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It's been about a year or so since Enemy Territory Quake Wars threw us back to our PCs for a good ol' fashioned fragfest between the Strogg and Earth's final defense force. It was well received by most people with a computer fast enough to run it, and brought a whole new experience to the Quake series. Fighting in fields and cities instead of closed quarters was the first change most people could see, but the switch from 'kill or be killed' to a strategic mission based game, with more vehicles, classes and possibilities than you could shake a railgun at.
That was then. This is now.

The Xbox 360 has had it's fair share of PC ports, but this is one I've been itching for since I found out my ATI X700 was crap. I've always liked the Quake series, and I buffed up my PC every time I needed to, but this time around I thought I'd take a gamble. The crux of Enemy Territory Quake Wars is to complete the objectives you have to before your enemy does. Completing an objective will hold or drive your enemy back, depending on which side you decide to take. Complete the 3 or 4 objectives and force your enemies to run and hide, as it's expected but don't forget to use the brute force that's available. Different classes hold different firearms, which range from railguns to shotguns, to automatic weapons. ATVs, tanks and jetpacks are just some of the vehicles you and your heavily armed soldiers can man to move your way across the giant maps, but additions like these just push ETQW even further away from it's roots.
The PC version of ETQW was solely multiplayer, but the 360 port has a new 'Campaign' mode, where you fight on which ever side you wish, with a buggy AI team, and the lack of class specific achievements and leveling. I remember a few instances where I would be fighting on the front lines when I'm injured, and a medic would be in a tank next to me, oblivious to my calls for help. Lucky for you, ETQW was originally made for multiplayer, and you won't be spending too much of your time out of it.
The controls are simply frustrating. Because the maps are so large, chances are you won't see the whites of your enemies eyes before lead is zooming by your head. It's difficult to get your crosshair right over the enemy with the awkward 360 analog stick, instead of the precision of a mouse, but I'm sure most people out there could have found that out before they started reading. There are simply too many controls on the 360 controller to keep in mind even with all of the PC features missing. Left bumper will control what structure building and the right swaps your weapons out, keep that in mind while you're ordering your troops to advance on the enemy and return fire on a group of Strogg in the cliffs above you as you and your team of rocket wielding soldiers go to the recently build bridge to blow the hell out of their base. I couldn't suggest a better way to work out the game with the 360's controller, but ETQW was a game made for your mouse and QWERTY.
If you own a PC with enough power to play Quake Wars, then you should have picked it up last year. Shame on you! The 360 port is worth a rent to see how well you and your makeshift team of unmedicated 14 year olds can complete the objectives, but don't be surprised if you're let down by the lackluster value.
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I always had an itch to play Quake Wars......Mikey Hamz for President.......
I just got a copy for the PS3 via Gamefly. I also picked up ETQW last year for PC, so i wanted to compare it as well. Essentially, I found the results the same except for the controls. I think the controls (for PS3) were relatively well layed out by default, making the huge list of functions spread across the keyboard work well with a single Sixaxis/Dualshock3. I hate that games today still don't always allow for a fully custom control scheme on consoles... because with about 3 or 4 other games I regularly play on my PS3, I sometimes confuse one game's layout for another, which can really hurt you when you're in a heated battle.
I don't know much about the LIVE online experience (other than what you wrote about), but on the PS3 it's essentially just a list of rooms (which for some reason you can't see how well the connection is, ie: ping) usually hosted by some tween/teen with a 1.5Mb DSL connection for 16 players. This horrible scenario results in a laggy game with or without bots (it doesn't matter either way), and your headset (if you and other teammates have one) gets bombarded by a sound I can only describe as the sound Autobots/Decepticons make when they transform... only looped infinitely. Oh, and you have no mic controls or options.
Overall, as much fun as the core gameplay is, seeing as how this is primarily an online/multiplayer game... there are a lot of network features they have to add or optimize before anyone can justify the purchase.
You know Mikey...I couldn't have summed it up better.
Can we get legislature passed that restricts developers from adding a "single-player campaign" (and I use the term ever so loosely,) that consists of the multiplayer maps in alphabetical order being played through with incompetent bots that keep spewing out pre-recorded voice commands worse than the spam from fake myspace accounts?
I mean, I'm just sayin'.
The game required much more strat. than Xbox Live allows, sadly. Good write up.