Quake Wars for Mac enters alpha stage

ID Software's Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Mac has entered the alpha stage, according to one report. The 3D first-person shooter features multiple player classes similar to Valve's recently released Team Fortress title, as players battle with a game style similar to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and use vehicles as well as aircraft to dispatch enemies. Players will also experience indoor encounters alongside strategic squad-based operations, according to AppleInsider. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for Mac is slated for shipment in early December, and Amazon.com is already offering pre-orders for $50 (system requirements were unavailable).

"Built using id Software’s revolutionary MegaTexture rendering technology, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars features strategic team play, persistent character promotions, and the universe’s most powerful weapons and vehicles in heroic objective-based battles as the Global Defense Force faces off against the alien Strogg invasion," the storyline reads. "Battles rage on stunning battlefields inspired by tropical, arctic, temperate, urban and desert locations both online and offline against lethal A.I. combatants. With unmatched graphics, physics, networking, and story-driven military missions, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars transports players to the front lines of the ultimate war for Earth."

As the invasion begins, players choose to battle as one of five unique classes in either the human Global Defense Force (GDF) or the barbaric Strogg armies, each augmented with specialist weapons and combat hardware. Troops utilize more than 40 conventional and futuristic vehicles, deployable structures, and defense systems such as quad-bikes, tanks, and alien walkers for ground assaults; or helicopters and anti-gravity ships to strike from the air.

Teams establish bases throughout each battle while deploying defense structures, artillery, radar, and advanced forward-command systems into enemy territory. Players also construct and demolish obstacles to speed progress or gain a tactical advantage over the enemy.