“ | Take out the Big Gun sounded simple enough, except the Strogg were waiting. You, and a few marines like you, are the lucky ones. You've made it down in one piece and are still able to contact the fleet. The Gravity Well, the Strogg's newest weapon in its arsenal against mankind, is operational. With the fleet around Stroggos, 5% of ground forces surviving, and that number dwindling by the second, your orders have changed: free your comrades. Destroy the Gravity Well. | ” |
—id Software overview[1] |
Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero is an official mission pack for Quake II, developed by Rogue Entertainment and released on September 11, 1998 right after the release of the first expansion.
The Mission Pack was announced in May 1998. [2], development probably started in February 1998. The game was shown at E3 1998 at Atlanta.
Plot[]
Main Article: Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero Story
The Gravity Well has trapped the Earth Fleet in orbit above the planet. One of the marines who managed to land must now make his way to the Gravity Well to destroy it and free the fleet above and disable the entire defenses of the planet.
Units[]
- Unit 1 - Tectonic Stabilizer
- Unit 2 - Base Complex
- Unit 3 - Research Hangars
- Unit 4 - Munitions Installation
- Unit 5 - Widow's Lair
Multiplayer Maps[]
- RDM1: The Low Road
- RDM2: The High Road
- RDM3: Boxed In
- RDM4: Razor Close*
- RDM5: Stone Hinge
- RDM6: Nexus
- RDM7: Sewer Citadel
- RDM8: Styx & Stones
- RDM9: Scenic Overlook
- RDM10: Great Divide
- RDM11: Dish It Out
- RDM12: Fall from Grace
- RDM13: Roads to Nowhere
- RDM14: Rogue's Edge
*Named Razor's Edge in the "Start network server" menu.
New Content[]
Enemies[]
Bosses[]
Weapons[]
- ETF Rifle
- Plasma Beam Cannon
- Prox Mine Launcher
- Tesla Mines
- Chainfist
- Disruptor (2023 remaster only)
Powerups[]
- Double Damage
- IR Goggles
- Defender Sphere
- Vengeance Sphere
- Hunter Sphere
- Doppelganger
- Antimatter Bomb
Other gameplay changes[]
The behaviour of certain enemies has been changed from the original game, making them more dangerous in some cases:
- Enforcers attack more quickly, due to their reload animation happening after firing, instead of before firing (which was also the case in The Reckoning).
- Gunners may continue to fire up to three grenade volleys if the player disappears from their sight.
- Tanks and Tank Commanders will usually follow-up their attack sequence with an additional rocket barrage which fires with less delay than normal, even if the player is no longer visible.
- Iron Maidens, if they lose sight of the player, will often continue to fire rockets towards the last spot they saw you.
- Parasites will advance more consistently rather than stopping every few seconds.
- Flyers and Technicians may strafe sideways when firing.
- Medics will revive fallen Strogg much more quickly, whereas in the original game they would often take some time even to approach the corpse.
Furthermore, enemies will sometimes sidestep to attempt to dodge the player's projectiles (especially those fired by the Hyperblaster and ETF Rifle), and enemies on a higher level will sometimes jump down to approach the player.
It is a simple matter to play the original Quake II single-player campaign with the above-mentioned gameplay changes applied, making it more challenging. To do this, simply load up Ground Zero, start a new game and then type "map base1" in the console to switch the level to Outer Base. However, the game will crash when you push the switch in the Big Gun, so you should noclip through the locked door instead to reach the exit. The game will also crash if you attempt to disable the blaster trap in the Lower Palace.
Enemy appearance statistics[]
Enemy | Easy | Medium | Hard/Nightmare |
---|---|---|---|
Light Guard | 53 | 57 | 57 |
Shotgun Guard | 120 | 109 | 103 |
Machine Gun Guard | 79 | 76 | 72 |
Enforcer | 64 | 70 | 71 |
Gunner | 132 | 148 | 187 |
Iron Maiden | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Parasite | 16 | 19 | 28 |
Berserker | 44 | 55 | 53 |
Stalker* | 57 | 70 | 86 |
Mutant | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Flyer* | 45 | 56 | 68 |
Technician | 10 | 10 | 12 |
Icarus | 44 | 48 | 31 |
Daedalus | 27 | 35 | 68 |
Medic | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Gladiator | 48 | 59 | 69 |
Tank | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Tank Commander | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Medic Commander* | 20 | 21 | 26 |
Turret | 100 | 132 | 167 |
Carrier | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Black Widow Guardian** | 1 | 1 | 1 |
*Not including Flyers spawned by the Carrier, Stalkers spawned by the Black Widow Guardian, or anything spawned by a Medic Commander.
**The Black Widow Guardian comprises two forms, one fought after the first is defeated; in practical terms it is two separate enemies.
The above statistics refer to the 2023 remaster, which may differ from the original Ground Zero release on certain maps - for example, several maps suffered from missing kills in the original which have been fixed in the remaster.
Reception[]
Ground Zero received mixed to positive review, as Gamerankings rated the game 65.40%, slightly lower than the first expansion. The considerably higher difficulty of the expansion compared to the first one and the base game was criticized. [3]
References[]
Quake II: Ground Zero | ||
---|---|---|
Organization | Terran Coalition of Man · Strogg | |
Characters | Stepchild · Wonimal · Zor · Scar-funkle | |
Enemies | Daedalus · Medic Commander · Stalker · Turret | |
Bosses | Carrier · Black Widow Guardian | |
Weapons | Chainfist · ETF Rifle · Plasma Beam · Proximity Launcher · Tesla Mine · Disruptor (2023 remaster) | |
Powerups | Antimatter Bomb · Defender Sphere · Doppelganger · Double Damage · Hunter Sphere · IR Goggles · Vengeance Sphere |