The layouts were good, but everything was just a generic techcorridor, complete with overwhelming amount of crates. Almost like single level stretched out into an entire game.
You can say the same hyperbole of Quake 1 though. Each episode starts with one or two techbase levels, then the rest are medieval grimdark, with an overwhelming amount of stone.
That's a semi-valid criticism. Yes, Q1 is not particularly diverse, although here are several distinct themes to Q1 levels. Admittedly Q2 also changes in style as you progress through the game, although I would argue that hi-tech and less abstract approach to locations weakens potential of theme-based approach to design.
However, it's not that lack of diversity is in itself crippling. If Q2 had gripping gameplay or focused more on building the atmosphere (and that includes soundtrack), relative lack of diversity would not have been a problem.
secret Zero-G levels on a space station orbiting earth if I recall.
Orbiting Strogg homeworld. Entire Q2 is based on and around this planet.
More visual variety than Q1 really (and more detail crammed in the levels), you just don't like its style and that's OK. Just don't pretend it's measurably bad in this regard.
It is measurably bad.
Q1 wasn't exactly stellar either (eariler Doom and Hexen were much better, so was later Unreal) - people were joking about all the brown then, but Q1 had atmosphere and gameplay to help drive it. Even detail can sometimes work to Q2's detriment because they AI is crap and can't handle more complex geometry, so while in Q1 fiend just straight ran and leapt up to you and eviscerated you, Q2
mutant leaps, gets stuck on the terrain and before it can do anything, player can eviscerate it at their leisure. And in Q1 you didn't have almighty SSG rendering any melee attacker trivial.
The main problem with Q2 isn't any particular thing about it. It's that its various elements fail to support and most of the time actually undermine each other.
- Extra geometric detail <-> bad AI navigation
- cyborg enemies (implying superior performance to unmodified organics - else why modify yourself) <-> most enemies are weaker in all regards than player
- armor plated cyborgs (implying toughness and damage resistance) VS variety of burst and sustained damage weapons <-> lack of any armour mechanics on enemy side (because it exists and is quite good for player) to support aesthetics and diversify weapon utility
- cyborgs with built-in weaponry (implying faster aim and possibly better performance than handheld versions) <-> incredibly sluggish reflexes and equal or worse weapon performance.
Quake's 2 theme is striking back against cybernetic menace from space. Cyborg enemies as a theme imply a number of things about actually fighting them which Q2 ignores. Enemies can't aim worth a damn (even though weapons are effectively their bodyparts and for a Strogg shooting someone should be as easy and natural as grabbing something with your hand is for you) - to the point you can effectively evade hitscan fire indefinitely in the open. Enemy weapons don't benefit from being effectively attached to robotic support frame and whatever power source supplies it - which should allow them better firepower or rate of fire. Enemies don't benefit from their visible armour plating - quite a few full humanoids are weaker than player (especially accounting for enemy damage nerf in SP) and that's even before you account for armour player can wear that, depending on type, can completely block or reduce various types of damage. Unlike player and contrary to their appearance the enemies are just soft HP sponges with easily triggered painframes. So, when you approach, say, gunner, with an SSG what happens is that the blast folds them in half and turns them into bloody swiss cheese, allowing you to calmly reload and finish him off before he recovers. What should happen is blast ricocheting from the plating without producing noticeable impression, relegating SSG and CG to mincing strong unarmoured targets (such as mutants) or clustered crowds of weak enemies (which actually don't occur in game apart from groups of flyers).
Should the game need weak enemies, you could play on Strogg inhumanity and replace guards with humans processed
in situ - effectively naked guys with parts of limbs replaced with cybernetics, a minimalisitc few (painful looking) body implants and cybernetic overrides stuck in their skulls. That would produce reasonable justification for them being weak mechanically, would allow interesting mechanics - say, having (relatively pointless as it is) technician class enemy be able to convert surviving and captive marines, drive home Strogg assholery, and create reasonable gameplay reasons other than mercykilling, for shooting captive marines - mirroring the reasons for gibbing Stroggs after you start encountering medics (which, BTW, shouldn't be possible without explosives as as it is using blaster is both no-brainer and a dreadful amount of pointless busywork).
Strong/miniboss grade enemies should also back more oomph and lack their crippling weaknesses - compare Q2 tank (that requires player's active compliance to actually be able to shoot in their general direction) to, say, Unreal titan (which not only can soak fuckton of damage, but throws boulders - rapidly and accurately - that can more often than not instagib you even with full armour and health and stomps creating miniearthquakes to stun you and make you an easy target - and which is typically encountered in areas augmenting effectiveness of this mode of combat).
My main point isn't that Q2 sucks because of its theme which I do not like - yeah, it's a sucky theme and the game is a dumb dudebro shooter - but that it fails to properly convey its theme and build reasonable gameplay and atmosphere - in or outside of it.
It's not an awful game, but it doesn't stride beyond utter mediocrity.
Additionally, I am continuously annoyed by fans of Q2's SSG and RG - both are powerful but they are powerful precisely because they are unimaginative OP wankfests. Q2 has interesting weapons, but they are MG, CG and HB:
- MG has recoil mechanics and is not superseded by CG.
- CG is incredibly powerful but incapable of any sort of controlled fire and needs to wind up.
- HB is manageable, non-hitscan CG, but you have to pay for your controlled bursts with wind down period.
