Unreal Championship

"Fast, Frenzied, and most importantly, Fun."

As I sit here, watching the opening cutscene to Unreal Championship, I wonder one thing. When am I going to get Xbox Live? After spending many hours with this game without Xbox Live, I can safely say that it is one of the best multiplayer FPS games to come along for the Xbox (probably 2nd to Halo), and although the single-player is lacking, the multiplayer more than makes up for it. If you're like me, and you used games like Timesplitters 2 and Perfect Dark more for multiplayer than for single-player, you'll want to pick up this game as soon as possible.

Graphics- 8.5/10

This is an interesting category. Epic Games and Atari have made a concious decision to make this game run at 30fps instead of the usual 60fps to minimize slowdown in extremely fast gameplay. I think it was a wise decision. However, the 30fps does take a little getting used to, and has even caused me to get motion sickness from time to time. Fortunately, the sickness will soon pass, as you will be concentrating on the extremely quick action surrounding you.

Environments look good, if you take the time to look at them. It's hard to find time during the game to enjoy the sights, but if you can, you're in for a treat. Character models are also well done. I especially liked the Lizard-type creatures and Egyptian themed characters. The models are many, and each has their own distinct look.

Now onto what is easily the most fun graphical effect to look at, the gore. Note: to the youngsters (and parents) there is an option to turn the gore off. The author recommends this if you are squimish, however the gore is not incredibly realistic, and a lot of it comes from robots/lizards. Your call. The gore in this game looks astounding. If you shoot someone in the leg and they run away, blood spurts out of their leg as they run, leaving a red trail. If you shoot a lizard in the chest with a rocket, they blow up in a gruesome shower of green ooze. My personal favourite effect i Quite a nice effect.

Unreal Championship is quite a graphical extravaganza if you take the time to look at it.The framerate is less than perfect, but diverse worlds and character models more than make up for it. Especially take note of the impressive gore effects. Quite well done.

Gameplay- 9.1/10

Unreal Championship plays like a dream. The traditional fast-paced gameplay returns from the other Unreal games, and in fine form. A few problems do occur though. For instance, I disliked that looking at stats did not pause your game, which becomes a real pain. Also, the single-player mode is basically the same as the multiplayer/instant action mode, except you assemble your own team. However, you won't notice as the game is incredibly fun to play.

Unreal Championship has a wide variety of weapons. Ranging from the high-tech (shock rifle), to the low-tech (assault rifle), and the old-standbys (rocket launcher), all are a dream to play. The only problem you'll find is that many of the weapons are significantly weaker than the others, meaning that you'll be sticking to the same arsenal for nearly the entire time. On the bright side, different characters start with different weapons, so you'll have to create a new strategy for each character.

There are 6 game modes. These consist of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Bombing Run (a football-esque game), Double Domination (control 2 points for 10 seconds), and Survival (a 1 vs 1 deathmatch). On my console, Team Deathmatch and Capture The Flag get the most play, and in my opinion are incredibly fun to play. Deathmatch is good if you prefer blasting everything in site, and Double Domination can be quite fun and competitive. Alot of the press on the game has to do with Bombing Run, but I was slightly disappointed. It's still a fun diversion, but nothing special.

Single-player mode is alright. It's basically multiplayer mode with CPU-Controlled characters. For instance, there are categories, each one contains either Team Deathmatch, CTF, Double Domination, Boming Run, or unknown (it has 2 question marks, must be unlocked). You play 7 games of each to beat the section. Computer controlled characters can be tough, although in games such as Team Deathmatch, it's a cakewalk. The single-player game simply feels like a training mode for multiplayer.

However, as I said before, the gameplay is incredibly fun offline, and I have heard good things about online play. Fast-paced and action-packed, this game isn't one for the slow thinkers out there. Regardless, I haven't had this much fun with a First-Person shooter in a long time.

Sound 8.4/10

The sound in Unreal Championship is amazing. Footsteps over hard surfaces sound loudly, and this can become a key component to finding opponents. Combined with the ability to taunt your opponents with the press of a button, this creates a great environment for armchair fraggers.

Each character has a distinct voice. From the gruff, deep, human voices, to the raspy lizard voices, each can easily send a chill up your spine. This becomes increasingly cool as you bark orders to your teammates (and they respond!). Each gun also has a unique sound, as the casings of the assault rifle cause ping-type sounds on the floor, and the lightning gun crescendos into a giant boom which is amazing in itself.

Music is a different story however. It just seems to me that the music on each of the levels doesn't quite fit the theme. I don't want an electric guitar blaring as I walk across ice fields, and I don't want pop-type chords raging as I run inside an industrial building! This isn't too much of a problem however, as all of the action around you will distract you from the music.

Value- 9.4/10

Sure, the single-player isn't much, but the multiplayer game is where Unreal Championship really shines. Although it's a little difficult to locate, a 2-4 player fragfest with your friends can be one of the best times had sitting around an Xbox. Also, connecting to Xbox Live allows you to play with up to 16 people (depending on bandwidth) over your Xbox. his adds nearly unlimited replay value to the game. Luckily, the game comes with bots as well. If you don't know, bots are computer controlled characters that you can use in a mode (such as Capture The Flag) to be teammates or opponents. Meaning you don't even need friends to play the robust multiplayer modes! This is definately a welcome addition. No complaints here.

Tilt- 9.4/10

Unreal Championship is a shining gem of a game. Complete with great graphics, amazing gameplay, and awesome replay value, this is sure to be a game that all Xbox owners should have in their collection. If you have Xbox Live, there is no reason you shouldn't have this game, so what are you waiting for? If you like fast-paced, over the top, fragfest action, Unreal Championship will certainly be one of the most played discs on your big black box.

Graphics- 8.5/10
Gameplay- 9.2/10
Sound- 8.4/10
Value- 9.4/10
Tilt- 9.4/10

Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/01/03, Updated 07/01/03