GamerNode: Reviews - Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

..article continued from page 1

• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
• PC
• Splash Damage
• Activision
• October 03rd, 2007

To keep things balanced, whatever you upgrade doesn't necessarily persist between games. Each "campaign" has three different maps you can engage in and whatever you unlock stays within the campaign. But once you leave or are done with the campaign, that's it. Quake Wars definitely rewards and encourages players to focus on specific class roles and since you're working on upgrades, you wouldn't want to quit your class in middle of the game.

The game is powered by id's Doom 3 engine and features their MegaTexture rendering technology. It's a shame that other games don't use the Doom 3 engine since Quake Wars uses the engine to great appeal. Things perform swimmingly while running and gunning deep in Strogg territory. If you got tired from the usual brown and gray pallets in Quake IV, then you'll be in for a surprise in Quake Wars.

One of the annoying factors is the vehicles. While they are pretty exciting to use, their controls are a bit iffy. I admit that it's normal for a tank to have cumbersome controls (because it's a friggin' tank!), but I didn't expect for a mini-quad to have similar control issues. I remember trying to turn around on a quad on a decently sized path overlooking a pit, but it took numerous turns to do so, and I was promptly annihilated and easily would have failed any driving test.

If you're an Enemy Territory fan or a fan of team-based online FPS, then Quake Wars is a logical choice in terms of your next buy. But for newer players or those not seeking team-based play, the game just isn't that big. Quake Wars ships with a single-player mode with bots which you can definitely boost your playing skills, because if there's one thing Splash Damage does well (besides creating this fine game) it's bots. The gameplay is balanced, the objectives are fun, the classes are finely tuned and the presentation is excellent. As of now, there isn't a finer team-based online FPS than Quake Wars -- just don't expect to get a lot of solo play out of it.

• (0)
• 
• 
• 
•