User:Aristotlay/sandbox

Quarantine II: Road Warrior is a 1996 racing/first-person shooter video game for MS-DOS created by Imagexcel and published by GameTek. It is the sequel to the cult classic 1994 video game, Quarantine. Road Warrior places the player back behind the wheel of a weaponized hovercab. The player traverses a post-apocalyptic desert landscape dotted with settlements for the player to visit while advancing the game's plot.

Background
Following the success of 1994's zany cyberpunk hit Quarantine, Imagexcel and GameTek developed a sequel, named after the original US release name of Mad Max 2. The game utilizes the same engine and basic gameplay as its predecessor with a larger focus on narrative.

Plot
After escaping KEMO city at the end of Quarantine, protagonist Drake Edgewater finds himself a new life on the KEMO Plateau beyond the city's walls. After spending some time as a demolition derby contestant and hovercar racing driver, he is wanted dead by a criminal mutant overlord and is recruited to help a fight for a local group of rebels.

Gameplay
Quarantine II: Road Warrior’s gameplay is largely the same as that of its predecessor, with a few noteworthy changes. Gone is the original game's method of doling out story missions in between the player's regular taxi fares. In Road Warrior, missions are assigned to the player back-to-back. The player is also equipped with a weapon loadout at the start of each mission, rather than being responsible for purchasing their own weapons and upgrades as they were in the initial game. Also missing are the sprite-based randomly generated pedestrians which contributed to the first game's wacky cyberpunk aesthetic. Instead the player's missions are assigned by pre-rendered characters drawn in a comic book art style.

One new feature is the addition of multiple points of view. The original Quarantine locked players into the cab's cockpit, showing a first person view. On DOS, Road Warrior features the ability to enter a third person point of view utilizing the function keys.

Reception
Quarantine II received mixed reviews following its release, but was generally regarded as somewhat lack-luster compared to the previous game.

Computer Gaming World reviewed the PC version of the game, praising its comic book aesthetic, good soundtrack, and improved graphics. Listed in the "cons" section of the review was the loss of money management and weapon selection features found in the first game.

Polish gaming magazine CD-Action reviewed the game on DOS. Enriched SVGA graphics and a 3D world that gives "the impression that something is always going on" earned the game positive remarks. Also noted are complaints of fickle controls holding the game back.

Today, some fans of the original Quarantine lament the loss of freedom found in the gameplay of Road Warrior.