Gibs? Rocket Jumping? Frags? Where are all these terms coming from? What do they mean!!? Find out NEXT!!
Quake 2 being the icon it is had one notable flaw , it has one of the most useless weapons in a FPS ever... No I'm not talking about the BFG. The regular old blaster you start off with in the beginning of the game is pretty much worthless. Especially after you've encountered stronger guns in the singleplayer game.This worthless pea-shooter is given to you when you respawn in multiplayer although some servers fix that.
As all classic Id games we have the usual setup: Seminal story, excellent gameplay balance, and for that time the upper hand in graphics. I remember the fury of 3Dfx's Voodoo handling Quake maps. Loading custom player models with ease from the once active MOD community which helped demonstrate versatility. Some Rail Arena servers still run Id singleplayer maps and custom ones today even.
With Quake 4 being out already (a direct sequel to this game) the story arch of this game is continued. So what is the story? Well a certain alien race really needed the physical edge on conquering other galaxies. To do this they must rise above their ethereal machine origin and merge with what ever hapless race that happens to run into them: us. So the Stroggos (pronounced:STROGG) harvest us and merge our flesh and body parts as their own. Its time to launch an offensive. This game is the start of that offense. Quake 4 supposedly continues on with that.
With the story out of the way and a guaranteed arsenal Id style weapons lets go for the jugular: The once blossoming mulitplayer community and MODs.
Although Half Life really should be credited for coining the term MOD and the trend itself. Quake 2 helped support these communities with the form of "clans". Having cryptic symbols next to your handle to which affiliated you with fellow players was not un common. Some clans even had their own websites. Anyways that was back then and we are here now in 2006: people still play Quake 2. Games like Quake 2 are examples of games aging well and having a special place in the heart of fans. Just look at those freaks who continuously re-play FF7.