Quake II: Quad Damage (PC, 1997/1999)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge-7 Story-5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6.5/7.5* Fun-7.5/8** Originality-6
Overall Score-8
*100% completion
**MP
+
Item inventory (can drop items) - means you can choose when to use temporary power ups (rebreather (breathe underwater), enviro-suit, invulnerability, quad damage)
Some enemies can perform a final attack while dying (first enemy, mini-gunner)
Fast paced
Fun weapons overall (grenades which let you delay the throw, grenade launcher - Q1, mini-gun/chaingun - Doom though it basically has two firing modes here, BFG - Doom, rail gun, laser machinegun/hyperblaster, rocket launcher - Q1, super shotgun - Doom 2/Q1)
Plenty of secret areas/rooms and the game shows how many you've found+how many there are in total right away if you press F1 (the total number spoils the mystery somewhat but it's better than showing it after the level is beaten; this screen also shows your kills vs the total amount of enemies). Various breakable walls and windows
Three secret levels via alternate exits (lost station - entered via the comm center level's underwater tunnel, sudden death - via receiving center, comm satellite via outer hangar) - Q1 had a few more
Very good feedback from attacking and taking hits
Difficulty options (easy-hard, have to type in "Skill 3" and then "Map base1" in the console for very hard/hard+ mode, sometimes harder or more enemies on hard) and full control config
Some shortcuts and some alternate paths through levels
Can crouch (SS1) and crouch jump
Some interesting items (silencer - doesn't really work in SP though, ammo capacity upgrades, >100 health items (megahealth (Q1), stimpack - +2 HP which is lost if you get hurt (similar to Doom)), max HP upgrade items (adrenaline - +1 max HP permanently, ancient head item - +6 max HP permanently but there's only one), )
4-player co-op mode
Partially continuous and sometimes interconnected world (can generally go back to the previous level within the same episode after entering the next and sometimes you're required to go back after hitting a switch/getting a key or activating something to proceed in a previous level, sometimes an episode loops back around so you re-enter the a previous level later on from a different entry point (episode 1), later used more extensively in Half-Life though SS1 and Strife already had fully connected worlds)
Switches are hit by moving into them here (or shot if you can't reach them)
Improved animation and "chunking" effects (blowing enemies into pieces), Nice lighting effects, Some large and detailed models, Moving ships in the sky, More consistent aesthetics and world, Very good art direction overall
Auto-save at the beginning of levels
New enemies tend to appear as you're backtracking through part of a level (not enough at times though)
Some minor puzzles (can use some switches to make objects fall on enemies to kill them, some spatial awareness puzzles, ride triggered moving platforms to reach new places, explosive barrels used as platforms)
Some innovate or interesting level design (some scripted scenes such as enemies blowing up barrels or bridges+blowing up walls for surprise attacks+one airstrike, powering down or up some rooms to progress - developed a bit further in HL1, enemies that trigger alarm switches to call for backup, drilling machine hazard, lowering liquid levels - Strife, one large scale environmental change - reactor core flooding and destruction, escape sequence in the big gun level)
Some interesting new enemies (on foot humanoid enemies can crouch, enemy that makes other enemies invulnerable - a bit underused though, enemy with a frontal shield)
Your weapons and other items carry over between episodes here
Includes the expansions and various mods (the expansions were made by a different dev)
Some memorable environments (comm satellite, the pyramid, main gate and detention center+torture chambers, breaking down reactor core and big gun)
Most weapons stay useful throughout (not machinegun and the regular shotgun, super shotgun feels somewhat weak/slow in the mid-late game)
Improved variety overall
Decent ending cutscene
One decent boss (final boss's second phase without quad damage or invulnerability)
3.24 patch: Music volume slider, higher res, supposedly enables alt+tab functionality but it didn't work for me, 20 save slots
Enemy infighting can happen (Doom)
Enemies can open doors
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can go to either the torture chambers or the guard house after the security complex during episode 3 - security complex connects to both of these)
The reactor level connects to three other levels (toxic waste dump, big gun, cooling facility) but the progression there is linear
Save/load anywhere (14 slots, shows the level you're at and the date+time you saved at only)
If you are killed in co-op you reappear at the beginning of the level and have to catch up with the others
No hub area where you choose difficulty modes (had a hidden very hard mode in Q1)
Can't choose the order in which to do the episodes/units in (7-8 levels each including the secret ones in Q1, here there are more of them but each one is generally shorter)
Uneven intro (starts off pretty cool but relies too much on the radio chatter for the latter half or so, almost no characterization of the player char, cheesy music, kinda low res/color, does tie into how the first level starts well with the crashed pod)
Shows current mission objectives in a pop-up window if you press F1 (kinda lazy but better than nothing)
Can't carry health packs with you for later use (System Shock, Strife)
No flashlight or visor power up (can use the laser pistol/blaster)
Ammo-based weaponry besides the laser pistol
Gore
Much more upbeat and riff-based or sometimes melodic soundtrack overall (KMFDM, Ministry, Rammstein, C&C)
No invisibility power up (added in the N64 ver.)
