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IGN Review of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars first launched on the PC back in October of 2007 to solid critical reviews and fan support. Now it's time for the id Software franchise to bring its latest entry home to Xbox 360 and PS3, nearly eight months since first landing on store shelves. While multiplayer FPS fans are undoubtedly hoping for an extra coat of paint and added features to what will hopefully be a solid addition to the stable of online shooters, what they'll actually find is far less exciting.
For those who don't already now, Quake Wars is a classic multiplayer-centric release where two warring sides are vying for control of a battlefield. Winning the day is focused on completing a list of objectives, from things as arbitrary as opening doors to gain access to an enemy bunker to deploying a vehicle inside an enemy base. You advance your territory on the battlefield until the three or four objectives have been successfully completed and you've pushed the enemy to retreat.
While the multiplayer matches are the expected standalone skirmishes either online or over a system link (sorry, no local play), there is an attempt at a single-player campaign buried underneath the surface. There are twelve maps which are split into four groups across four different continents. Three maps per group gives you four "different" campaigns to complete as either the Strogg or GDF forces. There's no story, nothing to tie the incursions together, just a bunch of standalone encounters As with any bot-based solo experience, the amount of fun you'll find is largely dependent on the AI's ability to play smart and realistically. Sadly this is an area where Quake Wars stumbles at times.
The AI's failings are most evident when trying to call over a medic to heal you amidst a heated battle. Sometimes it'll work perfectly and the closest medic will rush over to start cramming medpacks down your gullet, while other times a unit clear across the map will try beelining it for you. Likely to no avail. Then there are other times when a computer-controlled medic will be in a tank sitting five feet from you and will be oblivious to your calls for help. Trying to call over ammo support is even more difficult, rarely resulting in anything other than you running around with your knife drawn.
While the AI of the different classes might be lacking, the actual classes themselves are fairly well-designed. The Strogg and GDF both have their own unique classes, though they do tend to mirror each other in abilities and weaponry. There are a few differences with regard to abilities, like the Strogg being able to turn a dead body into a spawn point or add shields to the Hog vehicle, but there are clear parallels that can be drawn to keep things as evenly balanced as possible.
Vehicles are another facet of Quake Wars that helps to set it apart from the rest of the Quake lineage. You'll see things like APCs, ATVs, aerial drones, tanks, jetpacks and hover tanks make their way onto the battlefield at one time or another and it's up to you and your team to strategically decide how to make the best use of them. Something that is made a bit more difficult by the typically shoddy AI when playing with bots offline.
Quake Wars on PC did an excellent job of offering different playability to the character classes through its leveling and ranking system, something that was mysteriously stricken from the Xbox 360 release but appears here on PS3. Sony fans will get the chance to level up four different categories. BattleSense (your proficiency in a fight and ability to work towards your objectives) Rewards, Class Rewards, Vehicle Rewards, and Weapon Rewards round out the list. You earn XP for each category in different ways and have four levels to work your way through, each with its own reward. Level four on BattleSense is health rengeneration while level one on the Soldier's rewards is a faster lock-on time for the rocket launcher. It's these small little improvements that help give purpose to your actions aside from the regular objectives.
There's also a regular ranking system that progresses players through Private all the way up to highest levels of the military. It's persistent across multiplayer and single-player (though it's not one rank across both modes) and is another part of the infrastructure that helps to add value to what you're doing.
Not only does the PS3 version of Quake Wars bring with it an intelligent ranking and leveling system, but the multiplayer setup is a bit friendlier as well. Instead of instantly being launched into a match that the game deems has the best possible connection, you'll get to pick from a list of servers. The only problem with that is that there's no readout for connection speed so you're sort of shooting in the dark. Sadly that will likely come back to bite you in the ass more often than you'd like.
See, unlike the Xbox 360 version, the PS3 rendition of Quake Wars' greatest failing isn't the structure that was built under the fairly uninspired gameplay. Instead, this Quake Wars falls short because of its core gameplay and the total lack of fluidity that it brings to the table. One might assume that after a seven minute initial install and a lengthy load time (of which there are plenty) that the game would look and run at a high level. That's not the case.
For whatever reason, the PS3 version has far fewer effects at work in the game's environment and on the character models. Edges are very rough with shimmering textures every one in awhile. On your initial parachute down to the battlefield, you'll notice a blurry mass of textured goo that's soon to become the ground as you get closer. Secondly, there's the framerate. While it does have a lot to do with the quality of your server, the gameplay experience can be totally ruined if the map is crowded with frenetic action and a few lacking connection. We didn't have the same problem while trying to join a game on Xbox 360. Take note that hosting a match yielded good results and a similar experience to the single-player game in terms of fluidity. Sadly solo play also yields graphical oddities and hiccups of its own.
Next up on the list of issues are weapon and item selection and auto-aim, some of the classic pitfalls in making the leap to consoles. First, auto-aim is entirely too strong. Taking my thumb off of the right analog stick rarely stopped my reticule from tracking an enemy, depending on their proximity. When using iron sights this issue was only exacerbated. Flipping auto-aim off, while an option, only made the aiming too twitchy to manage. Needless to say, a middle-ground would have been nice.
Selecting weapons – something that is done by either the mouse wheel or with numeric keys on PC – is also a bit of a headache thanks to the one-direction cycle that you're relegated to. L1 governs tools and R1 handles weapons (though grenades are grouped with the tools on PS3). As you'd expect, the console solution isn't nearly as streamlined as what can be found on PC.
Communicating with your teammates via the radial menu is also a bit more difficult than it should be on PS3. Instead of toggling the menu with a press of the d-pad and then making a selection, you'll instead have to click down on the right stick and then press the stick in a direction to make your pick. All the while still holding down the right analog. It's inaccurate, frustrating and something that could have been easily remedied.
