Online gamers will be able to rain down fire, crash to earth, parachute into action and radio requests for transport in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, once it touches down on PC at the end of the year.

To keep you in the thick of it, the Enemy Territory in-game menu allows players to call in quad bikes, tanks, artillery... and Strogg players will spawn from orbit, crashing down to earth in rocket pods!

We've just witnessed developer Splash Damage putting the game through its paces and it's looking fantastic. The futuristic team-focused shooter has some nifty tricks up its sleeve to keep you interested all the way through a skirmish, and being able to call down an armoured quad bike for a swift spin is inspired.

Above: The focused action - achieved through numbered objectives - means there's always a concentrated skirmish

Quake Wars keeps its action focused by giving each side - the Strogg alien invaders, and earthling GDF resistance - a series of numbered objectives. Splash Damage likes to say that this means "each map has a story."

For example, we watched as the GDF force was ordered to bridge a gap in order to get its heavy artillery in range of the Strogg base. An engineer had to get up close and start working on the bridge while the rest of the team laid down protective fire. Once the bridge was built, the GDF were commanded to push forward and deploy in an advanced position for the next objective.

This focus of action means there's always a concentrated skirmish - each player is directed to the next objective by a giant icon - which means that even with a small amount of players a match will feel exciting. We're all set to go hands-on with the game later this week, and we'll transmit our frontline report just as soon as we can.

May 10, 2006