Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
Like Quake II, you're a marine in an elite group of commandos. As you were flying a reconnaissance mission, your aircraft was shot by a stray missile. Because the ship was so damaged, you were forced to make a crash landing on a hostile alien planet made up of all sorts of Strogg forces and intelligence. It will be up to you to annihilate the alien cities along with their forces and resources in an attempt to hamper their planetary advances. You'll scour through sewer systems, large military complexes and installations finally winding up on their secret moon base (which is absolutely essential to destroy).
The Reckoning is the first mission pack for Quake II. There are over 18 new single-player missions to tackle as well as a wide variety of new deathmatch levels. The add-on is packed with all sorts of new weapons (ion ripper, phalanx particle cannon), enemies (Gekk, Repair Bot), and items (mag slugs, quad fire). Additionally, new textures have been added to give the game a newer, more enhanced look over Quake II. The computer AI was also reworked allowing for smarter enemy reactions and the ability to use the new weapons. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
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Product Details
| UPC: | 047875102682 |
|---|---|
| Release Date: | May 1, 1998 |
| Platform: | IBM PC Compatible |
| Genre: | Shooter |
| Style: | First-Person Shooter |
Review
The first mission pack for Quake II, The Reckoning, is a worthy add-on. It does everything expansion packs are supposed to do by adding new things and modifications.For starters, there are 18 levels filled with all sorts of new missions. The levels are designed pretty well, some featuring far more inspiration than Quake II. There are some throwbacks, though (rather bland, machinery/installation level themes). Unfortunately, there a lot of base levels but the missions tend to be much more interesting and intriguing than its predecessor. It does begin to look and feel like more of the same after playing it a bit. In an attempt to remedy this, Xatrix put some new textures in the game to enhance the overall look. The new textures are done quite well, some reminding me of the good old days of Quake (the dark, cave-like levels). Additionally, there are six new multi-player levels that are sure to excite the online players.
What mission pack would be complete without some new weapons, items and enemies? Among the new weapons is the ion ripper that shoots off energy boomerangs that careen off walls; the phalanx particle cannon that fires two simultaneous magnesium slugs; and traps that turn enemies into power-cubes fit for a marine stomach. It would have been nice to have a few more weapons, but what is included is very nice. New ammunition pickups have been included to fill the weapons. These are among the new items as well as the quad fire, which quadruples your weapon's fire rate by four. Though this item is very powerful, you'll have to use it with extreme caution (especially when using the rocket launcher). Last but not least, there are a few new enemies as well as modified Quake II foes. The Gekk is a nasty little critter that swims around and hops around on walls and eventually onto you if you're not careful. The Repair Bot goes around and fixes enemy units as well as broken elevators and other various things. Like the new weapons, it would have been nice to see some more enemies, but the ones included are okay and the modifications of old enemies make up for it. The enemies that have been modified either use one of the new weapons or had its AI tweaked.
That's basically it. If you're a fan of Quake II who has been itching for more action in its world, then by all means get The Reckoning. Just be warned that its not drastically different from Quake II, although the level design is better and there are new things to do. If you didn't enjoy Quake II, then you'll be well advised to stay away from this game. There is nothing new included to make you a fan or keep you interested. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
Credits
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Xatrix Entertainment, Inc. | Developer |
| id Software, Inc. | Manufacturer/Publisher |
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