Game Review - by Jeremiah Pratt
I believe it's been a year since Quake II has been released. It brought us peak into what the future of 3d shooters to come. The graphics and fairly good enemy AI captured me. The date is Oct 20th, 1998 and now Activison releases their expansion pack Ground Zero.

Storyline:
The Earth Fleet is attacking another Strogg colony is caught in orbit. But there is a new powerful weapon to face this time. A gravity weapon and it's sucking your marines into their doom. You one of many marines entered into orbit to attack the stroggos. While attempting to retreat you're sucked in by the gravity weapon. Then bam lasers start shooting through the sky. One laser catches your pod and creates a huge pothole. You begin spiraling helplessly down to the ground. Everything goes black, and when you wake up, well need I go on. Time to rock ass, marine good luck.

Features:
The interface is pretty good it installed without trouble. An added bonus the setup program automatically upgrades to version 3.19. The setup for binding keys is simple and I was up and rocking in no time. The feature that stands out the most is the mutiplayer maps (ex. High and Low). They are pretty fun to play plus there are new elements added. Making mutiplayer action more interesting. We'll cover that later.

Graphics:
Don't expect anything ground breaking from the graphic aspect. There still the same textures as the original Quake II. I didn't notice many different graphics except some new lights, and patches on the wall. The new levels follow the same gist of Quake II. But there are some new elements added to levels, which are cool. Some being, earthquake effects, monster triggered traps, and better level progression.

Sound FX:
The Sound Fx are so so, not much new from the original Quake II. There are some cool new sounds from the weapons and orbs. Other than that, the computer voice sounded bored. It didn't inspire me to really kick butt. The Soundtrack is pretty cool, and I actually enjoyed playing with it.

Gameplay:
The Gameplay is the best part of Ground Zero. You ask why? Well, its all the new weapons and stuff silly! You default weapon is a chain saw. Yes, I said chainsaw is anybody else hearing that Jason music right now hehe. Next is the ETF rifle this is an advanced version of the nail gun. Not having fun yet switch to your brand spanking new Plasma Beam: you'll give a new meaning to burn victim. Last but not least is my favorite the Prox launcher. This baby launches Proximity Grenades, which can stick to the ceilings, walls, or floor. Also don't forget your new items: the Defender Sphere, Vengeance Sphere, Hunter Sphere, Anti-Matter Bomb, Doppelganger, and Telsa mine. All of the spheres except the Defender Sphere are for death match only. The telsa mine emits really cool electrical charges, to enemies dumb to get nearby. Wow I took all this time to talk about the weapons and stuff, I almost forgot about the new enemies. Some of the new comers are Turrents: nasty ceiling mounted plasma/rocket launchers, Stalker: a spider like cyborg, Medic Commandos, Daedalus, and Carrier. The Daedalus is new and improved, and will become a royal pain in your butt. The Best advice I can give you for the Carrier is RUN! These guys are bad ass; consider them a mini boss.

Overall:
My final verdict, Quake II: Ground Zero is not that bad. Rogue did a pretty good job of freshening things up. Now don't expect Quake II to be reinvented, because that doesn't happen. But the new multiplayer elements and maps are cool. And the new weapons and levels keep me happy. Jeez man I almost forgot about the computer AI it is really good. Enemies are able to jump, climb, and stalk you. I found this to be really cool, and added to value of Ground Zero.