Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #735 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2007-09-28
• Platform: Windows XP
• Number of items: 1

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The release of Battlefield 1942 for the PC in 2002 was a milestone for online gaming, creating a highly popular middle ground between traditional first person shooters and massively multiplayer online games. Like Battlefield this new game is essentially online-only, featuring huge battles between opposing forces of humans and aliens, with each side possessing a completely different set of vehicles and weapons.

Although it’s set in the Quake universe the connections to the other games are not important. As you might imagine the overarching plotline is not the going to be winning any literary awards either, but actually the game is much better at telling a story than many of its contemporaries. Instead of just capturing flags or anonymous control points all of the game’s levels have a very complex series of interconnected objectives. For example, you might be assaulting a based requiring you to first bridge a gorge, then knock out anti-aircraft batteries, before taking down the base’s shield generators. Character classes are just as involved, with engineers, field ops and the rest all having a very different range of weapons and equipment. As complex as all that sound though you can still choose to ignore it all entirely and just play as a soldier and run around shooting bad guys.

Although developed by British team Splash Damage this includes the latest in graphical technobabble from original Quake creators iD Software, in the form of MegaTextures. The idea is that texture patterns are never repeated and there’s no fogging or pop-up at all. Whatever the technology used though the game is hugely impressive to look at and after the mild disappointment of Battlefield 2142 looks certain to become the next big thing in online PC gaming.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
Serving as the prequel to id Software's legendary QUAKE II, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is the ultimate online team and objective-based multiplayer experience. Set within the epic QUAKE universe in the year 2065, the game pits the Allied troops of the Global Defense Force (GDF) against a new Axis of Evil the barbaric and technologically advanced Strogg - during their initial invasion of Earth.

Gamers choose to play as Human or Strogg in one of five unique character classes. Employing an arsenal of weapons, vehicles and deployable armaments, players engage in an action-packed test of skill and coordinated teamwork through a series of combat objectives. Persistent character growth and achievements reward players for teamwork, while clearly defined mission and class objectives guide new players to meaningful contributions on the battlefield.

In development at Splash Damage, co-creators of the award winning Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, and in conjunction with id Software, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars employs id Software's new MegaTexture graphics technology, delivering large outdoor battlefields of unrivalled detail. These life-like recreations of real-world environments are designed specifically for objective-based team combat and include realistic terrain, lighting, special effects and atmospheric conditions.

KEY FEATURES:
Team-Based, Strategic Missions
Gameplay in Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is all about conquering and securing enemy territory, and pushing forward or holding your team's front line. Players must work together using their vehicles, deployables, and character class abilities to complete objectives, defend valuable installations, or execute massive assaults. The gameplay is designed to allow players of every skill level to jump into a match and make a sizeable contribution to the overall mission. Every player's choice of character class, along with their actions play a critical role throughout as they gain rank, upgrade skills and provide specialist abilities necessary for victory.

Unique Teams and Character Classes
With asymmetric gameplay, the characters of both the GDF and the Strogg look, move, and behave uniquely. Bases, characters, vehicles and weapons demonstrate the different technologies and behaviour of each side and require distinctive approaches to combat from each player. For example, a GDF Medic can heal and quickly revive injured or fallen soldiers on the field, while the Strogg Technician may use a GDF corpse as a host body for a waiting Strogg reinforcement. Similarly, the GDF Field Ops will deploy and call-in a laser-guided strategic strike missile, while the Strogg Opressor peppers a GDF convoy with his Plasma Mortar. Players can choose one of five character classes unique to each force, including the GDF's Soldier, Field Ops, Engineer, Covert Ops and Medic, or the Strogg's Aggressor, Opressor, Constructor, Infiltrator, and Technician.

Weapons, Vehicles, Deployables
The weapons, vehicles and deployables in Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars are much more than standard issue equipment. Each selection truly affects gameplay and is integral to a team's success or failure. Set in the relative near future, the Human arsenal is based on ultramodern updates to today's conventional Earth arsenal, while the Strogg utilize a more advanced technology suitable for conquering vastly different alien worlds. The GDF use weapons, and vehicles such as machine guns, rocket launchers, armoured personnel carriers, and hover-copters, among others. Conversely, the Strogg's technology is built on the manipulation of energy and gravity and includes assets like the Hyper Blaster, Lightening Gun, a giant mech-walker, a hover tank, vertical take-off and landing Hornet, and more. Players will also utilize unique strategic assets like radar, auto targeting anti-personnel or vehicle turrets, artillery or strategic strike missiles all of which are realistically deployed onto the battlefield when and where you choose.

Ground-Breaking Technology
Using id Software's new MegaTexture rendering technology, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars renders large, highly detailed and un-tiled outdoor environments all the way to the horizon. Outdoor dynamic lighting allows for every battle to be fought during day or night, with accurate simulation of shadows, atmosphere, vegetation, and weather. Advanced real-time physics, and all new network code support large-scale military combat for up to 24 players through real-world locations, including deserts, glaciers, mountains, and countryside.

