Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Grab a gun and hit the field: the popular Quake series tries its bloody hand at wide-scale warfare with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars!

"Hold on! I'm a medic!"

In all honesty, Enemy Territory may as well have been called "Battlefield Quake". After choosing a class, you and your squad mates are dropped onto one of twelve maps, given a series of objectives (hack, destroy, protect, etc.) and forced to fend off the other team in between shots to the head - no questions asked. The action is fast-paced, the weapons numerous, and with up to sixteen heavily-armed players running around each match, expect to find yourself constantly respawning before you can shout "Medic!" Enemy Territory also introduces a number of vehicles into the world of Quake - both standard human military and those of the more "exotic" Strogg.

One of the highlights of Enemy Territory is it's "pick up and play" aesthetic. If you've ever played a Quake game, much less an FPS in general, then you already know what to do: grab an assault rifle and start shooting. In fact, if more than ten seconds have gone by without you unloading four or five clips into a wave of oncoming Strogg, you might want to check to make sure your controller's working. There's no doubt that Enemy Territory is an adrenaline-fueled slaughter-fest through and through, and before you can even murmur a complaint about its lack of depth, you'll find yourself chucking grenades at enemy tanks as you blindfire the opposing team.

While the combat mechanics feel just as natural as they ever have, there are definitely more than a few issues to take into account before jumping headfirst into this war. The vehicles are a bit of a pain to navigate - specifically the aerial deathtraps - and really don't add much to the experience other than explosions. Until recently, I don't think I've ever passed up a ride in a tank so I could just walk to the enemy base. The graphics in Enemy Territory aren't anything to write home about, either. While the visuals definitely get the job done, I'm not sure they warrant a $60 price tag. Still - there's no doubting that you'll be too busy ducking from enemy fire to stop and admire the detail on the individual character models.

All in all, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is still a blast to play, and with online multiplayer and CPU controlled bots readily available from the get-go, you'll never find yourself fighting a battle alone. It may not be deep, but it sure as hell is fun.

PROS: Easy to learn, fast-paced gameplay, wide selection of classes
CONS: Bland visuals, lag in online matches, useless vehicles

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