Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

The Good
99% of those world wide known games which are used to make international tournaments is of course payable. Exactly the same as the original Return to Castle Wolfenstein was. The game became popular in multiplayer mode but to me - nothing special. Enemy Territory is ten times better and its biggest advantage over RTCW is that there are no costs. The game is free. But being free doesn't always make game good. Well, here it definitely does. No one can argue that this game is poor. It took all from multiplayer mode of RTCW and added many new features. So what makes ET so good?

Well, it is one of those rare games where you actually feel that you're in he battlefield with orders and objectives different than get the flag or kill a guy. Here every map is unique in its objectives. In one you escort tank to blow out an entrance to German fuel dump which then you have to destroy. In other, you have to steal German radar parts etc etc. No simple objectives, and user created maps sometimes are far more complicated than those.

Also what makes this game so great is the class system. There are five classes in ET: soldier, engineer, medic, field ops and covert ops. By choosing one of them you have to act properly. Medics help team mates, covert ops spot mines and fight behind enemy lines, soldiers provide heavy fire. Some maps cannot be completed without particular class.

The game itself is also made on modified Quake 3 engine so ET's requirements aren't that high.

The Bad
It's nice, it's free but it does have some bugs.First thing is that the graphics is rather poor today. Even with all options on, it still doesn't look very nice. On my overclocked Radeon 9550 I get only few fps more than on GeForce 2 MX. Strange thing.

Also Enemy Territory is multiplayer only game. Quake 3 was too but at least it had bots added. Here if you are not connected to the Internet, the game is almost useless. Large problem to me is the lack of bots by default (you can download them separately but they are not included in the product).

The Bottom Line
If you have fast Internet connection, like fps games but somehow doesn't feel like fighting enemies with plasma guns and laser guns, this is a game for you.

The Good
Being able to gain experience points and abilities.

The very distinct class and class abilities. Medics revive/heal. Engineers fix things, blow things up and can lay land mines. Field Ops can resupply with ammunition, call in artillery support and air support. Spec Ops can wear enemy uniforms allowing him to infiltrate the enemy undetected, because they think he's one of their own! And soldiers....well soldiers can use big guns!

Well thought out maps that allow good use of strategy, and also each map seems to cater to a particular class, allowing each class a shot at all the glory ;)

A lot of new maps have been made, and the settings on each server may differ slightly...or by a whole lot. This can tailor to suit anyone's desires...or you can play them all and still have fun.

The Bad
The amount of time I waste playing it!

The Bottom Line
Fast, very fun and addicting. There is a huge strategy element that can be played rather than just brute force. There is a lot of variety that keeps the game fresh for a long time.

The game is free to download and it is run (free of charge) on private servers.