Customer Reviews

Its Strogg-a-rific fun for all the family (well the male members anyway)
Actually the game-play is pretty simple. The Strogg [soulless fusions of decaying flesh, bone and metal, twisted evil by centuries of war ..etc..etc..] have finally arrived at earth, intent on harvesting the human population and turning us into them [rancid Borg style]. Naturally resistance isn't futile and the Earth armies have unified into the GDF (Global Defence Force). You can fight on either side and have an arsenal of weapons at your disposal, and of course the Stroggie ones have a pretty equal equivalent in the GDF forces: e.g. the Strogg Cyclops offers similar destructive power to the GDF's Titan tank [and both are destroyed by similar tactics/weaponry]. You can play as soldier (heavy weapons grunt), medic (yeah right), field ops (reconnaissance), undercover ops (infiltrator), or mechanic (constructor). The soldier and mechanic are probably the key players. The mechanic can construct/repair defensive guns/vehicles and plant mines. The soldier shoots [machine guns], blasts [rocket launcher] or blows up [explosives] things. The infiltrator can construct radar and hack certain Strogg mainframes, and field ops can call in airstrikes, supply ammo and release smoke granades. Everyone can drive a vehicle from their side, if you find one lying about (and operate its gun with another driving).

It is really team-play like `Quake III Arena' and [even more so] `Wolfenstien: Enemy Territory' but now with the added fun of vehicles to drive. Instead of just 'capturing the flag' you have to complete some fairly complex missions: e.g. in one mission you must prevent the Strogg fuelling up a crashed Strogg spacecraft [so the Strogg it can self-destruct it]. If the GDF succeed in holding the Strogg off for the duration of the battle [time set to say 30 minutes], the GDF get to learn the secrets of Strogg space travel [and hooray for us]. Not that it helps with the next mission, all levels are fairly stand-alone. If you do well you are promoted and rewarded with say faster reloading times. If you play on your own against the computer, it's still pretty tough in all but easy mode, mainly as your fellow PC grunts [other than medics] can be pretty gormless. The only downside with game-play is that you can't save anything; restart the game and you are put back to private, i.e. it's purely for battling it out with your mates. You can select any level [mission] or decide to go through all on one continent [Africa, USA, Northern Europe or the Pacific], with 3 map/missions per continent [12 in all]. So you have to keep playing through missions [in campaign mode] to get to field-marshal status [and that's then lost on game exit]. There's no unlocking levels, all 12 missions are available to select on loading the game. Each mission is complex enough for repeat playing without boredom setting in, particularly as you have two sides [each with many specialists, weapons and vehicles] to choose from.

The game naturally comes alive with other human players over our home LAN. Generously the game CD lets you install on multiple computers in the home, so that my son (12) and his mates can play together on our three gaming PCs. The games a lot of fun as you rush about fulfilling objectives and die within minutes only to respawn on the next wave (up to 25 seconds later) or you can wait for a medic (could be forever for the GDF in Stroggsville, although you will be assimilated by a Strogg technician pretty soon there, and so respawn anyway). Learning and using the maps is important in the game, as it gives you details of cover positions, roads, Strogg locations etc.. There's no overall commander, but you can take that role, requesting covering fire, radar deployment, ammo, a medic etc.. In some battles the GDF do the attacking and say have to capture a Strogg data disk or destroy a Strogg energy [Stroyent] plant, in another, the Strogg attack and you defend. If you progress in each mission more areas open up around you, and you must move on to attack/defend a new location. Internet play requires a server that will let you in [they are all protected by passwords, i.e. you have to pay to play], so we stick to home network play on our LAN - besides it's more fun blasting or occasionally helping your mates. In internet play it appears you can keep your rank between games. The game's rated 15, although it is far less disturbing than Quake 4's video inter-links were.

The games a lot of fun for a few weeks, and piloting vehicles does add to the gameplay. Picking up the game is very easy, in training mode you get loads of tips, and the keyboard/mouse control keys are fine (you can reprogram any key/mouse button). The only downside is that RSI might set in after a few hours (particularly if you leave the 'run fast' as Shift+W). On a decent gaming PC and a home network [or over the internet] this is a great game, and now going for a bargain price. Just don't expect a full Quake 4 single player campaign experience.

Good..but not worth 4 1/2 * rating
okay...this game, is pretty good. i was originally gonna get it on 360, but the 360 and ps3 verisons are crap compared to the PC version!! i was still a bit sceptical, but i picked it up for a fiver (brand new!!) at my local gamezone!! i played the first mission on the "campaign" and got into the second mission, and turned it off.

imo..this is basically BF2142 crossed with quake. and imo, BF2142 is a better game. this game can get really frustrating, even on easy, it is quite hard to kill more then 2 enemys with ut dying in a big firefight! the enemys seem to be able to kill you easier than u can kill them!

but other than this, the graphics are great, no lag if you run it on high spec pc, basically, its good if you can pick it up for a tenner,but dont spend 25-30 quid on it, get BF2142 instead!

Good game
I very much liked this game. His predecessors of the Quake series, were, in my eyes, extremely bad, but this game I really liked. I've already played for over 350 hours, and now it is getting a bit boring, because there are only 12 maps, that's why the fun doesn't get 5 stars. But it is a good game apart from that.

+
Good multiplayer gameplay
Easy to understand interface
Fun to play with the objectives you got to complete
Cheap

+/-
Graphics are good, but not exactly brilliant

-
Not enough maps
There should be more maps
The AI is really stupid (but ey, it's a multiplayer game)