action game.
But also the general brightness and color-palette was way more inviting to jump around and spew rockets. With Quake 1 the environment changed so often, I always felt nervous and was too cautious when turning corners since I always expected something new/weird appearing. Quake 2 on the other hand gave you a very consistent environment, very predictable enemies, a rocket launcher and sent you hopping around with some beats to shoot your rockets to...
And THEN there were the biggest and most notable aspects of the game: the multiplayer and mods... god, I loved this game.
I can understand how Q2 can be an acquired taste. For me, it was my first full 3D shooter experience. Despite initially running the demo at a shambolic 5 FPS or so in software mode (Pentium 90MHz, etc), I was blown away by how immersive the world was... while it stuttered along! I suppose those of us who enjoy the game look at it through rose-tinted glasses. I'm still adamant the overall level design was a distinctive step up from it's predecessor, and 64 player DM on LAN was an experience in itself! The perceived slowness of gameplay was alright at the time - people barely knew how to strafe jump back in '97 - and also made the combat a bit more tactical.
BTW: you have some weird gamma settings going on!
The whole quake series needs a total reboot like doom got, there's great potential in it. I personally like the idea of an alien race that scours the galaxy that assimilates other species into its ranks, sort of a body horror aspect to it. But it seems the whole series has been resigned to the dustbin of history
Also remasters of the 4 games. That'd be sick
The alien theme is cliché. They should use the Lovecraftian horror aspect.
the OG Quake's... directionlessness... plays into its tension beautifully. There's a sense that you're going deeper and deeper into some kind of machine that you couldn't so much as begin to understand. And how do you beat the odds when you can't even comprehend what those odds are?
Quake 2 feels more like you know what you're doing, you have a plan, and the horror is coming more from the likelyhood and consequences of your failure. I can see why that would appeal more to some people but the feeling of being, like... a weasel trying to stop a space shuttle, yanking out every connection they see and just hoping one of them was important... that's always going to be more compelling to me.
I've never liked Quake I and Quake II is a way, way better game. The singleplayer is much improved and the multiplayer is a revelation. I also prefer it over Doom because as much as love the granddaddy of shooters, it has some pretty big limitations, while Quake 2 has an incredible pace and the 3D rendering is amazing.
Yeah, I agree with most in the comment section: Quake II was pretty great. I agree that the story, lore, and monsters from Quake 1 was much better; but I just have more fun playing Quake II. As awesome as the original Quake is, I'd be lying if I said I don't get bored within a few levels and need to take a break. I think the weapons and enemy AI in Quake II is more entertaining.
I'd love a proper reboot of the original Quake though. All the Strogg stuff is not the least bit interesting to me personally.
It brought the railgun, which give it its right to exist.
I have good memories with Quake 2 and I love it. It is also the first game to have rtx. It's an icon. Bones.
In spite of a bunch of improvements over the first game, I definitely agree the second game was more by the numbers and didn't stand out as much as Quake 1 did. For me, the schizophrenic mess of the first game along with its interdimensional horrors spliced with grunts, knights and a psycho with a chainsaw and grenade launcher made a more lasting impression. And, well, neither story trumped over the other seeing as one was an undecided mess, the other was too safe and too generic. So I take the first game over the second for its appearance and atmosphere.
That said, as far as I'm concerned, Quake 2 was anything but the weakest entry in the series and as Id Software as a whole. Just the fact you got another skin available with no modding was a small feature I appreciated. I did remember some in the fandom lamenting over not having a crackwhore back in the day. :P I did like the weapons I got to use, including the BFG...10k, I believe. I'm not a fan of the Strogg, but you still got some good monster variety, and at least you get to actually fight the Makron in the end as opposed to telefrag it. Also, Quake 2 continued the trend from the first game of allowing people to mod the game to whatever they felt like, so there were some nice mods out there at the time.
In short, I loved Quake 2 and Quake 1. I can't say the same for the later entries.
I don't know too much bout this game. I spend 10 years playing one map Q2DM1
Love Quake II, immediately got the remaster last year after getting paid. Love the weapons, environments and enemies!
One thing I didn't like about Quake 2 is how the music affected the mood of the game. I've probably played the shareware demo about 20 to 30 times. With no music. And the atmosphere of the game created with visuals and sound effects was amazing. When I finally replayed the game in it's entirety with the music playing, the atmosphere was completely different. I wonder what it would have been like if Quake 2 has a soundtrack more similar to Quake 1. I think it would have worked amazing with the body horror elements. The actual games music fights the eerie and lonely atmosphere. I love the soundtrack and I listen to it on it's own, but I don't think it has fully supported the game's atmosphere.
