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The highlight of Quake 2’s remaster is an intense new campaign from the Wolfenstein devsIntense gibbage for both veterans and newcomers (and it’s on Game Pass)
Intense gibbage for both veterans and newcomers (and it’s on Game Pass)
Bethesda launched the remaster update on August 10th. The re-release comes in collaboration with frequent remasterers Nightdive Studios, who have rebuilt Quake 2 inside their own engine, Kex. Along with the original campaign, it includes both official expansions and the N64 version of Quake 2 (which was a whole different game). The soundtrack’s presence is very welcome after years absent from downloadable releases (because the game looked to play it off the game CD). It packs historical doodads like concept art and playable demos from trade shows, too. And while I have little interest in remasters, especially when a game is still perfectly playable today thanks to the work of fans, this is a pretty solid one.
The updated weapon and character models are great. They’re not incongrous billion-polygon affairs which render each individual pore, nor gross noisy ‘HD texture packs’ which don’t know the difference between technical specs and aesthetics, norsmeary horrorshows. They simply bump Quake 2’s polycounts and texture sizes forward a few years of technical advancements—maybe from 1997 standards to 1999 or 2000—to add a little fidelity and smooth sharp edges (literally, though sometimes over-zealously). This and some of the new lighting tricks make Quake 2 look like how I remember Quake 2, which is what I want from a remaster. And while level textures are untouched, I’d rather that than half-arsed.
Old enemy and weapon models on the left, new on the right |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Softworks
Quake 2’s remaster feels right-ish to my fingers, I think. The original game has oodles of physics quirks you can exploit for fast movement, huge jumps, and death-defying stunts, which became defining elements of its identity in multiplayer and mods. Strafe-jumping, ramp-jumping, and crate-jumping tricks feel like how I remember, though I can’t tell whether ladder-jumping is broken or if my old hands have simply forgotten the movements and timings that were once as unconscious as breathing.
And if you don’t want any of this remastering gubbins, the original versions still come with the game on Steam and GOG. Not on Game Pass, mind.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Softworks
Lovely skybox there |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Softworks
Call Of The Machine throws enemies at you in far greater numbers than Quake 2, and late-game monsters appear often. Hordes are often more diverse too, mixing in many enemy types (including from both expansions) to create fights which require careful prioritisation (and encouraging infighting) while dodging all sorts of lasers, bullets, hooks, and tongues. It also has more miniboss and boss battles, which remain, y’know, okay I guess.
Call Of The Machine levels are fun themepark rides, more guided than Quake 2 and enjoying giving glimpses of where you’ll be in 10 minutes. Puzzles are more complicated, or at least more involved. Scripted sequences are certainly fancier, with my favourite being sitting atop a giant laser drill as it gibs gobs of grunts. And many of the larger combat arenas are clearly built with the expectation that veterans will want to trickjump around at ludicrous speeds.
Spoiler alert etc |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bethesda Softworks
