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Unreal : Tournament
Click box pic (above)
to purchase PC version.
 Macintosh Version Available! Click Here to Order
I think the most glaring aspect of Unreal Tournament
is how much it's meant to ride on the coattails of Quake
3 : Arena. Unfortunately, therein lies its biggest flaw.
While Quake 2
(1997) was more of a game engine than a game, the original Unreal
game the following
year showed the big boys how its done. Conversely, U: Tournament
is just a multiplayer game with aspirations for the multiplayer
throne...and, with less of the first game's charm, that's an
uphill battle.
There's
no story here, unless you call the intro cinematic a story. In
the future, areas of the earth are reserved for gladiator type
battles, that are the highest rated show on TV. You are a newcomer,
attempting to win the trophy, for each of the major competitions.
Well...okay, that's a story, though it's nothing like the atmosphere
created in Unreal 1,
and as far as Half
Life, Thief,
or even Resident Evil...forget
it. However, Quake 3: Arena has no story, either,
and this game is attempting to copy that game (gee, great
idea...not), so what's a storywriter to do...?
The area where this game shines above Q3A is
it's game variations. "Deathmatch" and "Capture
the Flag" are here, plus much more. "Domination"
involves competing in a tag-team type effort, to keep areas of
the game map "conquered" by your team ("touching" a landmark in
that area makes your team's logo appear in the air, though an opponent can
touch it again, making that area theirs). "Assault"
is the closest this game gets to single player elements, with
actual missions that must be completed (not enough of
them, though...). "Challenge" is hard to fathom,
in that it's not a whole lot different from Deathmatch. Why include
it as a different competition choice, if there's no real difference
than Deathmatch...? You do get a different trophy, though; the
one shown on the game box. Well, okay...that's kinda cool.
"Trophy"...?
Yes, after winning all competitions in one Tournament class,
you win the trophy for that game. The screen changes to the award
arena, with a cool flyby that is vintage Unreal.
Then the trophy appears behind your character as he bows. It's
a simple enough animation, and yet it's the little details like
this that make this game more likeable than Q3A...if
only to a certain extent.
The bottom line is, this is a great game for people in love
with the old days of gaming. Whether
your memory of your first game played was Outlaw
on the Atari 2600, Space Invaders, or anything
similar, Epic Megagames is hardly at fault for appealing to this
classic style of gaming. However, with newer titles like Half Life and
Diablo,
and even classics like Crusader:
No Remorse and Alone
in the Dark, the bar has been raised more than a
little in the last decade. If you are nostalgic for the "shoot
until shot" game days of old, and just want to play a simple
enough game, with few rules, for an hour or two, I'd say Unreal
Tournament is one of the best such games there is. Gamers
in need of more "brain candy" will probably want something
far more involved...and I can't recommend the Thief
series more strongly.
Click
box pic at left to purchase PC version, to purchase the 
Macintosh-Compatible version, Click Here
Also available for the following game systems (click
on system name to order): Playstation 2 coming
soon , Dreamcast
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by TECHtite,
copyright 2000; all rights reserved. Screen captures of program
reviewed are discrete thumbnails, used only for the purpose of
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and the distributors of that product. For further "legalese"
& disclaimers, click here... |
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