Strogg Band
Finally! We take a peek at the PS3 version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Hands-on impressions inside.
Published: April 17, 2008
PlayStation 3 owners are used to waiting for games that appeared on other consoles. It's our thing, man. But Xbox 360 owners have actually been in the same boat, left counting the days until the console versions of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars would finally make the leap from PCs. As it stands now, it's looking like that jump will have taken more than six months, but in that time, the combined developmental might of id Software, Splash Damage (who developed the original PC Enemy Territory, a spin-off of Return to Castle Wolfenstein), Nerve (who know a thing or two about multiplayer as they collaborated on the multiplayer parts of Wolfenstein with Splash Damage) and Underground Development (you may have known them as Z-Axis) will have delivered a decidedly console-centric pair of versions.
Interestingly enough, though the two games share the same maps, unit classes, and overall feel, the PS3 version is being tweaked a little more than the 360 one to deliver something that's not exactly 1:1 with the PC version. It's an interesting choice for Underground to make, but it actually seems like the differences will work in the PS3's favor; things like a completely different interface that's a little more reliant on the SIXAXIS/DualShock 3 control scheme, a slightly different HUD, rebalanced progressive rewards for each class and individual sliders for controlling the sensitivity of ground vehicles vs. on foot controls vs. flying vehicles.
By and large, though, the games are essentially the same; you still need to fight as either the invaded Earth forces of the EDF or the invading alien Strogg on massive maps that have specific class-based objectives. Offense is obviously where the fun is, since defense is mainly concerned with just holding back the other team from actually accomplishing these objectives, but on both sides, the fact that neither side really has the exact same units or abilities (Activision calls it "asymmetric gameplay" makes everything that much more fun and interesting.
On the EDF side, you have your basic battle-worn classes: Medics can heal, revive and spawn support units (more on those in a second), Covert Ops can assume the identities (right down to the look and name) of the enemies they killed, snipe, and hack systems, Engineers can build things like towers or map-specific objectives, as well as serve as a basic grunt, Soldiers are the standard shoot-anything-that-moves type and as such sport a pretty wide variety of weapons, while Field Ops are mostly concerned with placing supportive drops for the bigger weapons like cannons and mortar launchers.
The Strogg have more or less similar classes in the Technician, Infiltrator, Constructor, Aggressor and Oppressor, but there are some key differences that mainly come from the Strogg's more alien nature. Technicians, for instance, can do the usual healing thing, but they can also administer Stroyent, which allows players to shift their offense at the expense of health, or vice-versa. They can also infect fallen GDF troops, turning them into a one-time spawn point. Infiltrators are spies and snipers like their Covert Ops analogues, but they're also able to teleport for short distances to get into sniper nests.
These basic unit types and their abilities are described in a handy little video tutorial that Underground whipped up, playable right from the main menu to help people jump in. Of course, there are also training modes that get you up to speed, and a light story that links the offiline modes with bots filling in for what would normally be people online. id was careful to point out that they, Nerve, Splash Damage and Underground have all worked hard to make sure the bots are smart enough to replace humans in the short term, tweaked now to be a little more aware of when you need things like health or ammo, and will respond ably if they can, though of course you can also issue orders to have them give you something by holding a button and using the right analog stick.
Though Quake Wars might sound a bit like other large-scale multiplayer shooters like Warhawk or the Battlefield games, there's far, far less of an emphasis on manning vehicles (mainly because they're so wimpy and prone to getting blown up) and more of an-on foot focus. In both situations, lives can be lost incredibly quickly, so a unified, coordinated effort is perhaps more key here than in any other game of this type, meaning headsets will likely be a must, as will intimate knowledge of both sides of a given battlefield and where spawn and choke points can be deployed.
Interestingly enough, though the two games share the same maps, unit classes, and overall feel, the PS3 version is being tweaked a little more than the 360 one to deliver something that's not exactly 1:1 with the PC version. It's an interesting choice for Underground to make, but it actually seems like the differences will work in the PS3's favor; things like a completely different interface that's a little more reliant on the SIXAXIS/DualShock 3 control scheme, a slightly different HUD, rebalanced progressive rewards for each class and individual sliders for controlling the sensitivity of ground vehicles vs. on foot controls vs. flying vehicles.
By and large, though, the games are essentially the same; you still need to fight as either the invaded Earth forces of the EDF or the invading alien Strogg on massive maps that have specific class-based objectives. Offense is obviously where the fun is, since defense is mainly concerned with just holding back the other team from actually accomplishing these objectives, but on both sides, the fact that neither side really has the exact same units or abilities (Activision calls it "asymmetric gameplay" makes everything that much more fun and interesting.
On the EDF side, you have your basic battle-worn classes: Medics can heal, revive and spawn support units (more on those in a second), Covert Ops can assume the identities (right down to the look and name) of the enemies they killed, snipe, and hack systems, Engineers can build things like towers or map-specific objectives, as well as serve as a basic grunt, Soldiers are the standard shoot-anything-that-moves type and as such sport a pretty wide variety of weapons, while Field Ops are mostly concerned with placing supportive drops for the bigger weapons like cannons and mortar launchers.
The Strogg have more or less similar classes in the Technician, Infiltrator, Constructor, Aggressor and Oppressor, but there are some key differences that mainly come from the Strogg's more alien nature. Technicians, for instance, can do the usual healing thing, but they can also administer Stroyent, which allows players to shift their offense at the expense of health, or vice-versa. They can also infect fallen GDF troops, turning them into a one-time spawn point. Infiltrators are spies and snipers like their Covert Ops analogues, but they're also able to teleport for short distances to get into sniper nests.
These basic unit types and their abilities are described in a handy little video tutorial that Underground whipped up, playable right from the main menu to help people jump in. Of course, there are also training modes that get you up to speed, and a light story that links the offiline modes with bots filling in for what would normally be people online. id was careful to point out that they, Nerve, Splash Damage and Underground have all worked hard to make sure the bots are smart enough to replace humans in the short term, tweaked now to be a little more aware of when you need things like health or ammo, and will respond ably if they can, though of course you can also issue orders to have them give you something by holding a button and using the right analog stick.
Though Quake Wars might sound a bit like other large-scale multiplayer shooters like Warhawk or the Battlefield games, there's far, far less of an emphasis on manning vehicles (mainly because they're so wimpy and prone to getting blown up) and more of an-on foot focus. In both situations, lives can be lost incredibly quickly, so a unified, coordinated effort is perhaps more key here than in any other game of this type, meaning headsets will likely be a must, as will intimate knowledge of both sides of a given battlefield and where spawn and choke points can be deployed.