Quake II

"A pretty good PC-to-PSX conversion, but does that say much?"

First, let me say that this was a VERY hard game to form a decent critique on. I myself have been playing Quake II on PC for roughly 2 years now, and have gotten quite good at it. I've been waiting patiently to try the PlayStation version, and now that it's out, I'm not sure if I feel disappointed or satisfied.

Presentation: 5

If you ask me, I think the developers of this game had a HELL of enough time to make this game look a little better than it does. The FMV's are grainy and boring, and the menu and starting screen is bland. Oh, and if you're expecting "all new levels"... don't. There ARE some new levels, but most borrow from previous PC ones.

Graphics: 8

I rated the graphics keeping in mind the abilities of the PlayStation's graphic engine. Hammerhead (developers of the PSX version of Quake II) did a really good job porting over all of the weapons, sounds, enemies, and map attributes. One pretty big complaint is the fault of the PlayStation; weapons like the chaingun aren't even worth using due to the incredible slowdown. The rotation of the gun barrel literally lags the entire screen to a good 5 frames per second. Maybe less. The PlayStation just wasn't meant to handle such eyecandy.

Sound: 4

Let's just be thankful that sound effects fall in the same category as music. Otherwise, sound would get a fractional rating. The music in this game is drop dead HORRIBLE - I have *NO* idea what they were thinking when they used the music they did. Just listen to this: "Cheesy instrumental 80's metal". Does that sound like fragfest music to you? Whatever happened to NIN from Quake I? I'm not a fan of NIN myself, but it's probably a hell of a lot more entertaining that the music in Quake II.

Control: 6

Another tough topic to critique. Anyone who has played Quake II for PC with the mouse + keyboard control settings, will feel flustered trying to play Quake II for PSX. Although you DO get used to the controls given to you, you'll never get the great control of a mouse + keyboard combo. Now, there's the issue of the PSX mouse. Although it does add a bit of ease to the controls, it's still not that good because you are forced to use the buttons on your regular controller. Some will like the controls, others won't.

Gameplay: 6

Anyone who knows anything knows that the only reason Quake II was such a huge success was for it's multiplayer mode. People who owned Quake II and a modem could get online and play Quake II on a deathmatch server against hordes of people. In the regular game mode, all you do is shoot Scags or whatever those dumb undead marines are. Multiplayer does exist in the game though, although you are limited to one TV (I think) and 4 players (If you have a multi-tap). Multiplayer is pretty fun, so this game doesn't totally suck for gameplay.

Lasting Appeal: 7

Another tough one to rate. Apparently, the PlayStation version of Quake II has many new secrets in between levels, and you have to work to get them in order to be rewarded at the end of the game. You'll spend a good amount of time getting them, if you aren't turned off by the other lousy aspects of the game.

Overall: 6

I really think it's unfair to review this game, regardless of what score you may give it. It's hard to form an opinion on a game when it is more than 3 years old. Yes, Quake II came out in late 1996. It took 3 years to release on PlayStation; and now that it has, it looks worse than the original PC version. Since you are reading this, you must have a PC; and you also have access to games such as Quake 3 Arena and Half-Life, which both blow Quake II out of the water and over 5 buildings. Maybe if this was released at the same time as the PC version, I would've given it a more positive rating... otherwise, it's tough to appreciate the game when you've already been down it's road.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99