Unreal Tournament

"Am I the only one who finds the word "giblets" funny!?!"

During a recent survey, in which ordinary people were asked to give their thoughts on the game Unreal Tournament, we received one response far more times than any other. “It’s a game with a whole lot of tournaments, and it’s unreal!” On the outside it appears that these people have never played the game and just based their answer on the name of the game, but delve more deeply and you’ll find that these people spoke the truth, and nothing else. It is in fact an unreal game, and of course there are an awful lot of tournaments. Unreal Tournament is a first person shooter, and is also probably the best of its type, excelling in every reviewable category, UT is a dream game for anyone (unless you don’t own a PC or PS2 or don’t play games or just hate this game for some strange reason).

GRAPHICS
Maybe it was just because I hadn’t gotten any new PC games for a long time or I’m just subconsciously lying to all of you, but the graphics of this game completely blew anything else I’ve ever seen out of the water. Every single minuscule detail has been perfected, making a game which is prettier than any other out there on the market at the moment. From the opening video sequence, to whatever it is that closes the game, you’ll be struck in awe (awestruck) by the prettiness of the whole thing.

The characters of Unreal Tournament are impressive in a big way, of course you can’t see your own character usually, but you can see every single other one out there! And gosh darn slap my trousers and paint my wagon, do they look good. You can get all sorts of different characters in the world of Unreal Tournament, the basic human commandos that wear funny green face-paint, machine-type fighters which have more steel than anything else and maybe even an alien race or two as well. The faces if the people are realistically modelled, lifelike is the key word here, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Moving down the bodies, you’ll see some of the highest levels of detail in the history of anything. Rippling muscles on the arms, boots that you could theoretically see your reflection in, the glory of it all is never-ending.

The things that will most likely capture your attention are the various backgrounds and surroundings of your characters, excelling in variety, there are very few words which can effectively be used to praise these visuals as much as they deserve to be. All of the arenas which you can choose from have been given a futuristic feel, none of these places are anything any of us could hope to see in our lifetime. You’re taken to places such as a barren stretch of land or perhaps a spaceship in outer space then whisked straight to a warehouse type level, filled with conveyor belts (only changed slightly to suit the time-frame). Each of these levels is a graphical highlight, the most extraordinary attention to detail being shown in every last one. You might see dirt or perhaps something else caking the walls, all sorts of hooks and attachments hanging from the ceiling, try picturing something that is missing from a scene and you’ll draw a blank every time. Not only is everything there, but it is modelled and coloured just like it should be, there is just absolutely nothing wrong with these graphics!

Being a game that is based on action and big guns, there’s going to be a lot of special effects of all kind. There are some truly magnificent explosions, effervescent (bad choice of words, but I don’t care) lighting scenes and a whole lot of other things that go a long way to giving Unreal Tournament the extraordinarily polished look that it has. Each of the weapons looks decidedly lethal, and the stuff that it spits out share those demonic looks, I think you’ve worked it out by now that absolutely nothing was done wrong. When you’ve got an extraordinarily high amount of action taking place on-screen, things are likely to slow down momentarily, but it’s rare, so who cares!

Overall, the graphics cannot be spoken of highly enough, the word masterpiece springs to mind. First person shooters are an ugly, violent type of game, but Unreal Tournament has given a bit of beauty to the genre. Graphically superior to any game out there that you can think of, this title can nearly when you over on its looks alone. If games could be fashion models, this one would always get the high paying, lingerie wearing jobs!

SOUND
If there was ever a set of sounds that fit the graphics of the game, then these would be it, they sound wonderful on their own, but come into their own when played next to the visuals. Whilst playing the game the soundtrack doesn’t really seem to jump out at you, it just sits in the background doing its own little thing. What it does however, is create quite an interesting little mood. When one plays close attention to the background music, it can either appear to be haunting or action-orientated, both of these types of music work well no matter which level they’re given to accompany. The tracks aren’t actually the most beautiful things you’ll ever here, but they do work, and work well!

Sound effects are used perfectly in Unreal Tournament, whether it is the lonely sound of a desperate fighter traversing steel runways or the ambient noises of a rocket launcher making life miserable for an unlucky warrior, they just sound so damn good. There are hundreds upon hundreds of sound effects, and one or two of them might miss their mark, this is an unusually high execution rate but typical of the professional manner of this game. There are quite a few lines used by the characters, in all sorts of voices, and the delivery of each of them is believable and not too corny at all. You may hear a team-mate yell “Man Down” and you can always here the pain and sadness in his voice, that my friends is the way voice-acting should be done.

Overall, the sound is a close to perfect effort, minor glitches here and there but nothing you’ll notice too much or even care about. The soundtrack may appear to some people as a little bit too depressing or a tad too slow for their liking, but it does an admirable job in keeping up with the standards of the graphics and isn’t something to be trifled with (if that really means anything).

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay of Unreal Tournament is rather large, some might even describe it as gigantic. There are so many things to do, so many options for you to fiddle around with and so many people to blow up! Sometimes you just don’t know where to turn next for your next big adventure, there’s just so much at your fingertips to mess around with. Take a deep breath and just jump in headfirst, you’ll manage to do everything you want to sooner or later.