I think Bethesda is winding up to do a Quake game that will probably be both a sequel to Quake one and the Strogg Quake. The references to multiple worlds in the newest Wolfenstein and what was done in Doom Eternal makes me think they're setting up a world hopping game and we just may yet have the return of the Ranger; wouldn't shock me if near the end of the game he's stranded in the fight against the Strogg for a few levels and meets the Marine from Quake 4 or 2.
Only Q1 feels like a true Quake game to me. I love the hodgepodge.
Just started playing on Game Pass, was impressed by the controls.
Honestly I feel more like replaying Quake 2 than Quake 1 ;)
The atmosphere and looks of the game are really what put me off to quake II
Not far behind my love of Doom 1+2 is my love of Quake 1. Quake 2 is nowhere near that and I preferred Unreal tournament to Q3 back in the day. Always wanted the true Quake sequel it deserved but sadly that will never happen. Q2 is a very solid game, especially compared to most modern games but compared to the classics it was such a huge misstep.
Yes! Quake 2 is solid on its own, but it's a shame we never got another Lovecraftian Quake game. At least the Strogg plotline was continued with Quake 4, which I think is actually pretty damn good.
Have no idea what you are talking about. Yes, personally I haven’t played Doom, but I did see it around 1997. However, in Russia back in the 1998 there were only 2 idols that everyone played and these idols were Starcraft and Quake II. First time I saw Quake II in the Glide mode, my jaw dropped to the floor.
@@Igorsov I played Doom 1, 2, Quake 1, 2 and 3 as they were released. Q2 is when I started to lose interest. Probably because Q1 was still a lot like Doom. Quake and Diablo were the big games where I'm at in the US. Q2 and Starcraft weren't as popular.
@@StodgyAyatollah That’s because you expected it to look like Quake 1. Quake II with 3Dfx rise brought many new players in. People play Quake II to this day. Quake 1 is also great. I like both. Quake II and Starcraft were crazy popular in Europe.
I remember being so frustrated trying to have this game not play like shit on my PC when I was a kid
"The weakest among the iD software catalogue--"
Did you forget about Rage 1?
They should just remake the series, DooM-style, Quake I as, well, Quake, and Quake II as Wor or whatever the wip name for the project was when it was in dev.
The success of DooM series showed that there is a market for games modern in technology, but polished oldschool at heart. TAG2 for Eternal ended this chapter of Slayer saga and it doesn't need to be put on a conveyor, better open a fresh new page of top quality remasters in the face of Quake franchise.
I love quake 2 before I played quake I played quake 2 on the n64 then learned it was on pc and played through it again enjoyed it
Quake 2 perfected deathmatch it was never beaten. Still an active european community. The Polish are legendary.
Every real q2 player when they see the chaingun. lag weapon
There's a mod for quake 2 called Warsow, and it makes the game into what it should've been. At least from a multiplayer standpoint, that is.
quake 2 gunplay is so boring, its not fun at all, quake 1 and quake 3 and quake live gunplay is awesome
I do prefer quake 1 but quake 2 is a dam fine game
There’s no plasma gun in q2
I love Quake II, but animations and lack of muzzle flashes has always bothered me. The keyframes and interpolation makes things feel jerky. I feel like the exagguration animations were a bit much and oversold the weapons when given their sounds and lack of muzzle effects. It felt like the bullets and your animations were miscommunicating or something.
I've been playing this game since release, and it's never felt goo firing the first shot from the weapons. It's always been a thing I tried to ignore so I could enjoy romping through the levels and seeing the gore. I feel like they went way too crazy with animations when they got interpolation working. Adding flash effects and not just lighting, while toning the animations back a bit might really make the guns feel way more powerful and controlled.
Quake II is nice! Quake IV was a shame from start to finish
Back in the 90's you didn't really completely expect a sequel in a series to be the exact same game. Studios would develop new games that were radically different from the previous game. And the expectation in general wasn' t to have a "franchise" when you made games and you didn't expect the many things you do now. The last few years that you've experienced of the game industry have probably been some of the most boring. In the 90's the whole thing was just almost all comparable to modern indie titles in their process. Even the biggest titles were tiny in scale compared to now a days.
I don't agree about the weapons or the weapons feel, especially compared to the games before it. Even just playing the RTX version recently it felt great.
I dunno know man you wernt around for the release . It was the shit back in the day . I played the single player alot . Me and my brother had pc lan link . It was super cool . Look at halo its comes straight fom quake 2. It has extra missoin packs aswell for single and co op .Servers still run to this day 2022. Its a great game . lighting ,cool guns , Gun types i love by the by . Its a fucking rock solid classic and i played it with a mate tonight before looking up vids on q2.
lol...you enjoy quake 2...in multiplayer
This was the whole fun of the game on the various DM maps.
