Quake II

"Quake II goes from nirvana to slow and choppy."

Given many months of waiting and the usual overdone hype, Quake II is finally here for the Nintendo 64. From what I've seen on the IGN network it looked like the greatest game ever made for a console!

My thoughts towards the game changed radically after I had the chance to play it.

The single player game runs at a moderate pace. It's certainly easier than the PC version once one has learned the controls. The multiplayer can even trigger a few fun times. A few.

Problems begin in the multiplayer. First of all, the game "says" you don't require the RAM expansion. Well don't expect much if you don't have the extra RAM placed in your machine, otherwise Quake II is going to run as slow as hell. Speaking of slow, Activision SOMEHOW managed to put lag into a game that doesn't even run over any form of a network. I have a cable modem myself, and I don't get much lag on the computer, but it is noticeable. When I was trying Quake II for the Nintendo 64, it stuck out like a sore thumb. The lag was something around 250 ms. That's the equivalent of playing with a 56k modem on the computer. I know it's unfair comparing versions of this game just to turn down the latest installment, but someone has to be straight forward about it.

There is no good, up beat exciting music to hype you while you blow things up. Just the occasional boom, and the even more occasional growl of your standard baddy.

There were a few things implemented into the Nintendo 64 version, which improve it over the PC version however. The AI has a few tweaks to make the enemies more intelligent. Also, other players have been more illuminated so it's easier for them to be seen.

It's disappointing for me to see such an awesome computer game to be converted into… a second rate wannabe.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99