An enemy using a certain weapon doesn't mean it'll drop it when killed
More consistently sci-fi setting
Can't grab ledges and climb up or lean around corners (System Shock)
Can push explosive barrels but not off of ledges
Can only carry 2 of each consumable inventory item
Minor cutscenes in-between episodes (basic briefings but they're a bit bland)
Some short levels (pyramid, upper mines, outlands), Very short sudden death (25 seconds, no enemies and no retries) and big gun levels
Some instant hit/hitscan attacks (mini-gunner, shotgun soldier, rail gun enemy)
The low-grav gimmick returns for one hidden level however you still can't control your jump height
No melee weapon
Most weapons rehashed from previous id games
No Sonic-style air tubes here (Q1) and there’s only one case of an upwards air stream
Having a moving object control where you end up when teleporting could've been re-used (Q1)
-
Some control/interface issues (no map system nor any useful in-world maps - pretty easy to get lost for a bit at times (Dark Forces 2, The Divide and Daggerfall had 3D maps and various contemporary games had 2D ones), can't quit with alt+f4, the menu and in-game text & HUD graphics become too small at higher resolutions, the inventory screen didn't need to include the weapons, can't see shit while under lava or other hazardous liquids and invulnerable, enemies still have hit boxes for a second or so after they die, hit detection and air control are somewhat unforgiving during precise platforming while running, sloppy hit detection on ducking cyborgs - can't hit their heads/shoulders, no subtitles for radio communications - they don't seem important to progression though, )
Sometimes dumb AI (first enemies move erratically and take too long to attack, can't hear you coming if turned away until you're very close, some enemies don't handle vertical fighting well, some enemies don't react to nearby combat, the melee cyborgs react too slowly when in range of them, the jetpack enemies are a bit too passive)
Somewhat unbalanced shading (not enough of a smooth shift from black to low- and mid-tones - similar to Shinobi ARC)
Some trial & error (surprise attacks, humanoid enemies make no walking/running noise, hard to tell what happened after pressing a switch sometimes - game doesn't show you with a separate camera, some secrets are too hard to spot and one is under lava with no visual hint (another one with no visual hint expects you to drop into hazardous liquid), unavoidable damage if you go for the mini-gun in ammo depot+when entering and exiting the cooling facility, one red herring in episode 2 (still conveyor belt with boxes blocking a path) and in outlands (floor cracks), get attacked right away in episode 3, can't re-enter the time limited secret level sudden death, regular looking water is lethal at one point in the reactor level, some gratings can be destroyed - they don't look weaker)
No lightning gun/thunderbolt
Can't replay a beaten episode (to get all the secrets for example though if you save right before the exit (which is marked) you can reload)
Some tedious parts (some slow lifts/elevators, some boring backtracking with nothing new happening - often means you're traveling through dead space, one-way path in lower mines (don't miss that much but if you want to go back after falling down at one point you have to go via the previous level) and the cooling facility (water stream - can miss a couple of secrets; back to previous level here again)+the launch command level, the tank commander enemies are a bit overly spongy)
No teleporters or other fast travel within episode areas - for if you missed a secret or good item
No berserk power up (some dark rooms or parts of rooms - palace of hate in particular)
Can't man the turret in the main gate level yourself
A bit repetitive (overly similar environments, repeats most enemy types in various levels, repeated music tracks)
The game acts as if you already have the pyramid key when returning to the complex if you went to the torture chambers first during episode 3
No boss in episodes 1-2
Pretty easy bosses overall (especially with quad damage, the episode 3 one can get stuck on corners and unable to shoot you, first phase of the final boss goes down a bit too quickly)
No secrets in six of the levels
No penalty for killing your fellow marine NPCs (they've gone insane but still) - the game even encourages doing it in creepy ways in one level which is just weird and gross
Uneven far background visuals (the structures look low res and smudgy)
Some nearby enemies sound closer than they really are again
No spider monster enemy (homing projectiles)
Notes:
-Hard+ differences: https://quake.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare#Quake_II
-Need the fan-made 3.24 patch for 1920x1080 res mode or higher+for the music to work: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2320/discussions/0/864975399784405663/
Bugs:
-Have to copy the music folder into the baseq2 folder for the music to work (GOG)
-The music sometimes stops playing when loading a save
-One of the pump station 2 secrets doesn't register when found
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-6.5/7.5* Fun-7.5/8** Originality-6
Overall Score-8
*100% completion
**MP
+
Item inventory (can drop items) - means you can choose when to use temporary power ups (rebreather (breathe underwater), enviro-suit, invulnerability, quad damage)
Some enemies can perform a final attack while dying (first enemy, mini-gunner)
