Quake Wars was released for the PC to rave reviews. It did so well in fact the console version was green lit and on June 13th was released for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Having received our review copy a day earlier than most we immediately dove in. As you can see by the contents of our review package we got all this sic shwag that’s going to highly skew our review!

We were excited to try the console version of this acclaimed PC title. So we popped the disc in, started the install, and waited…entirely too long. The install took between ten and fifteen minutes and it didn’t reduce the load times that drastically. This game had some other flaws and it definitely shows this game could have used a little more polish. Another thing I would like to point out is the name. Did we really need to pull an “Expensive Prize Super Happy Family Fun Show” Japanese game show title? I think Quake Wars would have been sufficient. You can check out all the details of the game at the Quake Wars Wiki.

Physics: 8/10

The Physics in this game are pretty good. The vehicles and characters feel stiff but this is still a big improvement over Unreal 3. U3 had a very noticeable rag doll feature that made hover boarding laughable. In comparison Enemy Territories has a much more natural appearance. This a side there is nothing the physics does that really stands out either.

Graphics: 7/10

Plain and simple the graphics are bland. The graphics look extremely flat and some of the textures over used. Compared to most console titles this generation Quake Wars looks extremely dated. You can see really good design elements used in the models. Some of the effects look top notch, such as when you enter the secondary firing mode for some of the stroog weapons. This isn’t enough to over come the games over all flat look. What gets this game higher than mediocre is the fact that it is at 720p resolution something once thought would be standard. The frame rate was pretty smooth with only the very occasional hitch.

AI: 6/10

The AI in the game would occasionally trip us up, but most of the time the AI members on my team would be doing something useful. It certainly does better than your standard there to be shot enemy, though it will screw up on occasion. You see all the standard AI glitches crop up through out game play. The enemy trying to shoot through the wall at you, aimlessly driving a vehicle in a questionable direction, etc are all there.

Sound: 6/10

This is another area where the game really fell flat. The voice work was high quality but repetitive. The stroog voices were particularly bad and did nothing to help pull me into the game. The explosions, gun fire, ambient sound were all unimpressive. None of it was particularly bad but nothing stood out as really exceptional.

Content: 7/10

There is not a whole lot of content being Quake Wars is a FPS to begin with. As you play you unlock guns/equipment/abilities which helps keep things from being completely monotonous. With only 12 maps split into different areas (ala Warhawk) you don’t get a whole lot of variety in settings. The vehicles are fun but are an area where will you will really notice the stiff physics. There is also no customization or persistent options for your online avatar. You are simply bullet catcher # 12798-b2 at all times.

Story: 0/10

The first player element of this game is non existent. There is no story to speak of. You are simply playing a series of maps of which have no interconnection what-so-ever in the single player game. This is actually worse than U3s poorly scripted single player cliche story. There is simply no excuse for a game to not have a fully fleshed out single player element this generation. Especially considering our now higher title price of $60

Online: 7/10

Being that this titles primary role is that of a Multiplayer FPS this element is well hashed out. All the elements are there for a great title. What bugs me most about Quake Wars online play is the max number of players. At only 16 players this often leaves huge open areas of the map where not a soul will be found. This makes it much too easy to out flank the other team. Sixteen players is far to small of a number players especially when the missions are almost purely objective based. Other online elemments are done well if a little hard to navigate. Ranking along with favorite weapon are persistently tracked on the leaderboards.

Environment: 6/10

The maps in Quake Wars are huge. So big in fact it is often quite easy to out flank the other team due to the low player count. The lack of quantity of maps restricts the diversity of the environments your exposed to. The mega texture did eliminate the repetitive texturing often seen in games, but did nothing to take away the blandness.

Gameplay: 9/10

The area that Enemy Territory Quake war shines the best is in game play. Not only does Quake Wars come with the typical FPS multiplayer game types but also comes with objective based missions that add a nice ebb and flow to gameplay when teams are more evenly matched. The teams are touted as being asymmetrical but they match up pretty well. The one thing that brings it down in this area is the small number of players on a map. With 8 at most allowed per team this leaves huge sections of the map deserted.

Conclusion:

Enemy Territories Quake Wars was an excellent title for the PC. Whether it was the dated graphics, flat environments, or muted sounds the port to the PS3 fell short. If you are a shooter fan that is more concerned with gameplay than cutting edge graphics then Enemy Territories Quake Wars is for you.