The Quake state

by ERIK LEIJON

Today’s youth may not care, but anything that bears the name Quake means a great deal to mid-’90s PC gamers. In between Doom and Halo, 1996’s Quake was the flashiest of the over-the-top, early-generation, first-person shooters. Featuring a brooding soundtrack from Trent Reznor and detailed 3D graphics way ahead of its time, the original was one of the first online games—and a gateway to the future for hardcore gamers and technophiles. The idea for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (PC/Activision, Splash Damage) largely came about by accident; it’s based on 2003’s Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, which was meant to be a stand-alone game but development problems resulted in it being released as a free, multiplayer-only game.

Quake Wars can be played only with AI bots, real-life players or some combination of both, and every mission pits the humans (Global Defence Force) against the invading aliens (Strogg) in a multiplayer FPS warzone. Similar to the Battlefield series in terms of scope and action, Quake Wars is a daunting, intentionally overwhelming game (this is war after all), with huge maps.

It’s not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for fairweather shooter fans—since you will take your fair share of verbal abuse online if you can’t keep pace (there’s no voice chat, so all the insults need to be typed out). It may sound like too much for some, and it probably is, but Quake Wars is so unbelievably big and crazy that it works. The matches are dizzyingly intense and necessitate constant strategizing.

Quake is synonymous with online play, yet it’s strange to not have a real solo campaign. Since all the modes are multiplayer, there is no real learning curve, except for playing a few missions with only AI bots on a lower difficulty. After selecting a side and one of five classes (which range from infantry to medics to ops), players are immediately foisted onto the battlefield, where directions for the mission are given. The goals are simple and usually of the walking and shooting variety, yet with so many enemies and allies on the screen, fights rarely go smoothly. Players can assume a leadership role as well, and type orders to their soldiers through the chat menu (or give one-word directions), although crazy shooters who like running into the middle of the action will enjoy themselves too. Players are expected to plan intricate battle tactics with their teammates, yet the game moulds well to how easy or how complicated the player wants to make it.

Slightly shocking, given Quake’s history as an amazing visual experience, is how streamlined and simple the graphics are. They aren’t bad by any stretch, but the developers chose practicality, as to not overshadow the gameplay. The 12 maps are huge, and most importantly, everything moves smoothly despite the 32 players running around. The controls, although as complicated as any first-person PC shooter I’ve played considering the different skills and vehicles available, have an arcade-style feel, which helps when the need arises to shoot multiple enemies while avoiding friendly fire incidents.

For connoisseurs of the genre, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a deep game that could trigger obsessive repeat playing.

Game school

McGill University’s Schulich School of Music will start offering a one-year certificate program in video game audio, starting in January 2008. The program is open to 12 students, and afterwards they can transfer to the Ubisoft Campus.

Dawson College and Cégep du Vieux-Montréal have also joined the Ubisoft Campus bandwagon, so it’s time to get out of that fine arts program and into www.ubisoftcampus.com.