Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, a tale of two (different) ports

Huh. Well, this is surprising. Instead of pushing for platform parity in their upcoming console ports of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – like several other recent multi-platform releases have strived for – id Software has created two relatively unique versions. The practice of using two different developers to handle the ports – Nerve for the Xbox 360 port and Activision's Underground Development (formerly Z-Axis) on the PS3 port – accounts for some of the disparity, but certainly other dual-developed ports have been relatively similar, at least in feature-set if not quality (take Orange Box, for example).

In this case, as revealed to MTV Multiplayer, the Xbox 360 version of Quake Wars has a robust Achievement system that actually includes an entirely separate single-player campaign mode, as well as a training mode and all the Xbox Live integration you would expect from a team-based shooter. Meanwhile, Underground Development "was focusing in on other things like ... making the game look as good as it could on the PS3" and "creating systems that do what Xbox Live [already] does like matchmaking [and] server migration." Unfortunately, as relayed by PlayStation fansite PSU, the "near complete" PS3 port suffers from a hefty 4.1GB mandatory installation and "falls short of expectations, showcasing the same broke visuals we have become accustomed to in deprived PS3 ports, delivering an unpolished experience."

With the title's May 27 release rapidly approaching, it's unlikely the PS3 release will look radically different than it does now. And to think, we thought the era of gimped PS3 ports was at an end.