Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Already a hit on the PC, the multiplayer-centric first-person shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is jumping into the fray on Xbox 360, where, once again, it faces competition from big-team titles like Frontlines and Battlefield. Our long-awaited chance to play the console version has finally come, and all potentially interested parties — both Quake fans and those who just love a good multi-class, large-scale battle — should be duly impressed.

In traditional id Software fashion (the FPS founding fathers own the Quake IP, of course, and also consulted during the game’s development), they wouldn’t even hint about a release date, but the build we played seemed nearly ready for deployment [Ed. Note -- Since this preview was initially published, a May 30 release date was confirmed]. The framerate was rock-solid, while vehicle control was simple and responsive.

For those somewhat familiar with the series, the story is set as a prequel to the battles of Quake II, when the Strogg aliens first invade and humanity’s Global Defense Force (GDF) rides to our species’ rescue. A new-for-360 CGI intro helps catch you up on the basic plot points, while the also-new training mode gets you up to speed on QW’s multitude of firearms, rides, and jobs.

We took a test drive on “Ark,” a mission in which, as the Strogg (you’ll play from both sides of the battle), you’re initially tasked with destroying a jamming generator that’s blocking access to a GDF base. A soldier with a C4 explosive — or anyone with a heavily equipped vehicle — can take care of the job. Next, an engineer class builds a laser to blast through the entrance to the humans’ BioSphere-like structure, which houses the third objective: a Strogg corpse container that the humans use to research alien genetics. Naturally, you need to destroy it.

Our demo wasn’t online, but it didn’t matter. The entire campaign — 12 maps divided into four three-part mini-campaigns — is playable solo, and our hands-on experience showcased completely capable A.I. “We wanted to make the A.I. play like other players, not like soldiers from a movie,” explains id co-owner Kevin Cloud.

To the team’s credit, QW seems to have done just that. The bots do a commendable job of achieving objectives (though if you want to play as the hero, you can toggle it so the bots will leave those tasks to you), and by pressing up on the D-pad and then aiming your right stick in the direction of the desired command, you can order the nearest medic to heal you or an engineer to repair your vehicle or a soldier to toss you extra ammo. The icon over their head will turn blue to let you know they’re on their way to help you.

Best of all, these handy A.I. players will fill in for actual humans if you don’t have enough people for a full online game. On top of that, they’ll go one better, analyzing what your team is most lacking (for instance, if you’ve got six soldiers and no medics) and deploy bots from the needed class. Though we’re not sure yet if the 16-player cap will actually be too small — the similarly styled Frontlines supports 50 gamers! — we know we’ll appreciate the built-for-360 party system, which will keep your friends playing together as long as you like. Woohoo, party!