Not quite as great as Dimension of the Machine, but still an improvement on the base game. Corpse Run and Darkest Depths are especially awesome designs with good environmental storytelling. The last boss is frustratingly difficult but I honestly love the way it (spoiler alert, I suppose) incorporated enemies from Quake 1 to tie the Q1 and Q2 stories together. Not 100% sure the explanation they settled on makes the most sense, but it feels right.

Final Quake 1/2 rankings:

1. Q1: Dimension of the Machine
2. Q1 (base game)
3. Q2: Call of the Machine
4. Q2 (base game)
5. Q1: Dimension of the Past
6. Q2: The Reckoning
7. Q1: Scourge of Armagon
8. Q1: Dissolution of Eternity
9. Q2: Ground Zero

Damn some of these missions look g o o d. I'm especially fond of Darkest Depths and Firewall. A few of the boss encounters felt far more frustrating than anything else across the entire remaster though.
The tracking on some of the beefed up Tank Commander missiles also felt kinda mean. The few times I died outside of a boss encounter often involved their missiles whipping around two sets of 90 degree corners to reach me. Be advised that Call of the Machine effectively implements even more dickish Vores back into Quake.
I wish the crossover elements were utilized more thoroughly, and the final encounter was rather underwhelming.
Overall I did really dig the tight mini-campaign anthology format that MachineGames elected to follow for their new expansion. Arguably this expansion alone makes the remaster "worth it".

Shockingly good expansion that is on par with the quality of the original Quake II campaign. The levels all have unique designs to them, for a large expansion like this it helps keep you engaged since you'll just keep seeing new stuff every level you enter. The updated lighting of the KEX Engine really shines since the levels make use of techniques the original engine probably couldn't do. Enemy encounters are really frantic and fun, very creative in how they use encounters to either make you feel vulnerable or powerful when you use the powerup you've been storing. The weakest part of the expansion is the bosses, since the final boss fight especially is really frustrating due to lack of cover and lots of enemies spawning in.

DOOMATHON entry #13/20
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/

After being thoroughly impressed by MachineGames's previous Quake effort, I went into Call of the Machine expecting it to be a proportionally worthwhile addition - but I wasn't expecting it to be every bit as fantastic as its predecessor. Seeing as the scale of Dimension of the Machine's elaborate levels had more in common with Quake 2's units than the original game's mazes, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the same formula works just as well here.

What's more surprising, however, is the extent to which this is a love letter to the entirety of Quake 2, largely forgotten mission packs included. The Reckoning's Phalanx and Ground Zero's plasma beam are briefly included, the godforsaken medic commander is implemented in a genuinely enjoyable manner, and Quake 2 64's ominous Aubrey Hodges soundtrack is put to great use as well. My personal highlight of the entire campaign, once again about as lengthy as the base game, was thinking to myself "Seems like they couldn't figure out a fun use for the turrets from Ground Zero" within minutes of encountering the setpiece that did exactly that! Although I certainly don't think that Dimension of the Machine was worse off for not attempting to salvage the horribly annoying spike mines from Scourge of Armagon, Call of the Machine almost made me wish that it had.

Then again, the only reason that these once obnoxious elements work so well is because this campaign fully commits to the aggressive combat that shone brightly in the base game. The enemy counts here are obscene, often putting you in positions where a single super shotgun blast can wipe out an entire group of grunts, and where hesitating for even a moment will subject you to the railguns of multiple gladiators at once. While some near unavoidable damage inevitably results from this approach, it's remarkably well balanced on the whole.

The only time I felt that I had to succumb to my save scumming ways was in the final battle, which is more cramped than pretty much any other combat arena up to that point and was kinda deflating to experience after just how good almost everything that preceded it was. The battle is also quite underwhelming as what's ostensibly a conclusion to the hilariously disorganized Quake lore that these two new expansions were intended to tidy up. This obviously isn't gonna be a dealbreaker for anyone in their right mind (John Carmack's infamous "story in a game" quote is more pertinent to Doom and Quake then I'd like admit) and does little to undermine the excellence of what's on offer here, but it's a shame that neither MachineGames offering could break the series curse of underwhelming boss fights.

Both of these campaigns are easily the best official Quake content available as well as secretly among the best releases of 2021 and 2023 respectively; it's criminal that so few people are aware that we've functionally received two new games in the series within two years of each other! I've successfully fed some of my friends the Halo and Half-Life pills, and now Quake is next up on the agenda.

Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1756583440470995030