There are literally thousands of servers that allow you to play Quake II, so the possibilities are quite endless.
You can download multi-player modes such as Capture the Flag and the new Jailbreak. Whereas Quake was a better single-player game because of its "laggy" multi-playing, Quake II features bulletproof gameplay and relatively no lag while duking it out on the Internet. Yet the beauty of Quake II is not in the single-player game, it's in the multi-player feature. Navigating the world of Quake II is very easy thanks to tight controls. The new, enhanced version of the Quake engine is superb. Surprisingly, it feels like the Doom games. All in all, the new weapons aren't too clever, but they get the job done. You can also throw hand grenades, which is kind of spiffy. They have brought back new versions of the Super Shotgun, the Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher. New weapons include a Chaingun, Railgun, BFG (an enhanced version from the Doom games), and a Hyperblaster. They have also taken out the rather harsh and brutal weapons of Quake (Nail Gun, Axe) and replaced them with a more military efficient arsenal. The enemy AI is very good, and the characters fit in with the sci-fi theme. In Quake II, you are fighting alien machines or half-humans. Also replaced are the mutated monsters from hell. The base theme of the game gets old, leaving you desperately wanting a crypt from Quake. However, the levels are often very uninspired. Not a bad idea, in this reviewer's opinion. These range in complexity from gaining energy cubes for powering-up a factory to setting up comlinks. Unlike Quake, you must complete missions in order to advance through them. Quake II is mission-oriented and features military base levels. Sure it's lame, but we all know that the gameplay is the important aspect of 3D corridor shooters! Surprise, surprise, it is now your job to escape and crumble the alien empire at the same time.
The Doom source code was eventually released under the GPL license by id Software, that's why you can download the DOS version here for free and ports simply keep on coming.ĭoom cemented basic shooter weapon archetypes in video games: the pistol, the shotgun, the automatic rifle, and the rocket launcher, and as such most shooter design can be traced, in some way, back to it. Doom was first released on Decemby id Software.ĭoom is one of the most widely ported video games in the FPS genre: starting with the original MS-DOS shareware version, it's been released officially for seven computer operating systems, nine video game consoles, two handheld game consoles, and one cell phone. It introduced features such as 3D graphics, true 3D spatiality, networked multiplayer gameplay, and support for player-created expansions. Doom is a pioneer and classic game of the first-person shooter genre.