TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Video Game Review: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN HAMMILL | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

System: Microsoft Xbox 360

Also available for: Sony PlayStation 3, Windows PC, MacOS

Publisher: Activision

Reviewer's rating: **½

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: First-person shooter

Kind of like: "Frontlines: Fuel of War"

Best feature: Frenetic action spread over large areas

Worst feature: Meager single-player campaign

The bottom line: Originally released for the PC last year, "Enemy Territory" immerses the player in the rich "Quake" universe of man vs. Strogg.

"Quake" fans might be surprised at the open-air nature of the objective-based combat. Some of the 12 expansive maps, such as Europe, look less sci-fi shooter and more WWII battlefield.

You can fight in a variety of classes - medic, covert ops, engineer, etc. - and can even change class mid-battle. Success requires deploying each one at the right time.

You can play a single-player campaign with bots filling out the field, but "Quake Wars" is meant to be played online - too bad it can't hold up to the rigors.

Those expecting smooth action on the order of "Call of Duty 4" should look elsewhere. Outdated graphics and a glitchy framerate too often spoil the promise of free-flowing battles. At one point, my entire team became trapped in an ever-repeating, three-second loop while our foes racked up the kills.

As a real-time strategy game, "Quake Wars" holds its own. And the weapons and deployables (from standard defense turrets to the lethal Hammer Launcher) can be a nice feature when properly utilized.

As with any multiplayer game, it's all a matter of finding the right teammates.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT