f13.net

So I just got done doing 2 full map rotations (12 maps total, 4 campaigns of 3) and so far I come away satisfied, but not ecstatic.

The maps themselves are almost all designed quite well. They hit just about every environment and climate you can think of, and for the most part, seem to be well balanced. There is one that is similar to a Normandy landing where the Strogg are trying to take this coastline fortification that seems extremely slanted towards the GDF, but the rest seem pretty decent balance wise.

But Splash Damage kind of shoots themselves in the foot via objectives. They have these great maps, but the problem is many of the objectives on the maps are the same. Deploying the MCP is on at least 4 of the maps. Hacking a shield generator / slipgate in just as many or more. I definitely would have liked to have seen more variety here.

Tons of achievements, medals, ranks etc. for the pack rat to chase. If you got into the BF persistent stat tracking, ribbons, ranks etc. you'll be right at home here. The upgrades earned in game do not carry over from campaign to campaign, which is a bit of a bummer.

The shooting model is good, not great. Way too big of a focus on head shots to do significant damage. Bunny hopping is also present, which personally drives me up the fucking wall, but others feel quite differently. The guns themselves are fairly standard shooter stuff, and there's nothing breathtaking in this department.

Overall, enjoyable game for shooter fans. With the TF2 craze in full swing, this one will definitely be taking a backseat for most. They are almost apples and oranges in a lot of ways as TF2 is focused on the super fast paced, quick respawns, keep you going constantly motif. Whereas ETQW is more akin to the BF2 scene with longer respawn times, much more teammate interaction, and strategic objectives.

My read.... 7.9 for shooter fans. 7.0 for those who don't play the genre regularly. Much longer learning curve will probably overwhelm a lot of non shooter regulars at the beginning.

I was planning on grabbing this today, but honestly, I have so many games Im playing, I just cant see myself making time for it right now.

I loved Wolfenstein: ET. I tore people apart in that game, so I'd like to give this a shot someday...

Like, when I finally get a PC to run the newest shiny.

The server admin can change this, I think.  At least they could in the original ET.  However, no, they're not permanently yours ala BF2.  When you log out you start upgrading weapons and skills over again.

Ranked servers all follow the same, stifling format, unfortunately.  So even if they could change it it'd only be on servers that wouldn't matter for stat tracking, if you're in to that.