Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Preview
An online team shooter ratcheted up to the next level with incredible visuals and immersive objectives
by CrazyCanuck
previewed on PC
As the world shakes...
Many people have fond memories of id Software's first-person shooter Quake. Released in 1996, it was the first truly 3D video game and is also often considered the "granddaddy" of online frag-fests. Offering complex textured environments, polygon-modeled enemies with good artificial intelligence and a very dark, horrific story, Quake soon dominated the 3D-shooter market with its fresh approach to the genre.
In 2003, multiplayer content for the popular FPS Return to Castle Wolfenstein was released. Using the Quake III Arena engine, "Enemy Territory" had originally been intended as a commercial expansion pack to Wolfenstein but issues with the single-player component altered those plans and it was eventually provided as a free download. The next year, source code for the game logic was released and the active modding community had a hay-day with the material.
Fast forward to the present day and id Software is now presenting Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, an online strategic shooter inspired by the free Return to Castle Wolfenstein download. Developed by London-based Splash Damage and published by Activision, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars returns you to the Quake universe to take up arms as either the human armies of the Global Defense Force (GDF) or the technologically superior alien Strogg. It is a conflict that will definitely shake the gaming world.
It's all in the engine...
Splash Damage is using a heavily-modified version of the DOOM 3 engine as well as id Software's MegaTexture technology allowing each map to be entirely unique with no repeated terrain. As well, the battlefields are rendered to the horizon without fogging, and accurate simulation of the environment (including atmosphere, vegetation, weather and lighting) will immerse the player in the game-play more than ever before. Player control and feedback are especially important to the experience with the technology also providing optimized anti-lag networking and tuned physics for a true-to-life experience.