There are quite a few modes to choose from here, each one will require different areas of expertise to be displayed by the player and each one has the capacity to have you hooked on it for days at a time. The main modes are as follows......
DEATHMATCH – The main focus of the gameplay, it’s where you run wild and just kill everyone. The first player to a certain amount of frags is declared the winner.
DOMINATION - This is where there a certain amount of checkpoints are on a map, touch one and it will turn the colour of your team. Holding one for five seconds will get you a point, first team to a predetermined number of points wins. In this team game or any other for that matter, you’re able to speak to your teammates and give them orders as well, it’s a valuable tool, use it wisely.
CAPTURE THE FLAG – Most people should know what this is, each team has a flag and you just have to get the other teams flag and return it to your base without being slaughtered.
ASSAULT – An interesting mode in which your team are given a set list of objectives (such as taking over an enemy base) which are to be completed within a time limit. Once you’ve won, it’s your turn to defend against the other team, they have to finish the level quicker than you did it to win.
There are other, less important modes such as Team Deathmatch or Last Man Standing. As you can see there’s a lot of variety and a lot of potential for addiction here.

One of the most important aspects of a FPS are (naturally) the weapons, Unreal Tournament doesn’t disappoint. From a chainsaw to something that spits out razor blades to a high-powered shotgun that shoots out hot pieces of lead, no matter what your violent tendencies are, there should be something here to keep you happy. Each of them has two different types of fire which can often be of equal importance, and whilst it may appear at times that one of the weapons is pretty much useless, there’s always a situation in which each bit of the arsenal has an important function. Learning when and where to switch between weapons is an important part of success in the game.

In the single player mode of UT, you play off in a whole lot of matches against computer players of varying skills. You must win your way to the top of the ladder in each of the four modes to prove your skill, this will unlock the CHALLENGE mode, in which you are put up against some incredibly hard computer challengers in a number of extremely fast paced deathmatches. It’s a lengthy but enjoyable process which can fill in the time between multiplayer bouts. Unreal Tournament could just be the best game you could ever hope to play on-line (that’s if you don’t live in Australia and can get a fast enough connection). There are hundreds and thousands of players out there willing to help you improve in your playing skills and blow your head off at the same time. The multiplayer games are the best things that this game can give you, and it’s a good idea to take advantage of them.

Overall, the gameplay has amazing depth and playability. It’s got enough to annihilate the competition which any other FPS out there might meekly offer up. It’s a fast paced, action-based game that will blow your chickens before they’ve hatched and count your socks off. Some of the best gameplay I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot of gameplay in my time thank you very much indeed.

LIFESPAN
The lifespan is only mid range if all you’re going to do is take on the computer generated players and kick their AI asses all the time, but get sucked into the world of multiplayer and it’s a completely different story. You’ll want to spend your whole Internet time just playing against other people in Unreal Tournament, learning new tricks and becoming more adept with every day. There’s a lot of servers out there and a lot of people to frag, it’s best to get started while you’re still young, because you won’t want to stop until you’re old!

FUN FACTOR
A few minor irritations can be found in Unreal Tournament, but these don’t really figure too much in the general playing of the game. There is a large quantity of fun to be had, it may look and sound reasonably serious but there is just an unlimited supply of enjoyment and satisfaction that a player can get from this tiny little game. Of course there are games that appear to be more fun out there, but one game can’t win everything now, can it!

CHALLENGE
The challenge is perfect, no doubt about it. Of course there is very little that can replace a human competitor, but Unreal Tournament comes mighty close to doing it. The computer simulants have levels of skill which can vary to something that will hardly scratch you in a heated firefight to something that will have killed you before you get a chance to click the mouse button. One good thing is that they won’t ever move faster or be more powerful than you, although it can appear that way, the players just get gradually better reflexes, accuracy and dodging skills, which makes them look like they’re super-human compared to you. A perfect range, which suits a lot of the rest of the game.

OVERALL
Unreal Tournament is the best game of its kind and up high on the list of all the games out there, it has some features which no games would have ever dared to incorporate before! It all sounds like a rather ambitious game, but it’s pulled off surprisingly smoothly and utilises the power of even some of the weaker PCs out there perfectly. If you’re a computer owner (and if you’re not then you’re not really reading this so go away) then this is an absolute most own game. It’s scintillating in the majority of the areas in which a game should be scintillating and it will turn out to be one of the best plays you’ll ever have! It’s a game worth far more than its shelve price, money just isn’t an issue! STEAL IT IF YOU HAVE TO!
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GOOD POINTS
- Almost flawless design aspects
- Deep and meaningful gameplay
- Awesome challenge, including the brilliant on-line play

NOT SO GOOD POINTS
- You can get sick of the one player mode a little quickly
- Speaking of single player, it can be a little tough to finish (not that I’m complaining, of course I rule)
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GRAPHICS – 10/10 (Should be even more)
SOUND – 9/10
GAMEPLAY – 10/10
LIFESPAN – 9/10
FUN FACTOR – 9/10
CHALLENGE – 10/10
OVERALL - 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/00, Updated 04/23/01