E3 06: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Exclusive Profile Preview - The Vehicles of the Global Defense Force

Multiplayer in first-person shooters isn't confined to infantry combat anymore, as more and more games incorporate vehicles into the action. This can have a dramatic impact on the gameplay, as you now have grunts, tanks, and aircraft thrown together into the fray. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is such a game, and this upcoming online shooter from Activision and developer Splash Damage will take the mythos of the Quake universe into a whole new territory. In Quake Wars, the Global Defense Force defends Earth from the alien race known as the Strogg. You can fight for either side online, and you'll be armed with an array of Quake-style weapons and vehicles. In this preview, we're pleased to present the GDF's vehicles. (We'll have details on the Strogg's vehicles soon.) The game is scheduled to ship later this year.

GDF Vehicles

Badger
The GDF's ubiquitous reconnaissance and light-raider, the Badger 4x4 is lightly armored and armed with only a single machinegun, but it enjoys excellent speed and maneuverability. The Badger's cabin seats a driver and a gunner (either can operate the machinegun remotely), with space in the open rear for three more soldiers--two sitting on the tailgate and one standing, operating the machinegun manually.

Buffalo Transport
The Buffalo is the GDF's lumbering flying bus, specializing in vertical assault and combat-reinforcement missions. The Buffalo is flown by a single pilot and carries up to four fully equipped GDF troops who can dismount or parachute from the open rear cabin. Armament is restricted to a chin-mounted machinegun turret and two door-machinegun mounts.

Mobile Command Post
The massively armored Mobile Command Post is an all-in-one command bunker, radar post, and missile launcher. Once driven into position and deployed, the MCP dominates the surrounding area, effectively claiming that territory for the GDF. The MCP acts as a mobile launcher for the strategic strike missile--a devastating, short-range bunker-buster that's capable of blasting open even the most fortified of Strogg strongpoints. Many GDF operations require securing or constructing a route down which the MCP can be escorted from a safe rear area into SSM range of a Strogg-held objective. The driver has a bow-mounted machinegun; an optional gunner can operate a roof-mounted minigun to deter infantry or aerial attack.