QUAKE 2 - Original vs Remaster (1997 vs 2023) Comparison

In this video I compare the new enhanced version of Quake 2 with the original from 1997. Lighting, textures and resolution are improved, there are more "Quality of Life" settings and a new episode. Which version do you prefer?

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#quake2enhanced #quake2 #quake2remaster

[Max_Mustermann]

Another nice thing about the Q1 and Q2 re-masters is that they added the music back in.

[RogerSullivanNOLA]

When I fired this up and saw how they lovingly re-rendered the intro cinematics, I knew this was a special remaster.

[dissident]

By god, there's so many subtle things they improved in this remaster. Something I noticed that hasn't been mentioned in a lot of videos like this is the addition of texture-based walking sounds, so you don't sound like you're walking on steel when you're on grass and dirt.

[Goettel]

Love the remake, it looks like how I remember the original looked, but it sure didn't.

[digitaldiablo]

2:46 The expanded area was originally cut out of the original and kept in the game files. They put it back into the remaster.

[AcidFink]

Q2 is one of my all-time favorites and the remaster is really pretty fkn awesome. I used to lug my pc to my buddies house up the road and we would LAN co-op and and dm with bots. I still love playing it.

[VELVETPERSON]

for me, Q2 was the most beautiful game at that time, I could not believe in such a level of graphics quality and everything seemed incredibly realistic

[SleeperJohns]

1:24 - 1:29 | That cowboy is literally every new Quake 2 player in a nut shell.

Graphics aside, I really liked they have updated enemy behavior. Most notably, berserker is no longer a joke, but few other enemies apparently got some alterations too. "Compass" could be useful for "casuals" too (not for people who like searching for secrets ofc).

[PowerMetalRealm]

They have done an incredible job with this remaster

[franciscop]

Looks amazing! I been played for the last 20hrs the best !!

[davidwhatsthatabout]

I think they also changed that stupid crazy recoil the OG Quake 2 had with the machine gun

[krisorgan]

So glad there’s a compass because I know I’d just be running around in bloody circles otherwise.

[binop.]

Mio dio quanti ricordi… i primi 10 secondi del primo livello mi hanno fatto venire la pelle d’oca. Comparto audio già nel 97’ era superlativo. ID software nel cuore♥️

[mickeymouze]

idk i think i prefer the original cutscene from 0:09 the new one is just too clean, but im glad it gives me an option to play classic mode too

[richardcastro-parker]

Free if you already owned quake 2 digitally. Wow. Also, the game doesn't have microtransactions and is complete. It is excellent too. This is how remasters need to be.

[michaelbiljon]

I'm ashamed to say that I never played Quake 2 when it first released. Having now played the remaster (which I understand to be quite faithful to the original), I'm amazed by how modern it is. It's a quantum leap from Doom and Quake 1. Also, I'm told that Quake 2 is not id's best game... I think it's quite remarkable, even now.

[Kacpa]

This is what all remasters should be. I wish Warcraft 3 was given such treatment. Instead Blizzard ruined it. Same kind of mess happened to 3d era GTA games with "Definitive Trilogy"...

[mondoprime]

Remastered doesn't just mean the same game with higher specs. If that is all you need, then fair enough- you're far easier to please than I am.

Nightdive have nailed the formula for updating and tweaking old games to feel brand new whilst retaining the feel and look of the originals. I can't wait to see what they do next. Game preservation is important.

[kneekoo]

The new intro looks very nice overall, I'm happy to see much better details in it. :) But I'm surprised they didn't take care of all the nice details in the original intro. I like both intros, they have pros and cons that make it hard for me to easily decide which one is better. But I'm happy the game got an overhaul and new content. I'll definitely take a look at the new section in the opening level (2:48), and hope to find other additions. :D

And now the comparison...

less asteroids in:
- 0:20 original vs 0:35 remaster
- 0:42 original vs remaster

0:52 much better engine fires (gradient) in the original, despite having less color range; the new one is just a bright light with barely any gradient

1:10 the original ships/pods look nicer with a full circle front red light, compared to less than half circle on the new ones

1:14
- surprisingly, there's less definition in the remastered texture of the bay door
- the ship's position is off-center in the original, which makes it look nicer
- the planet's outer glow looks better in the original (impressive for its time!), compared to the simple gradient in the remaster (check out "Earth's outer atmospheric glow from ISS" as an example)
- I love the definition of the planet's surface in the remaster, but they could've added a few more clouds, like in the original
- why make the "Bitterman" text red in the remaster?

1:23 again, the original did the lighting of the engine fires better, compared to the cheap "fade to bright" in the remaster

1:24
- the original showed the ships/pods on the background, compared to the shiny slights in the remaster
- Bitterman enters the frame tilting and straightening before veering off to the left, making for a nicer animation
- the "Bitterman" text is now white in the remaster :P

1:25 the engine plumes look way too clean in the remaster; a thicker glow might've looked nicer

1:40 I love the atmospheric glow in the remastered version :) it properly fades to black and it looks smoother

reading "Bitterman" on the ship/pod
- 1:55 pixelated in the original
- 2:06 pixelated in the remaster :( too bad they couldn't/didn't upscale that at least a bit; I always stroggled reading that when I first played Quake II, and it's still pixelated in the remaster :P

Side note, it's funny how they always got the name in the wrong position before (text on the side) and after the crash (text on the nose). :P

exploding barrels
- 1:53 more responsive in the original
- 2:03 delayed in the remaster :-/ pretty weird

ship/pod beauty shot against the planet, with less asteroids (again) in the remaster
- 3:30 remaster
- 3:33 original