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While it's definitely polished, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars isn't as much of a feast for the eyes as more recent releases. Despite its taking place in a war-torn world, a lot of its environments are clean and largely free of wear-and-tear. Not only does this go against the griminess seen in previous Quake entries and the traditionally Clive Barker-esque Doom, but it also fails at achieving a cinematic precedent: Make your world look lived-in and believable if you truly want to impress.
Blaming the game's ESRB rating of "Teen" is easily done, but it doesn't excuse the occasionally cartoonish look of ETQW's in-game environs. Behold one of the game's finest maps, "Slipgate". The GDF must hack the controls of an inter-dimensional slipgate within enemy territory, and use it to travel from South Africa to Antarctica to destroy a hidden Strogg base. The map has lots of back-alleys and buildings for the GDF to sneak through, but none look "real".
In Africa, damaged adobe buildings don't bear scald marks, peeling paint, or anything else indicating that they weren't built with big holes in their sides on purpose. On the Antarctica side, there's a giant Strogg tower whose exterior is lined with unblemished tiles. Employing dark colors doesn't do the trick there, as they make things look brown, not dirty.
That's uncharacteristic of the Quake universe, lowering ETQW's graphical immersion beneath artistically enveloping titles like Gears of War. Fortunately, it doesn't affect the gameplay. A lot of the maps go from open-air to close-quarters combat within the span of one game, letting the talented classes show off their varied skills.
The GDF Engineer can't have an anti-personnel turret dropped into a basement, but they can arm mines and switch to their shotgun for close-encounter blasting. Covert Ops can steal disguises and stab their unsuspecting foes in the back. Strogg Technicians can turn human corpses into temporary spawn points, and fill rooms with endless waves of their allies -- if a GDF Medic doesn't annihilate those Spawn Hosts first. In short, there are many scenarios where ETQW's classes shine together, but falter apart, necessitating true teamwork.
During matches, gamers will accumulate experience. That unlocks bonuses (like larger clips) determined by how the user plays. Technicians who revive many Strogg will learn to do so faster, and in time, they'll give full health to the resuscitated patients. What's unfortunate about this would-be fantastic unlocking process is that the average player may never see every ability.
Maxing out every category will take hundreds of experience points. In general, the XP system was designed for two things: Pleasing the hardcore, and encouraging everyone to play the game like a smart man's FPS. Thus, casual gamers and strict run-and-gunners won't receive nearly as many rewards, but the gameplay will probably be enough for them.
If you've enjoyed the Quake franchise, and any FPS that employs strategy (such as Battlefield 2142), Enemy Territory: Quake Wars may be enough for you too. Whether it returns Quake to its glory days or not, true FPS fans owe themselves a go at it. |
