It's nearly been ten years since we were first introduced to Quake, id's first person off-shoot from the Doom series that drew us into a more detailed 3-D realm than we ever expected and creeped us out with all sorts of twisted monster designs. That PC effort remains a big favorite amongst the first-person elite, and the license remains just as strong as ever, especially with the current release of Quake 4 for the PC and Xbox 360. But if that's not enough to fill your necessity for first-person shooting madness, Splash Damage may have what you're looking for in their forthcoming squad-based action game Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Splash Damage first introduced the Enemy Territory brand when they did an off-shoot game for Activision's other first-person series, Castle Wolfenstein, a little while back. The title wasn't an enormous success but did garner quite the following for fans of the brand, and it also put Splash on the map with their development prowess. The company seems to be coming further along with Quake Wars, as they recently showcased the title during a presentation that showed all the work they were putting into it. I'm sure fans of Quake will like what they find.

The story's pretty basic. It's the Earth race of marines (the Earth Defense Force, to be precise) against the likes of the Strogg, a technology-driven alien race that has total domination on their menu. The game takes place prior to the events of Quake II. They're put right smack into the middle of a map with a number of separated area, each controlled by different parties. The Strogg may have control of one area, but the Earth soldiers easily take control of another...until they lose it in the midst of battle, of course. Your job is to take control of each area with the help of tactical moves, as well as fast-paced action that puts you right into the shoes of one of your soldiers or Strogg. So, squad based right down to the letter, but some people will like that kind of approach.

Splash Damage knows they're working with a quality license here, so they've backed it up with an ingeniously detailed graphic engine. We're talking the most miniscule lighting effects, even in something as simple as a hallway glare during morning or evening battles or the light coming from a doorway and how it has an effect on a larger room. The animation also appears to be very solid, with different stances and reactions for both the humans and the Strogg. The game moves along at a fine frame rate, and only mildly hiccuped during the presentation, something that Splash Damage is sure to clean up in time for the game's final release. There's other neat little things to notice, like the display inside a vehicle that relates to your battle causes or little smoke effects that you'd expect from the battlefield. When a rocket takes off from its launcher and goes skyward, it's a beautiful thing.

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