Posted on: June 7, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Xbox 360) / 2008 Activision / http://www.enemyterritory.com /

After a decade of Quake games and the like, it becomes increasingly hard to believe that Activision would be able to link games together through a cogent and coherent storyline. “Enemy Territory: Quake Wars” has a story line that links it to the last three installments of Quake proper (II, III, and IV), and that is only one of many reasons why this should be picked up. For fans of the online experience, up to 16 individuals can throw down in a massive deathmatch format.

Of course, to get to a skill level that is high enough to keep up with individuals that spend a good deal of their day playing Enemy Territory, there is a single-player model. Players choose their class based on what race they are – either Human or Strogg – and these races generally conform to Marine, Doctor, Builder, Spy, and Support Staff. In much the same way, there are a number of different vehicles that will convey players through the map. While this is not a play element as such, the inclusion of MegaTexture in Enemy Territory is a ground-breaking achievement. MegaTexture is a type of program that allows completely new landscape to be created without repeating terrain tiles once, making for a completely new experience which each new screen of imagery that pops up. In much the same way, the amount of weapons that are available to players on both the Strogg or Human side are amazing. However, the weapon selection is not good only because of the sheer number of weapons available, but because the functions and strategies that are used with each weapon are very different. Rounding out the game has to be the RPG-like elements that are present.

What I mean with that is that there are experience points to be had where players can get upgrades to their class, light weapons, battle sense, or even vehicles. While these experience points do disappear after a campaign, they give individuals the extra boost they need when trying to accomplish some of the more difficult objectives that Activision has thrown their way. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is the definitive first-person shooter of 2008, whether one looks at the customizability, graphics, or game play, and besting the game will be a huge challenge for other developers in the months and years to come.

Rating: 9.0/10

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