I have a confession to make ... I didn't know that much about Enemy Territory: Quake Wars going into this. I'd heard of the title and knew that it wasn't your normal entry in the Quake series, meaning that it's not the typical first-person shooter where your goal is to run around looking for bigger and better weapons while fragging the enemy back through the gates of Hell.

Instead you'll be building those weapons, like turrets and anti-aircraft guns, ordering your teammates to repair your vehicles, and generally trying not to get killed. Just be prepared to fail at that ... a lot. In fact, imagine yourself failing at staying alive, and then multiply that by a lot. At least you'll be mentally prepared.

This new Quake Wars video came across the proverbial desk this weekend. Unfortunately, it was at the bottom of the virtual "IN" pile, so we've only now just gotten to it. News about the title has been fairly scant so far, so we're happy to take what we can get. The video is taken from the PC public beta that's going on right now. The game looks decent, though we wish there was more weapon variety present in the video. What do you think? Does Quake Wars stand a chance against the likes of Halo 3 and Team Fortress 2?

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is one of the next big shooters from Id, and GameTrailers shows some in-game multiplayer footage. We've seen better demos of the game, but this video gives an idea for some of the gameplay and style of the title, just in time for the public beta. Is Quake Wars on your FPS radar?

See the video after the break, or view the HD version if unimpressed with the embedded clip.

Splash Damage has announced that Quake Wars will feature in-game ads. The reasoning behind this decision, according to Managing Director, Neil Postlethwaite, is that Quake Wars will require ongoing support for things like stats servers, and Splash Damage doesn't want to pass that cost onto gamers. Postlethwaite assures readers that the ads will not be intrusive or interactive in any way. What's more, they will be appropriate to the game and all ads must be approved directly by Splash Damage. In-game advertising is still fairly new, and opinions toward it vary wildly, but we're glad to see Splash Damage taking care not to ruin its game. Hopefully they make good on their promise. Oh, and if you happen to be part of the PC beta, then you'll be among the first to see the ads in action.

[Via Joystiq]

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars producer Neil Postlethwaite has announced on the community site that the upcoming game will feature in-game advertisement. The ad revenue is to help the developers to "provide a higher level of on-going support to the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars community than would have been possible otherwise," he said.

Postlethwaite explains that the ads will be appropriate in content and placement (e.g. the side of container trucks), non-intrusive and non-interactive. The developers have absolute approval rights. "If it's not appropriate or it's distracting, it won't go in," he said. No personal data will be collected. "All they track is if an how long you look at the advertisements."

Since we've yet to see any in-game ads in the screenshots, we don't know how well developer Splash Damage will implement them. However, that Postlethwaite is being open about the process is always appreciated, and he keeps to his word and it does mean more substantial support (e.g. free content packs in the future), it doesn't sound like a bad trade-off to us. The first sign of the advertisements will be seen in the upcoming public beta.

The community site for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has announced that it plans on doing a public beta of the game soon; no start date has been given, but license keys will start to be given out "in the middle of this week."

There will be 60,000 slots available and only one map for testing -- Sewers, according to a dev blog post, which is said to feature "an interesting mix of outdoor and indoor, vehicle and infantry combat, deployables and counter-deployables and good old-fashioned FPS combat." It's likely the map with the most possible situations for bug-testing. All slots will go to FilePlanet users, with half of the slots set aside for those who pay for the premium subscription.

The post makes it very clear that this is not a demo. "If you want to just play a game for free you may find it a frustrating experience," it said. It also cautions that the beta will be taking data about your hardware configuration, "so you shouldn't apply unless you're comfortable with that."

The latest entry in the Quake series, sporting the title Enemy Territory: Quake Wars has been talked up every now and then, but a true release date was never really set in stone. Activision wants to change that -- kind of. They have come out to say they expect the game to ship out for the PC, PS3, and 360 any time from July through September of this year.

We've heard that developers id Software like to polish and tinker with a product until they feel it's good and ready for release, so we're not sure if the release date schedule will properly reflect the release date for this game. September, maybe, but if they go that long, they'll probably just keep tweaking until it's holiday shopping time. Which starts in August, oddly. Stupid holiday shopping lasting five months ... That aside, who's excited for this game? More than Haze? More than Unreal Tournament 3? We'll take 'em in that order: Haze, UT3, then this game. But that's just us.