Fast paced
Fun weapons overall (grenades which let you delay the throw, grenade launcher - Q1, mini-gun/chaingun - Doom though it basically has two firing modes here, BFG - Doom, rail gun, laser machinegun/hyperblaster, rocket launcher - Q1, super shotgun - Doom 2/Q1)
Plenty of secret areas/rooms and the game shows how many you've found+how many there are in total right away if you press F1 (the total number spoils the mystery somewhat but it's better than showing it after the level is beaten; this screen also shows your kills vs the total amount of enemies). Various breakable walls and windows
Three secret levels via alternate exits (lost station - entered via the comm center level's underwater tunnel, sudden death - via receiving center, comm satellite via outer hangar) - Q1 had a few more
Very good feedback from attacking and taking hits
Difficulty options (easy-hard, have to type in "Skill 3" and then "Map base1" in the console for very hard/hard+ mode, sometimes harder or more enemies on hard) and full control config
Some shortcuts and some alternate paths through levels
Can crouch (SS1) and crouch jump
Some interesting items (silencer - doesn't really work in SP though, ammo capacity upgrades, >100 health items (megahealth (Q1), stimpack - +2 HP which is lost if you get hurt (similar to Doom)), max HP upgrade items (adrenaline - +1 max HP permanently, ancient head item - +6 max HP permanently but there's only one), )
4-player co-op mode
Partially continuous and sometimes interconnected world (can generally go back to the previous level within the same episode after entering the next and sometimes you're required to go back after hitting a switch/getting a key or activating something to proceed in a previous level, sometimes an episode loops back around so you re-enter the a previous level later on from a different entry point (episode 1), later used more extensively in Half-Life though SS1 and Strife already had fully connected worlds)
Switches are hit by moving into them here (or shot if you can't reach them)
Improved animation and "chunking" effects (blowing enemies into pieces), Nice lighting effects, Some large and detailed models, Moving ships in the sky, More consistent aesthetics and world, Very good art direction overall
Auto-save at the beginning of levels
New enemies tend to appear as you're backtracking through part of a level (not enough at times though)
Some minor puzzles (can use some switches to make objects fall on enemies to kill them, some spatial awareness puzzles, ride triggered moving platforms to reach new places, explosive barrels used as platforms)
Some innovate or interesting level design (some scripted scenes such as enemies blowing up barrels or bridges+blowing up walls for surprise attacks+one airstrike, powering down or up some rooms to progress - developed a bit further in HL1, enemies that trigger alarm switches to call for backup, drilling machine hazard, lowering liquid levels - Strife, one large scale environmental change - reactor core flooding and destruction, escape sequence in the big gun level)
Some interesting new enemies (on foot humanoid enemies can crouch, enemy that makes other enemies invulnerable - a bit underused though, enemy with a frontal shield)
Your weapons and other items carry over between episodes here
Includes the expansions and various mods (the expansions were made by a different dev)
Some memorable environments (comm satellite, the pyramid, main gate and detention center+torture chambers, breaking down reactor core and big gun)
Most weapons stay useful throughout (not machinegun and the regular shotgun, super shotgun feels somewhat weak/slow in the mid-late game)
Improved variety overall
Decent ending cutscene
One decent boss (final boss's second phase without quad damage or invulnerability)
3.24 patch: Music volume slider, higher res, supposedly enables alt+tab functionality but it didn't work for me, 20 save slots
Enemy infighting can happen (Doom)
Enemies can open doors
+/-
Partially non-linear structure (can go to either the torture chambers or the guard house after the security complex during episode 3 - security complex connects to both of these)
The reactor level connects to three other levels (toxic waste dump, big gun, cooling facility) but the progression there is linear
Save/load anywhere (14 slots, shows the level you're at and the date+time you saved at only)
If you are killed in co-op you reappear at the beginning of the level and have to catch up with the others
No hub area where you choose difficulty modes (had a hidden very hard mode in Q1)
Can't choose the order in which to do the episodes/units in (7-8 levels each including the secret ones in Q1, here there are more of them but each one is generally shorter)
Uneven intro (starts off pretty cool but relies too much on the radio chatter for the latter half or so, almost no characterization of the player char, cheesy music, kinda low res/color, does tie into how the first level starts well with the crashed pod)
Shows current mission objectives in a pop-up window if you press F1 (kinda lazy but better than nothing)
Can't carry health packs with you for later use (System Shock, Strife)
No flashlight or visor power up (can use the laser pistol/blaster)
Ammo-based weaponry besides the laser pistol
Gore
Much more upbeat and riff-based or sometimes melodic soundtrack overall (KMFDM, Ministry, Rammstein, C&C)
No invisibility power up (added in the N64 ver.)
