Product Review

Be all you can be: become a Space Marine, and save the world. Quake II places you in the role of a generic Marine, the sole survivor of a last-ditch assault force sent against the Strogg's mysterious alien home world. Starting your mission with only a pistol, you'll eventually scavenge much more impressive weaponry from those less fortunate squad mates who didn't quite make it. Action fans will relish the BFG's (game manual's definition is "big, uh, freakin' gun") massive room-clearing discharge, while snipers will delight in the electromagnetic railgun's precise, devastating blast. You get to use these toys on all manner of nightmarish creatures, most of them cobbled together from the remains of your former comrades. In one of the game's least pleasant scenes, you fight your way through the bloody factory that assembles the piecemeal horrors.

Of course, if you're feeling a little more social, you can put off saving the world and opt for Quake II's multiplayer mode, which allows one, two, or three additional players to join in the action. There are four setups for the multiplayer mode, ranging from the standard everyone-for-themselves mode to capture the flag.

This first-person shooter has great graphics and sound that match the mood and fast-paced action of the game. Moreover, each level is unique and some are very large, resulting in a lack of monotony and great replay value. If you can take the intensity of the game's unrestricted violence, you'll enjoy the rich gameplay of Quake II. --Hugh Arnold

Pros:

• Vivid graphics
• Multiplayer modes
• Fantastic level, monster, and weapon design
• Replay value

• Extreme violence
• Threadbare plot
• Viewing toggle scrolls at high rate