Everyone loves the Quake franchise. Even those directly opposed to FPS titles from birth should be able to appreciate the nuances and intricacies the Quake games have brought to the -- oh, whatever. They're a good FPS series, but that's about it. However, with the newest upcoming entry, Quake Wars, they might actually change things up enough to appear fresh and delicious.

The action shooter combining real-time strategy elements is showing off some new screenshots today and they look fantastic. Whether in a tank, on foot, or some kind of jet, the game looks intense. The game will hit the PC in mid-June, but a console release is expected shortly thereafter for the 360 and PS3. We don't know if the final result will merit all the hype, but we can hope so! Anyone else pumped for this game?

Multiplatform game publisher, Aspyr Media, will stay current with its Mac roots by publishing that version of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars sometime this year. (Aspyr had previously mentioned those plans but today's statement marks the official announcement.) Aspyr has already released Doom 3-engine games on the Mac, and its port is being developed by in-house coders.

Quake Wars will be a tactical- and objective-based first-person shooter instead of the traditional Quake deathmatch. No release date has been named, but assuming that Aspyr is accurate when saying the Mac version will be out this year, PC and console versions may be out by the fall.

Makers of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, id Software, have come out saying that the title will not feature cross-platform online play. Kevin Cloud said "Console players will not play against PC players...Consoles require a certain [adaptation], and that wasn't something that we wanted to take on." What he means is that it would be difficult to keep a level playing field between consoles and PCs. Because not all consoles support the keyboard/mouse combo.

However, don't think the console versions of the game will be handicapped in any way -- they're going to be the same as the PC version. Both will feature the neat action with little bits of RTS features to fight against... you guessed it, maniacal enemy creatures that want to destroy. Look for the game later this year on the PC, PS3, and XBox 360.

CVG reports that id's Kevin Cloud has confirmed that cross-platform play will not be featured in the upcoming Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. According to Cloud, the concept is possible, but requires too many tweaks to each platform in order to level the playing field. We imagine Cloud is referring to the advantage of a mouse and keyboard on PC (and potentially PS3). The mouse obviously offers an aim advantage, and the keyboard could provide plenty of shortcuts for the game's RTS like features. Cloud does mention, however, that id is striving to make sure that the overall Quake Wars experience will be maintained across all platforms. Well, thank God. Expect Quake Wars to debut some time this year.

At an early session Friday, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead gave a lecture on the problems of piracy on the internet. During his speech, Hollenshead revealed that, although they are still primarily a PC developer, id Software had begun to look at console game releases as a way to financially combat piracy.

"Piracy has pushed id as being multiplatform," Hollenshead said, noting that the current project Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is being scheduled for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Hollenshead's rationale is that console piracy is, by a large factor, minimal relative to the rampant PC piracy.

In Hollenshead's lecture, entitled "The Videogame Piracy Problem: Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest," was a discussion on the problems of piracy, his company's experiences with the issues, and suggestions to help the diffuse the issue.

Id Software confirmed today that Quake Wars: Enemy Territory will be arriving on the Xbox 360. The 360 version is being developed by Nerve Software, best known for their expansions to games like Doom 3 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Quake Wars sets players in an epic struggle between humanity and a malicious alien race known as the Strogg. The game will support up to 16 players and features strategic team play, deployable structures, and both land and air vehicles. Players can choose from five different classes and will enjoy persistent character promotions and plenty of online stat tracking. Quake Wars is expected as early as April 2007 for the PC; hopefully we won't be waiting too long for the 360 version. Keep in mind though, this is an id Software title, so "it's done when it's done®."

[Thanks, DarkSaviour69]

Activision's latest financial reports reveal that Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is now positioned in the broad release window of the "fiscal year 2008." While that could imply a major delay (as late as March 2008), it could also mean that Quake Wars is on schedule for an early, in this case April (2007) launch. A previous, but unconfirmed delay last year pushed the game's release from fall 2006 to spring 2007.

An Activision spokesperson told Eurogamer that Quake Wars is expected before Christmas, adding ominously, but "it's an id Software title so it's done when it's done."

On Friday, John Carmack gave his keynote address at the annual QuakeCon, devoting much of the presentation to id Software's next project. This new 3D action title will support multi-processor systems, and employ an updated version of the megatexture technology for the game's expansive outdoor environments.

Carmack also reaffirmed his company's commitment to the PC, which involves fragging software piracy. For additional highlights, check out GameSpy's breakdown.

See also: Quake Wars pushed back to 2007