Originally, Quake II was such a departure from its predecessor that Id Software entertained multiple new IP titles including ‘Wor’, ‘Load’, and ‘Strogg’. Its inhabitants, the Strogg civilization, utilized cybernetic soldiers that further explored the biomechanical horror elements hinted at by the original Quake’s chainsaw-grafted ogres. Quake II, made available for free as part of last year’s annual ‘QuakeCon’ fan celebration of the series, completely dispensed with the previous title’s wafer-thin story, and instead put players in control of the lone survivor of a pre-emptive attack on a hostile alien planet entitled Stroggos. However, for the 1997 sequel, Id Software knew it had to raise its narrative game and give players more reason to battle its foul denizens than ‘erm, some demons came through a bunch of slipgates, or something’. Trent Reznor’s masterful soundtrack also helped to somehow knit together the game’s gothic castles, creepy caves and military installations, and this unique mash-up perhaps explains the enduring popularity of the franchise’s first title. This late decision proved to be a huge success, with players praising the game’s bizarre environments and unique atmosphere. Cracking at the seams due to in-house feuds and exhausted from the pressure of living up to the title’s hype, the game’s mooted medieval fantasy setting was crunched together with a Doom-style science fiction story at the last minute to create a baffling combination of military gunplay and eldritch horror. Quake featured lightning-fast gameplay as well as a cutting-edge 3D engine, and crafting these genre-defining experiences had taken their toll on the development team. Quake was released in 1996 and, following the world-dominating success of the developer’s Doom games, was one of the planet’s most anticipated titles.

Quake vs quake 2