High expectations and high hopes are in store for the sequel to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Quake Wars. When Splash Damage released the first ET, the game took the industry by storm. Not only was it a great free game, but it was also one of the most fun and engrossing shooters ever made. The objectives and team based game play, combined with role playing elements, provided endless hours of enjoyment for millions of players worldwide. And in the process, helped redefine the shooter genre, evolving it away from its deathmatch centric origins. The fact that it is still among the most heavily games played today, four years after its introduction, speaks volumes for its ageless game play. With such a storied history, it's no wonder that fans everywhere are anxiously awaiting the release of Quake Wars.

Beta download

I was lucky enough to be able to download one of the first betas for Quake Wars. 60 thousand keys total were available for download. 30 thousand were reserved for FilePlanet subscribers and the rest was available to the public. Those keys went fast but I was able to get mine on the very last day. It wasn't without trying though. The servers were extremely busy, even on the last day. It took me a good 30 minutes of trying before I got through. I was very excited when I finished the download and installed it.

Two Teams

In QW, you can play as either a member of the GDF or Strogg. Each team has unique abilities, weapons, and vehicles. Game play is different between the teams as a result. Unlike Wolf where Axis and Allies were pretty much the same, GDF and Strogg are different enough that they require a whole different set of strategies.

Classes

Classes between the Strogg and GDF are similar yet also slightly different. They share common abilities but they also have unique powers of their own. There are five classes to choose from for each team. For the GDF, they are the Soldiers, Medics, Covert Ops, Field Ops, and Engineers. The Strogg equivalent for those classes are Aggressors, Technicians, Infiltrators, Oppressors, and Constructors, respectively.

I've only had a chance to play as a medic and technician so I'll briefly outline some of their differences. Both medics and technicians can heal themselves and others. Medics use medic packs and technicians use stroyent. The cool thing about stroyent is that it is used as ammo as well. A technician can heal health and replenish ammo at the same time with stroyent. Medics can also supply ammo too in the form of an air drop. A medic can call for supplies to be dropped from the air, kind of like a deployable health and ammo cabinet. Obviously though, this can only work outside and not inside buildings. At least in terms of health and ammo, technicians are more versatile.

Medics however can revive players a lot faster than technicians. A medic using defribillators can revive a fallen soldier instantly while a technician will take at least 3-4 seconds to do it. In battle, 3-4 seconds is too long to be healing someone. As a result, technicians almost never revive anyone in the heat of battle. GDF teams with a good medic will have the advantage in this respect.

Those are just some of the nuances between medics and technicians. There are more and I'll cover those in greater detail at a later time.

Objectives

The objectives based game play is the same as before. However, QW improves upon it a little more. In Wolf, usually the engineers are responsible for completing all the objectives. With QW, soldiers and covert ops play a role too. Soldiers can plant dynamite while covert ops can hack computer systems. Engineers of course can contruct things. All in all, it makes a diversified team all that more important.  

Game Speed

In some respects, Quake Wars is a faster game than Wolfenstein, but its slower in others. Vehicles make moving in QW a lot faster than Wolf. Also, in QW, players have no stamina so you are free to sprint as much as you want. Unlike Wolf though, you cannot shoot while sprinting. Also, your lateral movement in QW is a lot slower, making sidestepping an ineffective way of dodging enemy fire. You can, however, jump a lot farther in QW than in Wolf. What this means is that bunny hopping quickly becomes the best way to dodge fire.

Map Size

The beta comes with one map, Sewer. The map is bigger than any other Wolf map. I don't know if this is the trend for QW maps but this is to be expected since vehicles are involved. It's not just the size that's bigger, it's also the openness. In Wolf, it's very easy to tell where the enemy is coming from. There were only a certain amount of paths the enemy can take. With QW, it's nearly impossible to tell where he's coming from. He could be a sniper, scoping you out from a mile away, or he could be a tank ready to blast you to pieces. How about up above with an artillery strike? There are so many different angles for the enemy to attack you, it's hard to pay attention to all of them at the same time. You are a lot more vulnerable in QW to blind deaths than in Wolf.

Weapons

Light weapons are just that in QW, light. The Strogg lacerator and GDF assault rifle are the main machine guns in the game. They are very weak compared to the Thompson and MP40. Whereas in Wolf, 10 or so well placed bullets can take a man down, QW requires something along the lines of 30-40. It's almost impossible to take someone down if you're far away with a light weapon. It's better to save your ammo and sneak up on him.

The lacerator is also very different from the assault rifle. It's much faster to reload the assault rifle than the lacerator. However, Strogg weapons don't have magazines. They just overheat. When they do, it takes a long time for them to cool down. A strategy for the Strogg is to fire in spurts so it never overheats.

There are many other weapons but I have not had a chance to play with them yet.

Aim

QW makes it extremely difficult to aim, especially if you're using a light weapon. I normally get between 40-45% aim in Wolf, but with QW, I'm more like 10-20%. I don't know if it's because I'm new to the game, but I feel like I have a hard time hitting anybody. Maybe it's because the weapons feel lighter, meaning they move faster. I had to tone down the sensitivity a lot because my crosshairs were flying all over the place.

Defense Turrets

A new aspect of game play that QW introduces is the defense turrets. These are automatic, un-manned turrets that can kill enemies on sight. They can be made by engineers and constructors. It is very useful in defending objectives.

Vehicles

QW adds vehicles to the game play experience. The GDF has 8 vehicles to choose from while the Strogg only has five. These vehicles can operate on water, land, or air. I've only played with them briefly. Controlling them is rather clumsy though.

The most fun one to operate is the Icarus. This is like a jet pack that can fly you around. It is used more to transport you faster versus being a terrifying attack weapon.

With the exception of the Titan and Cyclops, the vehicles have little fire power and are more of a transport vehicle than a weapon. Combat in QW is focused on infantry.

Team Play

QW emphasizes team play a lot more than Wolf. In Wolf, one highly skilled Rambo medic can take over a map. It is very hard to take the medic down because usually the only way to get him is to outgun him. With QW, you don't need to outgun anyone to kill him. You can use vehicles, bombs, heavy weapons, snipers, etc... The list goes on forever. Also, there's really no one killer weapon or exploit. At least at the time of this article, I haven't seen anyone go on mad killing sprees using one method. There's always a counter balance to everything. This is a nice change from Wolf where panzers, air strikes, and adrenaline were almost impossible to fight against.

Bugs

Being a beta, QW has a tons of bugs. Sometimes, during game play, things will freeze for a few seconds.

Player animations appear very choppy, almost sprite-like. Certainly not the smooth movement we expect from a next generation game.

The stats component is also very poor. It doesn't calculate individual stats like how many kills you have or what your accuracy was. It only tells you who was the best soldier, medic, etc... This can definitely use an improvement.

There are more that I can list. At this point, I hope this is an early beta because this game is no where near production ready. Hopefully, they will be patient and release it when it's ready.

Overall

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has a lot of potential. It certainly is the most ambitious shooter of all time. The depth of game play in this game is amazing and complex. There are so many different nuances that are waiting to be explored by gamers worldwide. However, with the added complexity, I worry that Splash Damage has bit off more than they can chew. Game play is still very buggy and not ready for prime time. How they plan to polish it will be interesting. Can't wait for the release though!

Anyway, I will have more coverage of the beta at a later time. You bet I'll have strategies ready for you guys by the time the game releases. I'm working on something as we speak. Stay tuned!