This is the sequel to Id's original "Quake", perhaps one of the most (for lack of a better word) vicious first person shooters.  (The evil enemies of that game projected more loathing and nastiness than you'll get from any real people, unless you work in prisons or a law firm).  While this is supposedly a sequel to the original Quake, it's very different - the code now supports hardware graphics acceleration (you'll know the difference if you've got a card because the game starts up in low-res and non-accelerated mode) for one thing.  For another, Id tossed out the plot of the first game, it's supernatural and occult-themed plot and all.  You're now a futuristic super-soldier sent to a remote planet populated by evil aliens who've rained havoc back on Earth.  Gone are the demons and zombies of the original, now replaced with alien cyborgs carrying particle weapons and all.  (Terran soldiers are landed on hostile planets by loading them in coffin-like reentry vehicles and shooting them at the targeted planet in waves.)  Still, despite the different storyline, it won't take fans of the original long to realize (if the packaging didn't clue them in) that they're playing Quake.  Though the graphics are a light year ahead of the original (3d card support and all), some effects - like the distortion of being underwater - looks little changed from the original game.  A lot of gameplay also remains the same (like looking for secret spots by searching for tunnels while underwater or in sewers).  The locked doors that "are opened elsewhere" and even the grunts your charachter makes when trying to open locked doors or while jumping may inspire enough deja vu to take you from Quake2's alien planet to the Necropolis of the first game.  Even the basic idea behind the levels seems a throwback to the bygone age that spawned the original - navigate a labyrinth looking for both a portal and its key.  The basic alien soldiers seem little different than the army of the undead from the first game, and your shotgun or rapid-fire gun works just as well on cyborgs as on the last games demons.  Much of the similarity between the two first Quakes is because of how far ahead the original Quake really was.
Any way you cut it though, the 2nd just doesn't lead the pack.  For a true leap over its predecessor in the hyper-violent FPS category, and unless you're not stuck with something less powerful than a Celeron, try Star Wars: Jedi Knight, the sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces.
I ran this game on a Pentium 200MMX, with 64mb of RAM and a 12mb 3DFx card - graphics were smooth and frame-rate was high.
This is the sequel to Id's original "Quake", perhaps one of the most (for lack of a better word) vicious first person shooters. (The evil enemies of that game projected more loathing and nastiness than you'll get from any real people, unless you work in prisons or a law firm). While this is supposedly a sequel to the original Quake, it's very different - the code now supports hardware graphics acceleration (you'll know the difference if you've got a card because the game starts up in low-res and non-accelerated mode) for one thing. For another, Id tossed out the plot of the first game, it's supernatural and occult-themed plot and all. You're now a futuristic super-soldier sent to a remote planet populated by evil aliens who've rained havoc back on Earth. Gone are the demons and zombies of the original, now replaced with alien cyborgs carrying particle weapons and all. (Terran soldiers are landed on hostile planets by loading them in coffin-like reentry vehicles and shooting them at the targeted planet in waves. )  Still, despite the different storyline, it won't take fans of the original long to realize (if the packaging didn't clue them in) that they're playing Quake. Though the graphics are a light year ahead of the original (3d card support and all), some effects - like the distortion of being underwater - looks little changed from the original game. A lot of gameplay also remains the same (like looking for secret spots by searching for tunnels while underwater or in sewers). The locked doors that "are opened elsewhere" and even the grunts your charachter makes when trying to open locked doors or while jumping may inspire enough deja vu to take you from Quake2's alien planet to the Necropolis of the first game. Even the basic idea behind the levels seems a throwback to the bygone age that spawned the original - navigate a labyrinth looking for both a portal and its key. The basic alien soldiers seem little different than the army of the undead from the first game, and your shotgun or rapid-fire gun works just as well on cyborgs as on the last games demons. Much of the similarity between the two first Quakes is because of how far ahead the original Quake really was. Any way you cut it though, the 2nd just doesn't lead the pack. For a true leap over its predecessor in the hyper-violent FPS category, and unless you're not stuck with something less powerful than a Celeron, try Star Wars: Jedi Knight, the sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces. I ran this game on a Pentium 200MMX, with 64mb of RAM and a 12mb 3DFx card - graphics were smooth and frame-rate was high.