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After the gaming revolution that was Battlefield 1942, it seems like everybody’s trying to get on the team-based shooter bandwagon.  It’s hard not to be a little doubtful of the quality of a game taking place in the ultra ludicrous Quake universe.  But it turns out that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is not only a perfect fit for the setting, it’s a darn fine game in its own right.

Hot “Man on Strogg” Action

The struggle between mankind and the Strogg (which can only be described as evil cyborg space zombies) has come to Earth.  Across the entire planet, Strogg forces attempt to gain a foothold, while the brave men of the Global Defense Force do their best to repel the attack.

That’s really all you need to know.  Quake Wars is blissfully light on backstory.  There’s no single-player campaign to muddle through, and although you can play by yourself with bots standing in for your teammates as well as the enemy, like Battlefield, Quake Wars really should be considered an online-only experience.
 
Not Your Father’s Team-Based Online Game

However you choose the play, you’ll immediately notice that, apart from the team oriented nature of the game, there’s not much here in common with Battlefield.  For one thing, there is no base-capture mode.  Instead the main multiplayer game is a nicely tweaked version of assault, where one team must defend a series of three objectives from the attacking team.

For example, the GDF players might need to drive a Mobile Command Platform to a specific location on the map and deploy it while the Strogg do their best to blow it to bits.  If the GDF succeeds they gain control of that part of the map and can move on to the next objective.  If the Strogg continually prevent GDF from deploying the vehicle, they can run out the game clock and win the match.

Focused Chaos

Maps are large and varied, but because there is generally only one main objective at a time, it serves to focus the combat on key areas.  This prevents the problem in the Battlefield games where there are too many areas to defend and not enough players to do it. 

The missions also illustrate how the different character classes work in the game.  Some objectives can only be completed by certain classes.  A hacking mission, for example, can only be done by the GDF Covert Ops class or the Strogg Inflitrator.  You’d thing that would make everyone gravitate to certain classes depending on the mission, but Quake Wars throws a very clever curveball into the mix.

During the game, optional side missions are generated on-the-fly depending on what the enemy team is doing.   If a Strogg Oppressor deploys heavy artillery somewhere on the map, the GDF Soldier class will have to option to accept a mission to go blow it up.  So basically, the game automatically makes sure everyone has something interesting to do at all times.

High Class

Each class has plenty of different things that they can do.  For some classes, the number of weapons, or special abilities can be daunting.  Unfortunately, the instruction manual isn’t clear enough about how certain game mechanics work.  Just setting and arming an explosive charge is a multi-step process that’s not nearly as easy as it sounds.  The Field Ops and Oppressor classes have the ability to deploy and use artillery, but when selecting which kind to deploy, it’s not clear what the specific difference are between your choices.

This carries over to weapons load-out, especially when you’re playing Strogg.  GDF players should be able to easily tell the difference between a machine gun, a shotgun, and a rocket launcher, but those poor Strogg players.  Many of the weapons and abilities are comparable to the GDF side, but carry slightly different tweaks along with weird names.  It’s hard to remember just how potent the hyperblaster is compared to the obliterator.

Death Comes Quickly

If there’s any disappointment to be had in character classes, it’s in the GDF medics.  The game is so fast-paced and death comes so quickly, that it’s often easier for players to respawn instead of waiting to help to arrive.  At least the Strogg Technician can create a makeshift spawn point out of fallen GDF soldiers. That’s pretty cool. Even with the fast pace and the somewhat difficult learning curve, I suspect that that game will settle down into a slightly less frenetic, more tactical affair once players learn the ins and outs of each character class.

Now You’re Quakin’

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is truly a pleasant surprise.  It has deep and varied gameplay, yet manages to keep things extremely focused.  It’s too early to tell how well the gaming community will take to these new-fangled ideas, but we’re sure glad someone had the guts and smarts to put them in a game.

Review by: Don Boucher
Video Produced by: Tim Jennings