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Paying homage to its sci-fi setting, Marathon 2's adversaries fall into fairly conventional categories: alien troopers of varying capabilities, tanklike cyborgs, and powerful leaders. Most adversaries exhibit considerable intelligence, pursuing you when spotted and maximizing the use of their weaponry. On the average, the monsters in Marathon 2 are a cut above their Doom and Duke Nukem 3D equivalents.

Quake's monsters run the gamut from shotgun-toting sergeants and sword-wielding knights to eerie, creepy beasties like the three-legged Vore and the Spawn (often called the Tar Baby). In terms of artificial intelligence, the monsters in Quake seem to have a leg up on the rest. Adversaries will always use the best weapon for the situation, such as the Ogre pitching grenades from a distance and using a chainsaw up close. The special abilities and eerie, gritty, grotesque nature of some monsters give Quake the edge here; the sticky nature of the Spawn and the Zombies' ability to use their own flesh as a weapon makes good attack strategies even more important.

Marathon 2 isn't bad, but Quake's beasties have an animated, Gigeresque feel that's hard to ignore.

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