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When the original Quake came out in 1996, the only way you could play against your friends was on PC, but thanks to integrated Internet access, online gamers can play the latest entry in id's sci-fi first-person shooter series with a controller as easily as they can with a keyboard. In Enemy Territory: Quake Wars -- which id and Activision will be bringing to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 27 after months on the PC -- gamers can team up to defend Earth from the invading Strogg army, or can join together to overthrow those pesky humans. While the basic gameplay is staying the same, there will be some differences, and not just in the controls, as we found out when we spoke to Executive Producer/Chief Technology Officer Bill Chinn and Associate Producer Shin Ohyama of Underground Development, which is doing the PS3 version, and Designer Greg Stone of Nerve Software, which is developing the 360 edition.

Crispy Gamer: I think it's safe to assume everyone know what Quake is, but what is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and how do you play it?

Shin Ohyama: In a general sense, it's a class-based multiplayer first-person shooter where you have objectives that you have to either attack or defend.

Bill Chinn It also distinguishes itself from other first-person shooters because it's mostly outside in large, expansive areas. It has more depth than some online shooters because the objectives change over time. It's not just Capture the Flag and Deathmatch.

Crispy Gamer: There was a previous Enemy Territory game for Castle Wolfenstein [2003's free Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory]. Besides not letting you kill zombie Nazis, how is this different, gameplay-wise?

Greg Stone: Well, there are a lot of parallels, but the main differences are in the scope and scale. While Wolfenstein had tight environments, they're much bigger in Quake Wars, and now there are vehicles as well as deployables, things like artillery. There's also more depth to the classes.

Crispy Gamer: of War. Are they wrong?

Chinn: Yes and no. In many ways, they share the same characteristics, such as large areas, classes and vehicles, but I think Enemy Territory has more depth than Battlefield because your objectives are more complex and they require the participation of the classes to succeed. It's far more cooperative.

Crispy Gamer: In terms of those objectives, some have the humans attacking and the Strogg defending, while others have the humans defending while the Strogg are attacking. Since the game is set on Earth, with the Strogg invading, does that mean there are more missions where the humans are on defense?

Stone: It's almost even, but, surprisingly, there's actually more where the G.D.F. [Global Defense Force, aka the humans] are attacking than defending. There are a lot of areas they're trying to reclaim from the Strogg.

Crispy Gamer: How many missions are there in the game?

Stone: There are twelve missions. There are four campaigns -- Africa, North America, Asia and Central Europe -- and three maps in each campaign.

Crispy Gamer: There haven't been any yet, but are there plans to add more maps or campaigns later on?

Stone: That's one of those things that comes down to how well the game does.

Crispy Gamer: The game already came out on the PC and Mac. Are there any major differences between those versions and the ones for the 360 and PS3?