Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

E3 2007 Preview

Those that play first-person shooters know of the QUAKE series from id Software. From the second title in the series, Earth has been struggling in a war with an alien race known as the Strogg. Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is a prequel to the series. It tells the story of when the Strogg landed on Earth, and the fight to repel the invasion.

To understand the game, one needs to understand that id Software is behind the title and that means a game that pushes the boundaries graphically, carries the storyline well, and challenges players with objective-based gaming.

“We really wanted to stick to the story,” stated id’s Kevin Cloud during a meeting at Casa del Mar in Santa Monica, during the E3 Media & Business Summit.

The setting is 2065. The Strogg, which has gone from planet to planet in the universe, ripping resources from the worlds and converting the planet (physically) into Strogg, considered the Earth to be a pushover but unexpectedly have encountered resistance. Using engineers, soldiers, medics and covert operatives, the Earth forces are battling back. The game has two gameplay modes – objective based and team based. The missions are a series of linear objectives that  build toward the overall mission accomplishment. Another element that brings the game some immersion is that almost everything within the game is context based. The radial menu will pull up commands that relate to the situation. If a vehicle you were driving is damage, as an example, one of the commands may call for an engineer to repair the vehicle.

There are 12 maps, which can be played in single-player mode or in one of four campaigns. The game also has a persistent system of achievements and rewards.

Graphically the game is sharp, with great graphical rendering, outstanding environments and very intelligent AI. There are times, in multiplayer, when it is hard to tell which is a player and which might be a bot – that’s how good the AI is. And players may find that, in the single-player game, they have to play more than one class. It is as simple as pulling up the interface and selecting the new class to deploy as. When you die, you will re-deploy as the new class.

Enemy Territory is a solid shooter that is both tactical and a great deal of fun to play. The controls are what one expects from an FPS, and players will find that the inherent challenge will keep players in the game for a long time. And if the single-player missions are not enough, there is always the multiplayer, which should be top drawer.

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