Unreal Tournament

"Not half as good as the PS2 or PC versions"

The latest PC to DC conversion comes in the form of Unreal Tournament. While it hardcore first person shooter fans may choose Quake III, many have flocked to join in the trigger-happy mayhem, complete with death defying jumps and precision headshots. Does this conversion live up to the PC original and Dreamcast Quake or does it smell of rotting corpses?

Unreal contains four modes of play; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and Domination. While the first two are fun and short, the other two modes are strategic and addictive. Assault, which is a ''seek-n-destroy'' style game, was left out for some reason, probably to save space for the 60+ levels for those who play around with the one-player tournament mode to unlock. Using the US version of Unreal, gamers can play online using the ISP settings found on your (or your friends) PC. You can then play against up to 8 strangers. If you don't have Internet access or you don't like being shot by unknowns, you can always offer your mates some 4-player action with its multiplayer split-screen mode. Even if you can't round up 4 friends for a night in, you can always add some computer-assisted opponents to fill those spaces. Like Quake III DC, use of a mouse and keyboard is a must for those who want to climb up the ranks to rival PC veterans although pad control in Unreal is far better than in Quake thanks to the new auto aim feature.

Although the sound effects, music and speech have stayed true to the original, the graphics have been somewhat dumb downed to fit into the DCs more limited memory. It gets worst when to enter a multiplayer match; graphics are reduced in two-player mode and reduced even further in four! Movement is a little jerky as well, especially in Internet games. There's often lag when the action gets a bit too much. Of course, I used US servers for this review so maybe the UK ones will offer better connections it officially gets released over here.

I'm left with mixed feelings here. As an avid PC Unreal Tournie player, I find the jerkiness annoying since it makes sniping much harder than it's PC counterpart. It's also annoying to find that you can't pre-define each button to suit my needs, instead you'll have to make do with its preset configuration. While the conversion my not be as good as the Playstation 2 version, it still keeps its fun and fast-paced elements intact. Its auto-aim feature makes sure that even a novice player will rack up a kill or two. Technically, the DC version of Quake III still feels superior, but many people prefer the gameplay found in Tournie. It's best to try out both and make up you own mind! But one thing is for certain... You must invest in both a mouse and a keyboard for full enjoyment. If you already have... well.. erm... well done.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/01, Updated 06/14/01