Quake 2 (1997)

I played a bit and am not enjoying it as much as the first - it's nowhere near as tight regarding balance, shooting or level design. The gung-ho space marine feel of it is fun, though, with enemies who try to get one last shot at you before dying or stumble around headless for a moment. There's a more coherent though still very shallow story this time, with an opening cutscene which feels more like an engine demo and some irrelevant mission goals. And there's a transit system level! I should probably set up an FPS bingo card - transit system, kamikaze enemies, weapons taken away mid-game etc.

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I played another big chunk of this and it's mainly a chore. I've got some better weapons now but they all have a long warm-up or reload time. The mission briefing cutscenes are perfunctory to the point of satire: "Go to the warehouse. Locate the weapons. Destroy the weapons."

I was interested to see a few more Half-Lifey things like moving laser beams and big weird alien factories. The best new detail is the other space marines you find in prison cells and stuff, driven mad and crawling around babbling. Hilariously, they all have Arnie accents.

I think I might move on pretty soon though, because this isn't really satisfying or fun.

EDIT: oh god, it seems I've only completed 3 of 10 missions. I think I'll have one more blast then give up.

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"Next level: Upper Mines". NO.

Rating: Red.