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Activision and Splash Damage challenge the Battlefield series. Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is a sequel of sorts to Splash Damage’s well-received and (free) add-on for Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The game now takes place in the Quake universe and features more Battlefield elements than it used to, resulting in one of the most impressive team-based shooters yet.
As mentioned above, QUAKE Wars obviously takes place in the Quake universe. The backstory isn’t really relevant although Splash Damage did try to flesh out some of Quake’s story. What it basically boils down to is that the Strogg want to turn Earth’s raw materials into a new sort of enemy called stroyent. The humans of the Global Defense Force, of course, have to make sure this doesn’t happen.
QUAKE Wars gives you various primary and secondary objectives, that change as the teams complete them. You’ll have to take down a number of enemies, heal a fair number of teammates, blow up (or create) a structure or two, etc. The objectives are fun and make sure to utilize all of the class types, which lead for a nicely balanced game. The game automatically places you in squads if you share the same objectives as other players, which is nice, but not as useful as it would have been with voice, which is oddly not included in the game. Playing the game rewards you with increased ranks and new medals, as well as experience that can you be used to improve your character’s stats or unlock better weapons.
The game lets you play as either group, which is the basis for its gameplay. Both of the two types have five classes that are more or less comparable to one of the classes for the other type. You have your typical Soldiers (“Aggressor” for the Strogg), Medics (“Technicians”), Engineers (“Constructors”), Field Ops (“Oppressors”) and Covert Ops (“Infiltrators”). Soldiers are your typical, no frills character types, medics can revive fallen teammates, engineers can repair buildings, field ops can deploy turrets and cover ops can assume enemy identities. Splash Damage was very successful in making the game balance while making sure that the various types weren’t exactly carbon copies. For example, both Covert Ops and Infiltrators can assume the enemy’s identity but Covert Ops also have the ability to send out surveillance cameras while Infiltrators cannot and instead send out battle drones.
The core gameplay in QUAKE Wars is as excellent as you would expect. You can play one round on one map, two-rounds on a map, or a three-map series with the maps being located on the same continent. The game’s various weapons, for both groups, feel like they pack a punch. Splash Damage took great care in balancing the weapons’ reload speed, accuracy, and damage and it shows in the game. The vehicles, which include helicopters and tanks, also control quite well. Compared to the Battlefield series, QUAKE Wars seems to be more focused on completing the objectives and not in all-out gunfights, but that isn’t to say that the game doesn’t have a good number of intense fights. It’s entirely possible to engage in land combat with your troops and vehicles, as well as air fights.
QUAKE Wars looks great, but it’s not the best-looking game you’ll see this year. That bar has been raised by games like Gears of War and Crysis, while QUAKE Wars is running id Software’s MegaTexture, an upgrade of the Doom 3 engine. The game’s outdoor environments are quite large and vast, which is impressive considering the engine, and while the indoor areas look good, there is no distinctive art style coming through with the game. The lighting in the game is definitely the highlight and looks positively amazing. Technically, it runs quite well with no pop-in despite the large draw distances.
The game’s audio is good. The game’s weapons pack the appropriate oomph and really let you hear the impact behind those shots. The explosions, vehicles, etc are all quite loud yet crisp. The voice acting is pretty good, though some of the lines are not. Nonetheless, it’s hard to complain.
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is one of the most action-packed games of the year. If you’re looking for the next great team-based shooter, you can consider your search officially over. In a year with plenty of promising shooters, QUAKE Wars has cemented itself as a must-have. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 2, 2007
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