Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

"One 'Unreal' Game"

This is one of many Unreal games in a series that spans multiple game platforms. UC2 is the sequel to Unreal Championship, which in itself was a great experience.

Story; 8: Well, it's a FPS, how much story can it have? It has more than you'd think. Especially for being based on a tournament ladder. In Ascension Rites, story is given in pre-match text screens and cut-scenes. In the standard character ladders, story is only found in the text screens. It is still present however and much more significantly defines each character. They tell you why each person is in the tournament and what conflicts they have with many other players there.

Graphics; 10: Of course this game runs off the Unreal engine. This basically says that the game looks great. It's a revelation of graphics, but simply some of the best you'll see for a while to come off this system. Textures are detailed and character models are superb. Clothing moves as you jump and Raptor's 'robo-braids' have a spaz-fest without fail. The effects for shock explosions and rocket detonations may not kick up ample dust, but do have an excellent look upon them. Lighting for the levels and effects are excellent.

Sound; 10: The sounds are textbook "Unreal." If they were to be ultra-realistic, I don't think I could score the game very well here, for it wouldn't fit the game. The music complements the game and the action well, so it blends right into its place in the mixture, not over-powering essential elements. Another highlight would be the taunts. They're well-done voice wise, and well thought when it comes to being a mixture between serious put-downs to humorous insults. How funny is it to have raptor, a robot, run around screaming "Llama!" to taunt those he kills?

Game Play; 10: This is the Coup de Grace for UC2, it's shining star is here. Allowing for first person or third person view, for more perspective, as well as increased acrobatic importance, you have some solid play already. Each character has their own melee weapons, unique pistols, then allows you to choose one explosive and one energy weapon. Then, the only things on the map need be ammo for explosive and energy weapons. The melee combat is extremely creative. You know that time was spent balancing it against the ranged combat. You can deflect/reflect enemy rounds, generate a shield, perform a standard attack, perform a power attack, execute a lunge, use your adrenaline to inflict more damage, or beautifully pulling off a Coup de Grace to kill your enemy in a single blow. A kudos to the developers for designing creative game play with simple to learn controls. There's nothing wrong here, the fast paced action and fluent controls allows for a great experience.

Replay; 10: If you don't have Live, fear not, for the developers provided lots for you to do. There are ample bots to unlock in single player so you don't play the same guy any too often, and lots of mutators to create unique experiences for each map. Customization of your map list is back, and if instant action isn't enough for you, they provided a series of challenges. They are just that, too...Challenging, often described as 'almost impossible.'

If you have Live, there's not much else to say other than, FUN. You can't find much excuse not to play this online.

TOTAL: 9.6

This is definitely worth buying if you like fast-paced action. There's no reason not to get it if you're a fan of first person shooters because you'll be playing this repeatedly.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/05