Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Review
NOTE: Game requires a modem, but don't you dare try playing with a 56k or lower.
Get it here.
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8.5/10
Sound: 9/10
Replayablity: 7.5/10
Opinion: 8/10
Overall: 8.4/10 (Very Good)
Learn basic German while blast up to 32 fellow players to bits. Thank god it's free.
Gameplay: 9
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory was an expansion pack to the game "Return To Castle Wolfenstein" but the game was cancelled. The game developers, ID Entertainment, felt that this is such a waste and release a free Multiplayer version of it. Keep a mental note that you are fighting with real humans on other computers and your teammates are also humans, so if they perform badly, it is their fault, not any AI.
The game is based on 6 missions, Allies VS Axis, 3 in North Africa and 3 in Central Europe. The missions have objectives for both side, mostly one side attacks and the other side defends. An example is one of the missions which is like Ohama beach. Allies are to destroy the gun controls to allow Allies ships to enter southern Europe from Africa. The Axis must protect the gun controls for a fixed time. That mission though might sound unfair to the Allies, is actually quite fun.
Even though there are just 6 missions, there is 2 sides to play for, 5 classes from each side and 10 weapons for each side. So the amount of ways of playing is almost endless. Both Allies and Axis have 5 classes of soldier: Soldier, Medic, Engineer, Field Operative and Covert Operative. All 5 have their reasons, for example, the engineer can repair bridges and lay mines, but carry little ammo. The Covert Op can dress as an opponent and infiltrate behind enemy lines. The reasons are endless. The game is like Battlefield 1942, only without the vehicles.
This is one of the few games I find a flamethrower. Among the Thompsons, MP40s and Carbines, the flamethrower is fun to use, second to the grenade launcher only reserved for Engineers. Lags are minimal if you choose the right server with the lowest ping. A new feature to multiplayer shooters is 'experience'. The better you perform, you get promoted or reload faster or move faster or carry more ammo. This new feature is fun and essential for surviving in the game.
Gameplay varies on the server you're connected to. If you are in a server with mad idiots who shoot anything in sight (known as teamkilling [insert vulgar word here] n00bs, they are freakin losers) including you and your teammates, go join another server, as Enemy Territory requires good teamwork and cooperation between each other. You won't enjoy the game where there is no teamwork at all. It is rare to find a server that have alot of of people who want to help and complete the objectives, but keep searching, you'll find it.
Controls are not a problem, traditional WASD and radio commands are easy to remember. As long as you aren't a teamkilling n00b, it's fun.
Graphics: 8.5
Graphics are simplified to reduce as much lag as possible. The flamethrower is, in my opinion, the most beautiful weapon in the game. The 6 missions are nicely modeled, soldiers models are also nice and you even get a soldier face at the bottom of the screen, which shows the emotions of your soldier when it is fighting or when hurt. Explosions are nice, but the blood effect could be improved as they look like some kid painted it.
Without overclocking, I'm able to get nice graphic in medium graphic settings and a stable FPS of 30-40 on my Geforce 4 440 64MB graphic card.
Sound: 9
Great sounds, the sound of gunfire is very strong but is soft enough that you can hear the radio commands. There is a large selection of radio commands, from the simple "Yes" and "No" to "I need backup!". The germans sometimes use their language like "Ja", "Nein" or "Wunderbar!", but to keep things simple, the germans mostly speak English in a german accent. There is only one piece of music (played in the main menu) so I can't comment much.
There are some missing useful radio commands, like "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" or "Reloading!" or "Holy Sh*t!" which is what I always say when playing this game.
Replayablity: 7.5
There are few new missions out there for download. All the missions available are fun, and there is so many ways to play it, you won't get tired playing. But 6 missions that came with the game is too little.
Reviewer's Opinion: 8
Even though this game relies on teamwork alot and there are stupid idiots out there, the game is enjoyable when there is teamwork involved. It is also fun to be an engineer, people tend to only rely on you when they want to complete and win a mission that they will protect you like there is no tomorrow. As an engineer you get the grenade launcher, the multi-frag weapon which has an infinite range and deadly damage when close. The other classes are also fun, but there are some bugs, balancing issues and lastly, if you don't have a good modem, you'll be lagging everyone like hell.
