Quake II

"Bloody Mess everywhere you turn"

Quake, Quake II, Hexen, Doom...the true corridor shooters, and finally, in the words of the immortal Rock, Quake has come to the Playstation Console. Anyone who is a fan of Quake, will know the story and the controversy of this game...it's violent, it's bloody..and it's been center stage in the recent school shootings reports.

-Graphics {8/10}-

Corridor shooting at it's finest. No slowdown, no break-up, not even the missing frames of animation. It's missing the one thing that Doom had though...the pixalation! Gee, I think you can live without that.

The levels are fairly large, and very very well detailed, from the glowing computer consoles and screens, to the lighting effects that permeate the levels that you're blasting in. The water effects glow, and in smoe cases, move swiftly beneath in your vision.

The enemies are well thought out, and are well drawn, each one being specific in terms of what they do, and how thay move towards you. Every enemy is different, and they seem to fall in different ways as well. Blasting them once they're dead gives you a nice treat of watching blood and body parts fly into the air.

Long gone are the days of a revolver and a machine gune {Wolfenstien 3d}, and now into the day of pulse rifles and super shotguns. This game does retain the one thing that most other Corridor shooters, such as Doom, and that is the BFG...it hasn't left. You'll find a good amount of detail with each weapon you use, and how they fire off at your enemies. Nice to look at.

-Sound {8/10}-

Sound Effects....yes! Good ones for a change! From the firing of your blaster, to the thump of the shotgun, to the charging of your BFG {I'll leave it to you to put that acronym together}, they're all different, and they all fit.

The music is hardcore, which matches the pace of the game, and the mission that you're there for. Seek and Destroy, kill and annihalate the bad guys. They all loop together, and you'll keep the music on to listen to it for a change.

-Gameplay {8/10}-

Corridor shooting, and general mayhem. Blasting your way through waves of bad guys, and you won't find a better shooter to play for the PSX.

It is your general run and gun gaming. Collect the keys, open the doors, splatter the bad guys, save the world. Not much else to it. This game does off up the infamous Deathmatch option.

Kill or be killed. Destroy your friends, and make up afterwards...you're there to make them suffer, and you'll enjoy playing it out.

-Control {8/10}-

Straight and to the point controls, you should have no problems guiding your man through the levels. Aiming takes a little practice with the crosshairs, making sure that you're blasting the bad guy, instead of wasting ammunition on the wall.

Jumping and turning are no problem, and the strafing is still here...you'll need to figure that one out, it'll save your butt in the long run. Some of the jumps can be tricky, and a couple of the areas that you roam through, need precise movement, lest you fall off the ledge and into the lava, or poisonous swamp.

-Overall {8/10}-

One of the best shooters is here on the PSX. It surpasses Doom, and most other corridor shooters on the PSX today. It can be slightly discouraging to have the music track interrupt your game with loading time, but it's nothing that can't be overlooked once the game has begun.

This is a weekend rental, unless you really like the genre, then it's a definate buying selection for you.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/18/00, Updated 03/18/00