id Software’s Quake series has long been a pace-setting series in the FPS genre,
having begun over a decade ago, while Splash Damage’s free upgrade to Return to
Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, provided some of the most
compelling multiplayer shootouts back in 2003. Now the two series are combining
for the sequel to W:ET for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Taking the Enemy
Territory concept of deep team-based missions and setting it in the Quake
universe, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (or ET:QW for short) is an intense online
shooter with some excellent class balances and truly great maps and mission
structures, making for a team-based shooter that shouldn’t be missed.
ET:QW takes place before the events in Quake 2. The war has heated up between
the Global Defense Force (GDF) and the invading Strogg forces. This time, the
fight will take you through several locations throughout Earth and across
several continents, fighting for control and supremacy.
Gameplaywise, ET:QW follows a pretty common theme, with one side fighting to
destroy the other’s assets, while the opponent defends. Aside from that, you
will encounter some deep mission sets that are geared to take advantage of the
diverse class system, as well as requiring a good balance among the players in
the game in order to make sure that those goals get met.
ET:QW features several classes that you can choose from for the two different
sides of the match, the Strogg and the GDF. While the classes are named
differently, they essentially perform the same actions. The GDF Soldier Class is
comparable to the Strogg’s Aggressor class, the Field Ops to the Oppressors,
Medic to Technician, Covert Ops to Infiltrator and Engineer to Constructor.
Each class will have their own mission sets for each map in the multiplayer
mode. For example, Soldier/Aggressors are usually required to destroy enemy
emplacements like anti-vehicle cannons or protect them from an oncoming threat,
Covert Ops/Infiltrators will need to hack objectives and are required to
covertly engage them, Engineer/Constructors must build bridges when the level
calls for it.
The classes will also gain experience when you use them on the field. Depending
on the missions that you complete for your class set, you’ll go up in experience
and unlock special abilities and upgrades for the class, as well as improved
weapon proficiencies. The more you play the game, the more adept you’ll become
in your classes and the more powerful you’ll become.
The game is obviously geared towards a multiplayer experience, but it also
boasts a pretty adaptable single-player mode. You’ll be able to play the game’s
modes offline (Objective, Campaign, and Stopwatch) against bots. You’ll be able
to tweak the match before it begins, scaling your opponent’s AI, the number of
soldiers on the map, and even whether or not your teammates will complete
objectives.
Graphically, the game boasts a tweaked version of the Doom 3 engine and looks
quite good. ET:QW uses a new texturing technique called “Mega-Texturing”, which
creates a single large texture map over the terrain instead of several small
ones, improving the framerate and allowing for a huge environment without
requiring a ton of RAM. The character models and vehicles also look quite nice.
The game doesn’t really have all of the bells or whistles of other PC games on
the market (or coming this fall) with DX10 features and such, but it still looks
great, especially for being built on an engine with a few years under its hood.
The sound effects are also pretty good, with booming weapon effects and vehicle
sounds lining out the presentation nicely. The score is a bit sparse, but the
voice acting (generally one-word commands) is pulled off well. One nice touch is
the “honk” sound that occurs when you shoot an enemy, something carried over
from Quake III, way back when.
ET:QW is a great multiplayer game that offers some new elements to the online
shooter genre. The class system is very balanced, and the XP system is
implemented very well. If you’re a fan of the genre and games like Battlefield,
then ET:QW is definitely worth your time.
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Review Scoring Details for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars |
Gameplay: 9.0
Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars offers some truly fantastic battlefield moments, balanced
classes, and great missions. The one element that gives the game a great sense
of longevity is the XP system, that will give you experience points for
performing well on the battlefield adding to your weapon and class skills, and a
nifty achievement system and persistent rankings that track your progress.
Graphics: 8.5
Even though the Doom 3 engine is several years old, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
looks great, with detailed character models, vehicles, and big environments.
While the game isn’t quite as “pretty” as other PC games launching this fall
touting special lighting effects and DX10 features, it still looks pretty darn
good.
Sound: 8.5
The explosion sounds are great, and the voice work (usually just belting out
commands and help requests) is well done, with the Strogg units sounding
appropriately robotic. One great addition is the “honking” noise that
accompanies a well-placed shot on an enemy (brought back from Quake III: Arena).
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 9.0
Whereas the harshest cynics to the game would say that ET:QW is a Battlefield
clone with the Doom 3 engine slapped on, they’d be severely mistaken. Quake Wars
sets the bar for online battlefield combat, with intricately structured mission
objectives that feel more fleshed out than some single-player centric games.
Multiplayer: 9.0
Online
play is where this game makes it’s mark, and the action is very fluid and
doesn’t lag out even in high player concentration areas. The lobby system is
also pretty intuitive and easy to navigate, so you should be jacked in and
playing against other gamers online in no time.
Overall: 9.0
Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars is an absolute blast to play online. While a few more maps
in the campaign would’ve been great, the rich XP system should keep you going
back for a long time.
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