This wasn't my experience. I bought a voodoo 3 , playing quake 1 and quake 2 was just disappointing, at the time it just felt like Goldeneye was next gen compared to those flagship pc games. I desperately wanted it to be a step up. It didn't feel like it. Also it's sort of odd to me that quake two is seen as revolutionary. In my opinion Goldeneye blows it out of the water and it was released in the same year.
Edit, obviously this is all subjective, and it's about fond memories! :)