Unreal

"A game that actually lived up to it's namesake."

I remember hearing about Unreal before I owned a computer and wondering if it would live up to it's name. Even before anyone had actually played it, it had the title of 'Quake-Killer' bestowed upon it. More than a year later, I finally owned my first computer and Unreal was still no where to be seen. Eight months later, the wait was over; Unreal was out and I was eager to see if it could live up to its now mythical status...

Unreal's plot is simple yet unique: Set in the distant future during a time when man has resorted to sending criminals to remote penal planets (think Aliens 3), you take control of one such prisoner being transferred on a prison ship when something goes wrong and the ship crashes onto an unknown planet. You awaken to find your cell door busted open and the guards dead. Alone, you set out to find a way to escape the planet, only to discover that you're not as alone as you thought you were. The planet is inhabited by a peaceful race of aliens who have been dominated by a vicious unknown force...

Easily one of the most graphically impressive games to date, Unreal sets a new standard for realism (or unrealism if you will) that will forever change the way video game are perceived. Incredible dynamic lighting, colorful palettes, high polygon models, detailed textures and breath-taking animation all come together to create a near-perfect visual experience. Just watching the title screen sequence of the castle will cause a few jaws to drop.

Once you get over how impressive the graphics are, you'll notice how equally impressive the audio is. Music is used only to enhance the tension of the game rather than played constantly. However, as good as the music is, the environmental sounds are a work of art. Never before have I played a game where almost ever sound I heard filled me with the paranoid delusion that I was surrounded by an unseen enemy waiting to strike. Sometimes my paranoia was justified, but more often than not, the noise I heard was nothing more than the ship settling further into its grave or the creak of wooden planks under the stress of my weight. These are the things nightmares are made of.

What good would Unreal be if it looked and sounded great, but had zero playability due to poor control? This is a question that you will have to continue to ponder for years to come as Unreal controls just as good as it looks. Slick and responsive, you could not possible ask for a better way to play this incredible game. If I had to pick on one thing that bothered me though, I would have to say I hate the way the controls seem almost too sensitive at the wrong times (like crossing a lava pit on a very narrow beam). This isn't an impossible thing to compensate for, so it doesn't hinder the game play much.

Unreal is an extremely well designed game with levels and objects that are wide and varied. The maps themselves are fresh in their layout, each level set up as realistically as possible. The look of each area varies from level to level, but the locations blend together seamlessly, so you never feel like your just being dropped into a new level. You'll end up in the bowels of a ship, on an open grassy plain complete with rivers and lakes, the insides of a mountain, a church with bell tower and graveyard, a village that includes stables and a bar, an ancient castle, a human resistance camp recently overrun by alien forces, and an enemy outpost among other elaborate and fresh locales. Sounds more like a role playing game that a first-person shooter, right?

As with most FPSs, there aren't a whole lot of extra or bonuses in this game. The multi-player game is there, but it's very buggy (even after a dozen patches) and might annoy the Quake II purists. In fact, I don't' recommend Unreal's multi-player game at all. If you buy the game, buy it for the story mode only. Unreal also comes packed with the level editor that the programmers used to create the game's maps, so if you feel creative and can figure the thing out, you'll have an infinite supply of levels to play through that are limited only by your imagination.

Unreal truly is a 'Quake-Killer'...only in so far as the single player game is concerned. Despite the fact that the ending for this game really sucks, I recommend it to anyone looking for a great game to play through that doesn't also need online game play to keep them happy. On the plus side so many new Unreal games have come out that you can get your multiplayer fix from one of them.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/17/09

Game Release: Unreal (US, 04/30/98)