Quake Wars demo skirmishes September 10

A rush to war before proper preparation can lead to what some might call a quagmire. Activision and id Software were apparently well aware of that fact, opting to miss a slew of release windows before announcing last week that Quake Wars: Enemy Territory would be ready to launch its retail invasion on October 2 in North America and September 28 in Europe and Australia.

In anticipation of that release, a community representative from developer Splash Damage's official forums this week posted that a Quake Wars demo for Windows PC users will be available on September 10. The community rep did not extrapolate on what the sampler may contain, and no comment on the free trial had been received as of press time. The demo will be available for download on GameSpot when it is released.

Quake Wars: Enemy Territory is a prequel of sorts to Quake II. As detailed in GameSpot's previous coverage, players can pick from one of five character classes and then join the fragfest, fighting for either the Strogg or Global Defense Force in online or offline action. The game features persistent character advancement, as well as quest-based missions that allow new players to contribute to the overarching battle.

Unlike nearly every other blood-splattered iteration of Quake, Enemy Territory is rated T for Teen. A standard edition of the game will retail for $49.99, while a limited edition that includes concept art, video, ringtones, and 10 collector's cards will be available for $59.99.