Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

"Great Combination of Wolfenstein and Quake"

I just got Quake Wars the other day in Big Lots for $6. Considering that before Christmas, this game game was going for $30-40, it was an offer I could not refuse and bought it right away. What a bargain! It probably is not the best multiplayer game in the world, but overall, it is pretty good.

Graphics - 8/10

The graphics of the game are not that good for the system requirements. I play 800 resolution medium settings. While this is not top notch performance by any means, I would expect it to look a little better. It looks better than another similar game, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but it does not meet up to what other Quake games like Quake 4 can do. However, the graphics still look rather nice. The game consists of rather large environments, and it is good to see vegetation and textures stand out like they do.

Audio - 8/10

The audio of this game is good. There are many voice effects in the game that range from the standard grenade warning to actual notifications regarding mission objectives. They can get annoying after a while, but are still good. Guns do not sound excellent, but they sound good enough.

Controls - 7/10

The controls of this game are fine for the most part. While running around as infantry, the controls are very good and are customizable. However, some vehicles need a lot of work. Driving ground vehicles such as tanks and APCs are not bad. However, air units are horrendous to drive. I just cannot get the hang of flying assault aircraft. They honestly make Battlefield 2's aircraft easy in comparison. You cannot modify the controls either, because this will mess up your ability to drive ground vehicles. They have no separate control menus for infantry combat, ground vehicles, and air vehicles.

Game Play - 8/10

Considering how I barely meet the requirements in terms of the CPU, I'm surprised how well this game runs. I often find myself getting a smooth 30 FPS (shocker, isn't it?). Other times it does not run so good, and I can get frame rates as low as 10, but still, I think this game sets the bar for performance on lower-level systems. It runs perhaps slightly worse than Battlefield 2142 overall, which I supposedly meet the "recommended" requirements for.

Other than some performance issues due to my slow computer, the game runs good. I notice very few design flaws. Basically, the game behaves extremely similarly as the free game, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, does. However, instead of the teams being axis and allies, they are now humans and strogg, an alien race that is intent on harvesting humans. The game itself takes place before Quake 2 and 4 and covers the stroggs' initial attack on Earth. In this game, you fight all over the world as a human or a strogg. Furthermore, players take control of different classes of humans and aliens to complete certain objectives. For example, engineers construct buildings and other structures necessary to complete an objective. Soldiers bomb targets. Field ops call in air strikes. Medics support other players by healing them and bringing them back to life when they die. Finally, covert ops infiltrate enemy lines and hack targets.The game play is team and objective based. Players must do certain things to win the game or stop the other team from completing the objectives. Actual game dynamics are good for the most part. This game feels very natural if one has played Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory before. If not, it may be confusing at first.

There are some flaws in the game play, however. For example, I think that the two sides are not necessarily even on all of the maps. Normally the humans attack and the strogg defend targets, but this is sometimes reversed. It seems that defense has the advantage. If one looks on the Quake Wars websites, he or she will notice that the strogg win far more games than the humans. I suspect that this may be caused by the maps being unbalanced.

Second of all, spawn killing is far too easy in this game sometimes. However, the problems in this game are minor compared to other similar games like Battlefield 2.

Third, the game does not let me alt tab. This probably does not seem like a big deal, but considering I like to IM friends while gaming, it is kind of annoying and is a reason I do not play this more than I do.

Fun Factor - 8/10

This game is fun, but it isn't perfect. It offers a fun Battlefield-like experience and it does not get old very quickly. However,t it just isn't as fun as Battlefield can be. While Battlefield has its conquest mode, allowing for a number of different tactics and different battle situations, this game is very linear. You are told to go here and blow something up there. This is not really bad, but it just doesn't lend itself to the variety of situations you can experience in other similar games. This game is still very enjoyable though.

Replay Value - 9/10

This game comes with 12 maps that take place in various locations across the globe. These maps are split in to four campaigns consisting of three missions each. This may not seem like a lot, but the maps are huge and very detailed. To be honest, the only other game I have played that rivals the size of this game's maps is Starsiege: Tribes. Moreover, games can last up to a half hour on each one, which means playing them all can take up to 6 hours in itself. Moreover, while there are mods available, there is still a large number of servers that play the game the way it is supposed to be played.

Learning Curve - 6/10

I have to say that for someone who is new to Enemy Territory games, the learning curve will be rather steep. If someone just picked up this game without playing any other similar game, he or she will not know what to do. However, if you have played Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory as well as the Quake games, it is easy to adjust, since the game is basically Wolfenstein in Quake's clothing (but better in my opinion). When it comes to facing other players, the game can seem difficult at first, but overall, it really is not. As long as you get decent performance when playing and learn the tricks of the map, the game is not very hard at all. It still offers a good amount of challenge though, and there are a lot of hardcore players on its servers.

Overall - 8/10

Overall, this game is definitely worth picking up, seeing how it is currently around $6. It gives good performance on lower-end computers and is a fun game overall to play. I find it a little lacking when compared to the Battlefield games, but it is nevertheless good, especially for the price.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/09, Updated 08/03/09

Game Release: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (US, 10/02/07)