Last year’s Enemy Territory: Quake Wars hit the PC in the fall, bringing the franchise created with the original Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory up to modern times. The game was a fine addition to any online FPS fans library, offering balanced classes, great bot AI, and frantic gameplay. Now, the game is launching on consoles, bringing the same brand of team-based online shooting to the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 version is more than just a straight port, adding some great new elements to the formula. While the game does have a few issues, it’s still a great way for console gamers to get a hold of one of last year’s best online PC shooters.

For the Xbox 360 version of Quake Wars, Activision handed the reins to Nerve Software, a developer known for making solid console ports of id Software’s games.

For those unfamiliar with the original, Quake Wars takes place between the second Quake game and Quake IV. The battles in the game occur on Earth, in real world locations like Africa and Northern Europe, as the forces of the GDF fight against the invading Strogg threat.

The gameplay is class-based shooting, putting you on a team of up to eight different players (bot or human) as you take on another team in order to either complete certain missions or prevent your opponents from completing theirs. You’ll have a variety of different classes to choose from, with the classes running the gamut from Soldiers and Snipers to Medics and Engineers, each with their own benefits and features to add to the battle.

The game’s action is pretty fast and intense, giving you access to a host of vehicles, both ground and airborne, as well as stationary weapons. While the combat is intense, the each match will take a decent chunk of time to complete, given the back and forth nature of the gameplay. Additionally, you’ll get special perks for completing your individualized missions, making sure that each player pulls his or her own weight when it comes to the bigger picture.

Online play is pretty solid, allowing for 16 players to take on the class-based missions. On Xbox LIVE, the gameplay was very smooth, with little to no lag or latency issues.

Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 version is not without its foibles. There are some framerate issues here and there, and slowdown can occur in highly concentrated areas. Also, the controls are a little problematic, as there is a slight response delay that might put out some seasoned shooter vets.

Graphically, the Quake Wars features some added elements that aren’t in the PC version, such as depth of field and some improved lighting effects, making it a pretty impressive looking game on the Xbox 360. The Mega-texturing effect is also put to good use here, giving the environments a detailed look.

The sound is also pretty good, with some decent (if sparse) music and nice sound effects. The voice work gets a bit repetitive at times, especially when mission objectives switch back and forth quickly.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a solid port of a great PC game. While there are a couple of transition issues that mire it a bit when compared to the PC version, it’s still worth a look for online shooter fans with an Xbox 360.

Gameplay: 8.5
The class-based gameplay is pretty fast and intense, and the missions are deep and complex, allowing for some truly long (yet fun) missions. There are a couple of porting issues that mire the gameplay, like problematic controls and framerate issues.

Graphics: 8.5
The Xbox 360 version of the game looks great, adding some cool new elements like depth of field effects and improved lighting effects.

Sound: 8.0
Soundwise, the game is pretty solid, with good sound effects and some decent score elements. The announcer can get pretty repetitive unfortunately.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 8.5
Solid play for up to 16 players in a match, with little lag.

Concept: 8.0
The game does a fine job of porting the elements from the PC version to the Xbox 360, save for a few issues.

Overall: 8.5
While not without its foibles, Quake Wars on the Xbox 360 is a fine representation of last year’s great PC game.