Since the release of the Enemy Territory Quake Wars Beta there has basically been one argument. Who is better, Battlefield 2 players of Enemy Territory players? Back in the days of Return to Castle Wolfenstein similar flames existed, Quake 3 verses Counter Strike. Then in Enemy Territory we had the Wolfenstein players against those fresh to the series in Enemy Territory. It seems whenever there is a new iD/Nerve/Splashdamage team based multiplayer game which ever communities migrate to the game feel the urge fight and moan each other in a contest that is not all that dissimilar to comparing penis sizes, just done on an internet forum or on mIRC.

So here we are Battlefield 2 verse Enemy Territory. Let us forget around the Call of Duty, Counter Strike, Quake 1/2/3/4, any other Battlefield game, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and so on and so on, players that also jumped on the Quake Wars band wagon. This time round its come down to those who play Quake Wars predecessor Enemy Territory, and those who play a completely different and unrelated game Battlefield 2. Both communities have been extremely vocal regarding each other, believing they have superiority for whatever reason.

I'm going to first look at the Enemy Territory side of the argument. Basically Enemy Territory players believe they have right of way because Quake Wars is an Enemy Territory game. They have stood by the series for years now and want to be rewarded for their efforts with a game that is a worth extension of the label Enemy Territory. This seems fair enough. But then some Enemy Territory players take it one step further, claiming Battlefield 2 players have no right to criticize or comment on Quake Wars as they aren't part of the Enemy Territory community. It seems to me that anyone who is willing to play Quake Wars is in fact a part of the Quake Wars community, not the Enemy Territory community. If they are willing to play the game then they can comment as much as they want on it, just as long as it isn't flaming.

Now onto the Battlefield 2 side of the argument. These chaps have taken a rather odd approach to flaming the Enemy Territory community. There are a number of different arguments floating around out there from the Battlefield 2 side, and at times it seems hard to pin down exactly what they are trying to say, but nevertheless here is the general gist of it. Apparently because Battlefield 2 players paid for Battlefield 2, and expansions, etc, they have more of a right to comment on Quake Wars because they paid for their game whereas the original Enemy Territory was free. Hands down this is one of the stupidest arguments I have ever heard, and I've been around for quite a while. It seems that some Battlefield 2 players out there believe that iD/Splash Damage/Activision put more weight in the opinions of those people who buy EA/Dice games, i.e. the games made by Activision's competitors, than the opinions of their loyal fans. Can anyone see the fault in that reasoning? Set aside the fact that maybe, just maybe, there are Enemy Territory players out there that may possibly play other games, which they paid for, in addition to Enemy Territory. Why would iD/Splash Damage/Activision place more weight in the opinions of those who are loyal to their competitors? They aren't making a Battlefield game, they are making an Enemy Territory game. They are making a Quake game. They are going to be loyal to the gaming universe they created.

Now onto the subject of vehicles in game. This is basically the sole reason Battlefield 2 players believe they have right of way in Quake Wars. Because apparently any modern warfare game with vehicles has to be a copy of Battlefield... News flash. Operation Flashpoint came out years before Battlefield 2. In fact it came out years before Battlefield 1942. It had vehicles, large maps, modern warfare. Maybe Battlefield is nothing more than a copy of that instead of Quake Wars being a copy of Battlefield? Regardless, from my experience in the Beta vehicles don't play that big of a role in the game play, which is mostly infantry focused and thus true to both Enemy Territory and Quake. While Battlefield players have more experience in the use of vehicles in game, but at the end of the day vehicles don't win the game as do in Battlefield games, it's the infantry that do it.

There is also a lot of talk about the speed of the game. Battlefield players complaining that it is far too fast for anyone to shoot anything or use proper tactics in clan play, and Enemy Territory and Quake players saying that if anything it is a little slow. As I've been saying, at heart this is a Enemy Territory and Quake game, therefore it has to be fast to properly encapsulate the feel of both gaming universes. It seems that they have slowed the infantry speed down a touch to make vehicles a more viable option for getting around. Which it appears is the true purpose of the vehicles, transport and not so much for attack. Battlefield players complaining of the game speed should realise these facts about the game and stop thinking of it as Battlefield Quake and take it more for what it is, a fusion of Enemy Territory and Quake.

Now this isn't an attack on Battlefield players, it is just a reality of what they are getting into. Not everyone is making these stupid arguments, which really only exist to incite flaming, or it is a sad attempt to look 'cool' on the internet... either way it is really a vocal minority which is causing all the fuss. Neither Enemy Territory or Battlefield 2 players are automatically superior because of their gaming background, superiority will be judged on individuals skills. There is an easy way to settle the fight. Wait until the full version is released then have the top Enemy Territory and top Battlefield 2 clans verse each other. It's how the argument of RtCW verses ET players was settled in GameArena Enemy Territory season 1, with Dot beating YOY in a close game. But for now it isn't Battlefield 2 players verses Enemy Territory players. It's really Quake Wars players bitching with Quake Wars players. All those who play Quake Wars or aspire to play Quake Wars are all part of the same community now, so get along. Take the game for what it is and enjoy.

The moral of this story is that if we argue that for now Battlefield 2 and Enemy Territory players are nice and even, then obviously Return to Castle Wolfenstein players are the superior.