Enemy Territory Quake Wars

[Scott]

Humans and Strogg bring the war to consoles


Formats; Xbox 360 and PS3

Last year when I played Enemy Territory Quake Wars on PC my general feeling was that the game shirked the usual conventions of going for an all out kill count. Instead, you were encouraged to incorporate the different skills of the soldier (Mechanics, Medics, Demolitions and the likes) to complete the objectives of each map (Build bridges, destroy shield generators, repair artillery etc). For the online gamer used to a more selfish approach, it forced you to utilise teamwork for the greater good.



Time has moved on for it's arrival on console. Activision's own COD4 is still the top dog shooter on xbox live, THQ's Frontlines has put on an entertaining spin on online territory capturing and EA's Battlefield Bad Company (There's also a review of it in the shooters board) is another spanner in the works. However, in Quake Wars favour, the maps have remained huge and the battles generally evolve from open-area, vehicle heavy battles to skirmishes around checkpoints to last ditch corridor fights to hang onto your final objective.



But, while the flow of the gameplay remains intact, some of the more complicated elements that can easily be consigned to a hotkey on PC become fiddly with a console controller, despite developer Nerve including context sensitive actions absent from the original version. Ultimately, Enemy Territory is a challenging objective based online shooter that could scare console gamers by asking more from them than flag-capturing or simply racking up kills. Survive the steep learning curve and Enemy Territory will broaden your online shooter horizons, although it fails to top the focused FPS titles already out.

Scoring;

Graphics
Lots of brown and not quite the visual match of a high-end gaming PC. 77/100

Gameplay;
Learning how the game works in tough conditions will both appeal and repel.
78/100
Lifespan;
Huge maps but a short campaign. Different approaches offer replay value.
75/100

Final Score;
A well structured FPS that encourages teamwork over gun-ho heroics.
76/100

[IceFire]

I think I'll stick to Battlefield Bad Company. I've tried this and it's just not as good.

[LiNuX]

i've seen a few trailers and they make the game look so good, well that's what the trailers are for lol, good review scott, one i doubt i'll be ever getting