Fighting the Strogg across a long campaign
Quake II is a fast first-person shooter from id Software, originally released in 1997 and now updated for modern platforms. You are a marine who survives a failed strike on the Strogg homeworld and must fight through fortified military installations to shut down their war machine. The package includes the original campaign plus both mission packs, "The Reckoning" and "Ground Zero," and the all-new "Call of the Machine" expansion from MachineGames, which adds 28 campaign levels. You also get Quake II 64 with its 19 campaign levels and its own soundtrack. The Enhanced version brings up to 4K and widescreen support, better models and animations, restored AI behaviors, dynamic lighting, and the original heavy rock soundtrack by Sonic Mayhem. The untouched Original version stays fully moddable, and you can switch between the two.
Playing together with your group
The campaign and all expansion packs can be played in 4-player co-op, either online or in local split-screen, so your group can push through the Strogg installations side by side. Crossplay lets friends on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch join each other regardless of platform. When you want to fight each other instead, the multiplayer matches support up to 16 players online, 4 players in local split-screen, or 8 players in local split-screen on PC. Bot support covers offline and online Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, so a match can still run when the group is short on people. The mission packs come with their own deathmatch maps: 7 in "The Reckoning" and 14 in "Ground Zero," plus one in "Call of the Machine."
Before you start
Decide as a group whether you want the Enhanced or the Original version, since both are included and they differ in visuals, multiplayer support, and moddability. The game carries a Gore tag and leans into a gritty, atmospheric military sci-fi tone with horror elements, so it is not a light-hearted shooter. The campaign content is spread across the base game and three expansions, which gives the group plenty of levels to work through in order.