Descent II is a 1996 first-person shooter game developed by Parallax Software and first published for DOS by Interplay Productions.

Descent II started as a project intended to expand the original using a compact disc's storage, and later became a standalone product.

Like its predecessor, Descent II is a six-degrees-of-freedom shoot 'em up[4] game in which the player pilots a fighter spaceship from a first-person perspective in zero gravity.

It differs from standard first-person shooters in that it allows the player to move freely across three-dimensional planes and rotate on three axes, often termed pitch, yaw, and roll.

Primary weapons range from a variety of pulse lasers and plasma bolts,[22] and all of them consume energy in varying increments, except for two rotary cannons whose ammunition consists of explosive shells instead.

[26] Shooting out certain control panels causes a variety of events, such as doors opening, walls being removed, or force fields being deactivated.

New to Descent II is the ability to drop weapons, so a player can stockpile surplus weaponry in safe locations in the event of a respawn.

Conditions for ending the level such as maximum time limit, how long the reactor will remain invulnerable before it can be destroyed, and the number of kills to reach can be set, as can which power-ups to allow and whether players may drop surveillance cameras.

[34] A player can send messages and predefined taunts, handicap their ship's shields they begin with after respawning, and in Capture-the-Flag drop and pass flags to their teammates.

[35] Descent II's multiplayer was designed for modems, null-modems,[36] and local area networks, but an alternative then widely used is to use third-party software such as Kali to play the game on the Internet.

After the "Material Defender" (voiced by George DelHoyo)[40] has destroyed all of the Solar System's mines in the original game, he stops in the asteroid belt to dock.

He is then contacted by Post-Terran Mining Corporation executive Dravis, who exploits a loophole in a contract to coerce him to accept a new mission or forfeit his reward and face legal action.

The Material Defender consents, and as Dravis tries to convince him that he is merely embarking on a reconnaissance mission, his ship is fitted with a prototype warp core.

After the spaceship breaks apart, the Material Defender alerts Dravis to his return home, but his warp drive malfunctions and he teleports to an unknown location.

[11] The MIDI soundtrack was composed by Dan Wentz, whereas the included redbook features industrial metal contributed by notable musicians such as Type O Negative and Ogre of Skinny Puppy.

Respectively, these prevent overdraw and accelerate portal rendering, making the engine practical to run on even inexpensive personal computers of that time.

Not compatible with the Descent II full release, Destination Quartzon was bundled software with hardware such as the Logitech WingMan Extreme joystick and Diamond Multimedia video cards with the Voodoo Graphics chipset.

The Vertigo Series, which could be purchased separately, contains 22 new levels (to be played sequentially), a new multiplayer game mode, new music and enemies.

[71] It subsequently became one of the launch titles of the Good Old Games beta on September 8, 2008,[72] and on February 19, 2014, it was re-released on Valve's Steam digital distribution service.

"[84] Next Generation opined that a few sequels "can boast the improvements like those made on Descent II", citing the SVGA graphics, the story sequences in full motion video, and the new items.

[93] Computer Game Review liked the AI of the new cast of robots in general and other measures taken to prevent getting lost, such as plotting map positions with markers.

PC PowerPlay strongly praised the scenery and the combination of maneuvers, including shooting while strafing and turning, with the "adventurous" style of the levels.

The latter view was disputed by PC Zone, who described the levels as being more "complex and overlapping" compared to the original's, which it described were focused on "winding tunnels, tiny chambers, huge caverns which lead to micro alleyways, long cramped corridors [etc.]".

[96] Smith and his three co-reviewers all criticized the choppy frame rate, though Crispin Boyer noted that the problem is largely eliminated when playing with the cockpit displays on.

[81] Both GameFan and Dmitry Reznikov of GameLand lauded all of the PC version's improvements included in the port, but the former reported an average rate of ten frames per second that would drop even lower with the cockpit displays disabled, and the latter believed that the frame rate drops cost an otherwise straight port of the PC version the opportunity to become a PlayStation hit.

[97] Next Generation was also pleased with these elements, summarizing that the game "features just enough improvements to the aging series to make it a welcome addition to the fold".

[64] These views were echoed by Roger Burchill of Ultra Game Players, who felt that the Doom-styled gameplay became dated, though he did welcome the link cable-based multiplayer mode.

The editors wrote that "Descent II offered even more insane vertigo action than the original, plus an added bonus that set the tone for computer gaming in 1996--a multiplayer mode".