Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Worth playing"

Quake II (1997), developed by id Software and published by Activision, is one of the best First-Person Shooters in the gaming history, and still been played by a lot of hardcore fans. Xatrix decided to release an expansion pack, called 'The Reckoning', to this instant classic. The new content doesn't change too much the original Quake II gameplay, which means that if you liked the original game, this add-on is a good option to extend its life. Basically, the player will again control an unnamed marine and go through the Strogg facilities, killing a lot of ****ed aliens.

There're now two new weapons to use against the Strogg: the Ionripper, a plasma gun that fires bouncing projectiles; and the Phalanx, which fires two energized and explosive spheres. Both weapons are fun to use, but you can finish the expansion without really using them. In addition to the weapons, there're also a few new enemies, as well modified versions to the already existing ones (making them stronger than before).

'The Reckoning' comes with 18 new levels, and all of them are good and faithful to the original Quake II. I found the final levels particularly great, and really add a lot of value to this add-on. Unfortunately, the final boss isn't innovative, and it's very easy to beat. However, the levels are harder than the ones in the original game, and provide good 7 or 8 hours of gameplay.

The new seven deathmatch maps for multiplayer are OK, and allow the player to try the new weapons against some opponents in the internet or via local area network. Honestly, I think they should introduce more maps for the multiplayer mode, since it's one of the most important qualities in Quake II.

So, if you're looking for a way to improve Quake II, you'll be a little disappointed with 'The Reckoning' expansion, since the new stuff isn't actually entirely new, but mostly a modified version to the already existing content. Nevertheless, it's still worth playing because of the new great levels to both single player and multiplayer modes.