Multiplayer as in network not internet.
In school at the IT labs or in dedicated "internet cafe" places where network gaming was the thing to do, and less internet browsing. Back in those days, internet was sluggish as hell so you'd go only to play videogames with several friends for hours over hours.
Sooo the intro of this video is a Broly reference, right?
Haha I was just listening to Pantera when editing and wanted to throw it in
@@FPMedia_ I was sure it was a nod to the intro of Broly - especially since 10's is also featured in the Funimation dub of the movie.
Multiplayer is where Quake 2 shines.
Ugh... The only thing about the weapons I can agree with is that... you didn't like them :P because they were different from Q1 🙄
Shotgun was slower than in Q1, but also more powerful and consistent(?), being able to kill the weaker enemies in one shot.
Super-shotgun was even more powerful than before, being viable even against the Tanks, but also has much bigger spread, so to be properly used one had to consider it a melee weapon. This had a significant impact on the gameplay, requiring player to perform a dance of sorts to make the most out of this gun. It was superfun xD
The Machinegun ("SMG") with it's recoil required to be shot in short bursts and was a perfect "default" weapon to wield while running through corridors.
The Chaingun's wind-up and wind-down further underlined the game's ammo management concept. It was a powerful weapon that required caution not to waste the ammo.
Grenade and Rocket launchers were almost the same as in Q1... aside from no longer using the same ammo, which IMO was a downgrade (because of ammo management I've mentioned).
And then there was the Hyperblaster... The gun that felt like a perfect weapon... that (fortunately) couldn't be used excessively/exclusively, because it shared ammo (energy cells) with BFG... and player's energy shield 😅
As for BFG - it was the first proper implementation of this weapon. In Doom devs had to resort to some trickery to make it work 😅
And, least but not last, the Blaster - a pistol equivalent. Good enough to provide some long range solution, but bad enough so that it didn't overshadow the shotgun. Perfect to provide means of hitting switches without spending ammo 😅
Man I couldn't disagree with you more about this one. I loved quake 2, blowing fuckers away with the super shotgun and chain gun was awesome. I hated the original quake. Super ugly and the death sounds of the grunts always got under my skin, like GYAH! GYAH! over and over was like a power drill in my ears. Still not as bad as the cultists in blood though.
love Pantera in the intro
i hold quake wars enemy territory as the Worst lack of identity of the quake universe..
Personally, I think the gunplay in Quake II is superior to that of the first game.
In particular, the shotguns, which felt weak as fuck in Quake, but easily and consistently blow enemies to tiny giblets in Quake II.
Quake had better movement, though. Quake II felt like they gimped the jump height and speed.
Yea but that music though.
Quake 2 was also big disappointed for me. A lot of the monsters later on were not fun to fight against. Best example is the mutant.
Should they lean in on creepy gothic lovecraft or scfi-fi space marine body horror? ...
Why not both for Quake 5? Hell for the multiplayer let Quake 3 and Champions have some influence
Q2DM/CTF is still king!!
Wait, so is Quake 2 the weakest of ID's games?
I thought that was Doom 3 not Quake 2, actually I love so god damn much Quake 2, is the reason I'm into arena shooters rn
Sorry mate, but you are completely wrong on this one. Quake 2 is undoubtedly ID's greatest game - it is a quantum leap forward over Doom and Quake 1. The lighting is absolutely brilliant and the music and soundtrack unrivalled. The gameplay is superb in terms of control - I should know I've been playing it continuously since it was released 26 years ago. That's how good it's fundamentals are - it has endless replay value. Show me a game in 2023 you can boot up in 30 seconds, save in 10, and be right in the heart of high intensity action in no time in a brilliant lit, relentlessly challenging world.
Not a big fan of Quake 2 either but your problems here are your expectations. 1998 wasnt same as 1993 or even 1996 for FPS games so yes Quake 2 is not 100 percent boomer shooter, its stuck somewhere between. Making exact same game like two years ago wasnt the option here, landscape was changing. Hub system is not that awful, clear linear path where to go is always visible. Guns yeah, after jumping from Quake 1 to Quake 2 I was pissed by delays in animations as well but enemys were balanced around that too so all player have to do is pick up the pace and rhythm, slower than Quake 1. Artstyle didnt age well because tons of shooters later overused same brown aestetic but it has its moments like horrors that stroggs did on human prisoners. And most of all, the music.
I played through all the quake games and this game was awful imo. I was struggling to find the drive to even finish it.