ID Software set the standard for 3D shooters because before them, no one knew what a 3D shooter was. Quake II, the sequel to the largely successful Quake, is pretty much an enhancement of the original, but its engine just can't keep up with the newer engines in development and use today.

ID Software's partnership with John Carmack began in the late 1980's with Wolfenstein 3D. Although it did not exactly feature a politically correct plot, it hooked many gamers, making it one of the most widely played computer games to date. Wolf3D is hardly an amazing game by today's standards, but it brought texture and life to a gaming world that had, up to that point, been populated by gray boxes and the occasional explosion of thin lines. The next real upgrade to the 3D shooter came with Doom. It was yet another shareware hit and it improved on the texturing and other 3D effects that could be done with a higher processor (Wolf3D required a 286, Doom required a 386). Doom remained the standard until it finally became something of a joke due to its complete lack of 3D engine upgrades through the course of 3 ID-released sequels and countless spin off episodes and levels created by novice users and add-on pack companies.

A feature that really set Doom apart from Wolf3D was its multiplayer support. Using a modem, IPX or LAN network connection, and the exact same version of the game you supposedly could try to kill a friend or play a level through cooperatively. However, the multiplayer was buggy to say the least. I tried for 2 hours with a friend to get a game going over a modem, resulting in my computer freezing over 40 times. I gave up on Doom multiplayer. Quake provided gamers wuth multiplayer Internet capabilities and began a wave of guilds and clans devoted to playing the game online.

Quake II had been a long time in the making. Around 6 months after the original Quake's release in the summer of 1995, there were rumors about work on a sequel. The release date was finally established for Christmas. As a result of being rushed through the testing process, ID released a highly buggy and seemingly unfinished version of Quake II.

Quake II's engine was designed from the ground up to take advantage of 3D accelerator cards. Patches had been released for the original Quake to take limited advantage of their features and ID wanted Quake II to shine with all the bells and whistles that the then-new effects of a 3D card. I can say that, even today, the graphics are impressive. They effectively set the mood, but the emphasis on the graphics seemed to have detracted from the gameplay somewhat.

The gameplay in Quake II is really where the weaknesses are in the game. The single player game is terribly done. This is mainly due to overly complex level design and setup. The player is required to backtrack constantly to locate items. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack of levels, without any good clues to where it might be. This not only take away from the fun, but also eliminates the "kill everything and leave" play that was behind the original Quake, Doom, and Wolf3D. The multiplayer aspect of Quake II is as stable as the original, but playing one-on-one in the massive levels makes continuous action difficult. You need around 20 people to keep a Quake II multiplayer level fun.

The sounds in the game are okay, but don't go anywhere above the basic explosion or groan of a zombie monster. There is also no music in the game, and no CD tracks by Trent Reznor like the original Quake. Control is the usual first-person fare: Shoot with the left mouse button. Jump with the spacebar. There are also the look up and look down keys. The only trouble is learning what all the different commands do. Beyond that it's easy.

Quake II really was not a ground-breaking product. It took ID about 3 months to get patches out that fixed all the problems that resulted from their premature release. The multiplayer is nice and well done, but the single player is just too boring and difficult to really be fun. This is a game that I can only recommend for its multiplayer options, but its
value ends there.

Tested on a: Intel Pentium II 400, 128 MB RAM, 20X CD-ROM, Sound Blaster PCI 128, ATI XPert@Play AGP, a Microsoft mouse, a gravis joystick, DirectX 5a, and Windows 98.