The sound, while comparable to what was included on the PC, doesn't pack the same amount of life on consoles. There are less ambient noises and it seems like your weapons and the explosions pack less of a wallop.
©2008-05-28, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For those who don't already now, Quake Wars is a classic multiplayer-centric release where two warring sides are vying for control of a battlefield. Winning the day is focused on completing a list of objectives, from things as arbitrary as opening doors to gain access to an enemy bunker to deploying a vehicle inside an enemy base. You advance your territory on the battlefield until the three or four objectives have been successfully completed and you've pushed the enemy to retreat.
While the multiplayer matches are the expected standalone skirmishes either online or over a system link (sorry, no local play), there is an attempt at a single-player campaign buried underneath the surface. There are twelve maps which are split into four groups across four different continents. Three maps per group gives you four "different" campaigns to complete as either the Strogg or GDF forces. There's no story, nothing to tie the incursions together, just a bunch of standalone encounters As with any bot-based solo experience, the amount of fun you'll find is largely dependent on the AI's ability to play smart and realistically. Sadly this is an area where Quake Wars stumbles at times.
The AI's failings are most evident when trying to call over a medic to heal you amidst a heated battle. Sometimes it'll work perfectly and the closest medic will rush over to start cramming medpacks down your gullet, while other times a unit clear across the map will try beelining it for you. Likely to no avail. Then there are other times when a computer-controlled medic will be in a tank sitting five feet from you and will be oblivious to your calls for help. Trying to call over ammo support is even more difficult, rarely resulting in anything other than you running around with your knife drawn.
While the AI of the different classes might be lacking, the actual classes themselves are fairly well-designed. The Strogg and GDF both have their own unique classes, though they do tend to mirror each other in abilities and weaponry. There are a few differences with regard to abilities, like the Strogg being able to turn a dead body into a spawn point or add shields to the Hog vehicle, but there are clear parallels that can be drawn to keep things as evenly balanced as possible.
Vehicles are another facet of Quake Wars that helps to set it apart from the rest of the Quake lineage. You'll see things like APCs, ATVs, aerial drones, tanks, jetpacks and hover tanks make their way onto the battlefield at one time or another and it's up to you and your team to strategically decide how to make the best use of them. Something that is made a bit more difficult by the typically shoddy AI when playing with bots offline.
Quake Wars on PC did an excellent job of offering different playability to the character classes through its leveling and ranking system, something that was mysteriously stricken from the Xbox 360 release but appears here on PS3. Sony fans will get the chance to level up four different categories. BattleSense (your proficiency in a fight and ability to work towards your objectives) Rewards, Class Rewards, Vehicle Rewards, and Weapon Rewards round out the list. You earn XP for each category in different ways and have four levels to work your way through, each with its own reward. Level four on BattleSense is health rengeneration while level one on the Soldier's rewards is a faster lock-on time for the rocket launcher. It's these small little improvements that help give purpose to your actions aside from the regular objectives.
There's also a regular ranking system that progresses players through Private all the way up to highest levels of the military. It's persistent across multiplayer and single-player (though it's not one rank across both modes) and is another part of the infrastructure that helps to add value to what you're doing.
Not only does the PS3 version of Quake Wars bring with it an intelligent ranking and leveling system, but the multiplayer setup is a bit friendlier as well. Instead of instantly being launched into a match that the game deems has the best possible connection, you'll get to pick from a list of servers. The only problem with that is that there's no readout for connection speed so you're sort of shooting in the dark. Sadly that will likely come back to bite you in the ass more often than you'd like.
See, unlike the Xbox 360 version, the PS3 rendition of Quake Wars' greatest failing isn't the structure that was built under the fairly uninspired gameplay. Instead, this Quake Wars falls short because of its core gameplay and the total lack of fluidity that it brings to the table. One might assume that after a seven minute initial install and a lengthy load time (of which there are plenty) that the game would look and run at a high level. That's not the case.
For whatever reason, the PS3 version has far fewer effects at work in the game's environment and on the character models. Edges are very rough with shimmering textures every one in awhile. On your initial parachute down to the battlefield, you'll notice a blurry mass of textured goo that's soon to become the ground as you get closer. Secondly, there's the framerate. While it does have a lot to do with the quality of your server, the gameplay experience can be totally ruined if the map is crowded with frenetic action and a few lacking connection. We didn't have the same problem while trying to join a game on Xbox 360. Take note that hosting a match yielded good results and a similar experience to the single-player game in terms of fluidity. Sadly solo play also yields graphical oddities and hiccups of its own.
Next up on the list of issues are weapon and item selection and auto-aim, some of the classic pitfalls in making the leap to consoles. First, auto-aim is entirely too strong. Taking my thumb off of the right analog stick rarely stopped my reticule from tracking an enemy, depending on their proximity. When using iron sights this issue was only exacerbated. Flipping auto-aim off, while an option, only made the aiming too twitchy to manage. Needless to say, a middle-ground would have been nice.
Selecting weapons – something that is done by either the mouse wheel or with numeric keys on PC – is also a bit of a headache thanks to the one-direction cycle that you're relegated to. L1 governs tools and R1 handles weapons (though grenades are grouped with the tools on PS3). As you'd expect, the console solution isn't nearly as streamlined as what can be found on PC.
Communicating with your teammates via the radial menu is also a bit more difficult than it should be on PS3. Instead of toggling the menu with a press of the d-pad and then making a selection, you'll instead have to click down on the right stick and then press the stick in a direction to make your pick. All the while still holding down the right analog. It's inaccurate, frustrating and something that could have been easily remedied.
The sound, while comparable to what was included on the PC, doesn't pack the same amount of life on consoles. There are less ambient noises and it seems like your weapons and the explosions pack less of a wallop.
©2008-05-28, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved