Enemy Territory: Quake Wars first appeared on PCs last fall and now Xbox 360
gamers will have the chance to try out it's goal-based multiplayer battles.
The fact that the game is set before the events in Quake 2 probably mean a lot
more to PC gamers than it does to console gamers, but familiarity with the Quake
universe has little importance in the game. Basically Earth is under
assault by a violent alien race and you can join the forces of the invading
Strogg or fight to defend the Earth as part of the Global Defense Force, or GDF.
Both sides get to play the role of attacker and defender depending on the map
being played and the two sides aren't all that different from each other, so
your choice of sides boils down to whether you feel like playing as a soldier or
an alien at the moment.
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The game begins with a tutorial level that covers the basics of gameplay but
is far from comprehensive. Here you'll learn that Quake Wars is a
class-oriented, goal-based shooter. The classes have names on the two
sides but fall into similar roles, which is why the included tutorial only runs
you through it as a GDF player. There's the soldier who has the additional
options of going into combat with a rocket launcher or shotgun instead of the
standard issue assault rifle. Medics both heal and revive fallen comrades,
saving them a trip back to the respawn location. Engineers construct
defenses and can also repair vehicles and emplacements. Covert Ops are the
snipers who also have the ability to hack into enemy systems. Finally,
field ops can call in devastating artillery strikes. Each class has a fair
number of special abilities and equipment that go beyond the basic abilities and
you'll need to spend some time with each class before you se all that they have
to offer. You can respawn and switch classes at any time you'd like, but
since many actions earn experience that can lead to improved abilities and
weapons there's an incentive to stick to one class. Unfortunately, these
experience gains are limited to the current map campaign, so the next time you
play you'll be back to square one.
Most class-based shooters reward the team whose players fulfill the roles of
each of the classes and this is even more so the case in Quake Wars. Games
are divided into three map campaigns and on each map one side is the attacker
and must accomplish a series of objectives while the other side is the defender
that tries to prevent these objectives from being met. The objectives are
designed to require a specific class to meet each one, so one objective may
require engineers to construct a bridge across a chasm while another requires a
covert ops player to hack a protective shield. This objective-based play
has its good and bad points. On the good side, it encourages teamwork and
that players fill all of the roles in the game. It also localizes the
fighting to areas around the current objective, ensuring that the players aren't
scattered all over the large maps. On the negative side there's not as
much variety to the gameplay. Since the objectives stay the same many of
the battles will follow similar scripts. For example, defenders will know
where they need to set defensive guns and where the attackers will be coming
from for each objective. Of course there is plenty of excitement in trying
to prevent the other side from executing its strategy, but the play is not as
wide-open as it is in most shooters.
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