Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is the follow up to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and is set in the Quake universe to a limited story that places it before the events in Quake II. You play as either a Human or a Strogg, with both teams having comparable powered weapons and vehicles specialized for their class.

The game was developed on multiple platforms by multiple teams:
Splash Damage, id Software:
Aspyr Media (Mac OS X)
Nerve Software (Xbox 360)
Underground Development (PlayStation 3)

Gameplay

For both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game there is a limited single player storyline available to play with bots as well as multiplayer objective games online. The PC and Mac versions of the game allow for multiplayer objective games against bots, but do not have the single player story line.
The objectives are very linear and not scattered about like many other games of this genre. This results in both teams constantly battling at sticking points to complete an objective and limits your ability to flank your enemy and complete objectives they might not cover. This could be considered a good or bad point since you might enjoy the constant action this causes, or you could dislike not being able to try and out maneuver and outthink your enemy.

Graphics

The game was developed with a modified version of the id Tech 4 engine and has a lot better graphics in the PC/Mac versions compared to their console counterparts. The game features mega texture rendering that allows for great detail in texture mapping, meaning that the game can have far off horizons without fogging.
While playing the game there are some fine points with the graphics as far as seeing in the distance. However, I found the game to have a pretty bland appearance for the most part and did not find the character models particularly interesting.

Sound

The sound in the game is pretty standard fare and does not stand out in any particular area. It would be nice to have mood music kick in during a critical battle or when a point is either being captured or destroyed.

Single Player

I have to say this is where I think the game does its best. I had more fun playing the PS3 version’s single player then playing the game online, which is quite different from my experience with most games. The reason? The AI often plays better as allies and foes than the people you will run into online. I started with the offline single player and felt it was decent game play with some nice cutscenes when completing some of the objectives. There were times where the goal was not clear, but after a short time you would figure out where to go and what to do.

Multiplayer

Online was a mixed bag. I am a huge fan of online games and love team play and find it to be essential to a good game. The problem is the way the game is set up. If you find yourself on a team that plays in a mature manner and cooperates, you will do fine and enjoy the game. But if you either have opponents who attack team mates or don’t know what they are doing, the fun gets negated. If you end up on the team with team attackers and the other dregs of online play, you will find yourself hopelessly run over by the other team at every turn. I seldom found myself on a team with good communication or team work, and noticed this applied to both sides. The result is that being and maybe one other team mate complete the objectives and occasionally take on the one or two members from the other team who are playing seriously. Due to the linear objectives it is not like other games where you can avoid idiot team mates and complete a side objective while your enemy takes them out for you.

Controls

Online and offline controls are lacking in this game. When compared to the Battlefield series or even the Unreal Tournament series you would expect much better control of your character and the vehicles available for your use. I found the characters’ movements just weren’t quite right and when entering into a gun fight with an enemy there was no specific strafing or movement that seemed to give you a particular edge. Again, I found human opponents much easier to eliminate compared to the AI, which says a lot. Vehicle control seemed clunky and somewhat unresponsive at times, and seemed to allow for some maneuvers that did not seem realistic or fair. In two back-to-back online games I backed a tank onto the side of a cliff ala Halo and held off the enemies’ advance by myself, effectively ending the game as the top ranked player.


Conclusion

I think with some more polish Enemy Territories: Quake Wars could have been so much better. I really want to like it, but I find it lacking. It does remind me of its predecessor, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. That game was and still is free and, honestly, I would play it more than this game. The game would be perfect for someone who loves multiplayer games but does not have an internet connection as some of the best gaming it has to offer is single player offline. The PC/Mac versions have better graphics, but I am still holding the same score for all platforms as the game is just simply lacking in some important areas.