You play a rough tough marine, despatched to a hostile planet to commence battle with the Strogg, an ugly, vicious bunch of mutants who, instead of asking ‘Are you local?’ prefer to pick a fight instead. The mission levels are played over humungous areas, and the atmosphere is just about the creepiest I’ve seen in a video game, which is helped along by a sinister goth-metal soundtrack. The enemy are a brutal force for sure, but maybe a little dim, because they do leave weapons and ammunition ... more >>

You play a rough tough marine, despatched to a hostile planet to commence battle with the Strogg, an ugly, vicious bunch of mutants who, instead of asking ‘Are you local?’ prefer to pick a fight instead. The mission levels are played over humungous areas, and the atmosphere is just about the creepiest I’ve seen in a video game, which is helped along by a sinister goth-metal soundtrack. The enemy are a brutal force for sure, but maybe a little dim, because they do leave weapons and ammunition lying around for you to pick up. Some of these weapons are a joy to work with, such as the chaingun or the BFG (this must be an acronym, it’s big and it’s a gun, use your imagination). There are also hidden areas which conceal more weapons and secrets. The best way to find these is to keep your eyes peeled for any strange kind of movements from floors and walls. These are usually clues as to where something is concealed.

Game modes include single player against the computer, which is entertaining enough because of the Strogg’s AI, but Quake 2 really starts kicking ass in multi-player mode. The deathmatch options are a scream, literally, and a great way of letting your closest friends know how you really feel about them when they’ve hacked you off.
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