Unreal Tournament

"So Epic, it's almost unreal!"

Most people know Unreal Tournament as both a shooter made by Epic Mega Games, and also as a comparison game to Quake III, made by id (but the emphasis is not on the comparison, but the review!). Like all shooters, Unreal Tournament boasts powerful weapons which can turn a wholesome, snarling bot into a quivering bloody mess immediately. But the question was when I booted it up in my 700mhz - would it stand the test of time, which so many other shooters have flopped at? Would it offer more than what other shooters have cooked up?

When it began to run, the music and (slightly later) grim-sounding vocals turned me on to the game immediately. The options screen started up, and I looked at a screen with a toolbar. Being a beginner, I started up a Practice Session - and further exploring nearly threw me off the chair as option after option, Practice Mode after Mode was uncovered. Starting up several games I discovered the true face of this game. In total, Unreal Tournament had 5 gameplay modes: Assault, in which you have to complete objectives (something like Half-Life: Counterstrike); Domination, in which you must control a set of points for a certain amount of time; Capture the Flag, the good old flag-capturing, fast paced game; Deathmatch, which was just plain killing (teams optional).

Playing on, I realised that the game was indeed well-rounded in every aspect. Take a look at the clear review:

Gameplay (10/10) - As I said, 5 gameplay modes. And there's more - the single player is really starting you off from the really bottom level. It brings you through a few simple stages and in each scenario they barrage you with clear tips and steps that allow you to easily understand and get into the game. The manual didn't really offer much, but the tutorials will get you through perfectly clear. After several stages, you should be easily able to get to grips with the game.

If you're bored or if you're in the mood for some raw killing or brainwork, you can go to the Practice Session, set the number of bots and various settings, and start up the game of your lifetime. Playing it myself, I found Assault to be one of my favourite gameplay modes. And being one of the only games to have several Assault missions with different objectives to allow for more fun and variety. The number of options is large and should offer easy optimization of the game you want. An easy 10 here - few games offer such simplicity and variety in options and gameplay. Unreal Tournament easily fulfills these requirements.

Graphics (9/10) - I knocked off a point because in comparison to Quake III, the textures of Unreal Tournament look positively blurred. This isn't really a distraction, but it would sure make the atmosphere a little better. However, the bot graphics are excellent, and level design is jaw-droppingly astonishing, with nooks and crannies to explore and places to snipe, or an open battlefield for war waging. The game also provides numerous option to change the way you look. It's very satisfying to come charging down the battlefield with a fearsome looking face, though it doesn't really change the way your opponents think as they send an array of rockets zooming at you.

You can even change the amount of blood shed, although it doesn't really change the way your opponents die (mostly brutally). No muss, no fuss. Good options to have if your parents may think it's too bloody and grisly a game. Each weapon is also shaped and textured very well and looking at every weapon tells you that, yes, this thing is brimming with power, now go and lift me up and fire it at those guys there. Extremely satifying to even fire it and see those fine bullets, rockets or flak pieces soar towards the enemy.

Sound and Music (10/10) - Wow, those bots do know how to degrade morale! If a bot kills another, he will taunt the unfortunate guy, for example, ''I just slaughtered that guy''. The sneering is very well done, and tone and emotion of each bot and his situation is excellently conveyed in each vocal. You may even give orders to your teammates, and when you hear that superior voice barking orders, you feel good that the missions depends on your orders, for example assaulting a base. Your teammates can even help you survive and capture that flag or press that button, or escape relatively unscathed, with their reassuring shouts of ''I've got your back''. This helps to create, along with the soft, low quality but extremely adequate music, a dimension in Unreal Tournament, as if you were playing with human players. It makes you feel good while playing, something which many games have not managed to achieve.

Replayability (10/10) - The Practice Mode's 6 gameplay modes and a fulfilling and easy-to-understand tutorial will last you for months, beating the crap out of bots and learning good team strategies in Assault, honing your accuracy in DeathMatches, or learning dodging and weaving and distraction techniques in Capture the Flag. You'll be playing solo on your computer for ages. Too easy? You can adjust the difficulty of the bots to your wishes, and download new and fun maps online to take a spin. Not that you'll be bored with the present maps for a few months.

If that's not enough, the multiplayer mode will bring you online to test your skills against human players, strengthening communications and usage of strategies significantly. It will also hone your skills well, and you and your friends will be hosting Deathmatches to beat the crap out of each other for months. We're talking nearly infinite gameplay value here.

Buy or Rent? - BUY! This is a must if you want to have the real shooter experience on your computer. It is, in my opinion, better than Quake III, is worth every single cent, and will last you for a very, very long time.

You'll almost never shelve it. The multiple options and gameplay modes will easily take care of that. There is no denying, Unreal Tournament is a game almost free of flaws. Enjoy Epic Mega Games' extreme effort.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/13/01, Updated 11/13/01