An enemy using a certain weapon doesn't mean it'll drop it when killed
More consistently sci-fi setting
Can't grab ledges and climb up or lean around corners (System Shock)
Can push explosive barrels but not off of ledges
Can only carry 2 of each consumable inventory item
Minor cutscenes in-between episodes (basic briefings but they're a bit bland)
Some short levels (pyramid, upper mines, outlands), Very short sudden death (25 seconds, no enemies and no retries) and big gun levels
Some instant hit/hitscan attacks (mini-gunner, shotgun soldier, rail gun enemy)
The low-grav gimmick returns for one hidden level however you still can't control your jump height
No melee weapon
Most weapons rehashed from previous id games
No Sonic-style air tubes here (Q1) and there’s only one case of an upwards air stream
Having a moving object control where you end up when teleporting could've been re-used (Q1)
-
Some control/interface issues (no map system nor any useful in-world maps - pretty easy to get lost for a bit at times (Dark Forces 2, The Divide and Daggerfall had 3D maps and various contemporary games had 2D ones), can't quit with alt+f4, the menu and in-game text & HUD graphics become too small at higher resolutions, the inventory screen didn't need to include the weapons, can't see shit while under lava or other hazardous liquids and invulnerable, enemies still have hit boxes for a second or so after they die, hit detection and air control are somewhat unforgiving during precise platforming while running, sloppy hit detection on ducking cyborgs - can't hit their heads/shoulders, no subtitles for radio communications - they don't seem important to progression though, )
Sometimes dumb AI (first enemies move erratically and take too long to attack, can't hear you coming if turned away until you're very close, some enemies don't handle vertical fighting well, some enemies don't react to nearby combat, the melee cyborgs react too slowly when in range of them, the jetpack enemies are a bit too passive)
Somewhat unbalanced shading (not enough of a smooth shift from black to low- and mid-tones - similar to Shinobi ARC)
Some trial & error (surprise attacks, humanoid enemies make no walking/running noise, hard to tell what happened after pressing a switch sometimes - game doesn't show you with a separate camera, some secrets are too hard to spot and one is under lava with no visual hint (another one with no visual hint expects you to drop into hazardous liquid), unavoidable damage if you go for the mini-gun in ammo depot+when entering and exiting the cooling facility, one red herring in episode 2 (still conveyor belt with boxes blocking a path) and in outlands (floor cracks), get attacked right away in episode 3, can't re-enter the time limited secret level sudden death, regular looking water is lethal at one point in the reactor level, some gratings can be destroyed - they don't look weaker)
No lightning gun/thunderbolt
Can't replay a beaten episode (to get all the secrets for example though if you save right before the exit (which is marked) you can reload)
Some tedious parts (some slow lifts/elevators, some boring backtracking with nothing new happening - often means you're traveling through dead space, one-way path in lower mines (don't miss that much but if you want to go back after falling down at one point you have to go via the previous level) and the cooling facility (water stream - can miss a couple of secrets; back to previous level here again)+the launch command level, the tank commander enemies are a bit overly spongy)
No teleporters or other fast travel within episode areas - for if you missed a secret or good item
No berserk power up (some dark rooms or parts of rooms - palace of hate in particular)
Can't man the turret in the main gate level yourself
A bit repetitive (overly similar environments, repeats most enemy types in various levels, repeated music tracks)
The game acts as if you already have the pyramid key when returning to the complex if you went to the torture chambers first during episode 3
No boss in episodes 1-2
Pretty easy bosses overall (especially with quad damage, the episode 3 one can get stuck on corners and unable to shoot you, first phase of the final boss goes down a bit too quickly)
No secrets in six of the levels
No penalty for killing your fellow marine NPCs (they've gone insane but still) - the game even encourages doing it in creepy ways in one level which is just weird and gross
Uneven far background visuals (the structures look low res and smudgy)
Some nearby enemies sound closer than they really are again
No spider monster enemy (homing projectiles)
Notes:
-Hard+ differences: https://quake.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare#Quake_II
-Need the fan-made 3.24 patch for 1920x1080 res mode or higher+for the music to work: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2320/discussions/0/864975399784405663/
Bugs:
-Have to copy the music folder into the baseq2 folder for the music to work (GOG)
-The music sometimes stops playing when loading a save
-One of the pump station 2 secrets doesn't register when found