|
Overview
I
was a bit disappointed by the first Unreal game. Yeah it had amazing
graphics and realistic AI but what happened to everything else?
The scripted sequences were few and far between and game play just
got boring after a while. To say the least I had low expectations
for Unreal Tournament (UT). I should have shed my skepticism and
just played it. I was pleasantly surprised because UT has some of
the best weapon balance of any multiplayer game I've ever played.
The new engine is amazing and the game modes are to die for.
UT has the standard, everyday weapons found in most FPS and then
some weapons that are rather unique. You have the standard pistol,
rocket launcher, mini gun, and sniper rifle and each is quite lethal
when handled properly. Among some if the newer weapons are the flak
cannon (a shotgun type weapon) the redeemer (basically its the BFG10k
on steroids) and some energy weapons. What's most amazing is that
all these weapons have secondary fire modes which adds a new devastating
twist to fragging your opponent. My personal favorites are the sniper
rifle, the flesh ripping mini gun, and the surprisingly accurate
enforcer (handgun). The only weapons I didn't like were the Redeemer
since it can kill the person holding it, and the rocket launcher
for the same reason.
Did I mention that all these weapons are balanced? No single gun
is the best and each has the ability to carry the day for you, even
the pistol. It's common to see players using different guns and
different styles of playing in one game. UT quite possibly has the
best weapon balance of any FPS out there.
I'm not going to talk much about the graphics because words simply
don't do them justice. The game looks good in low resolutions with
16bit colors and looks drop dead gorgeous in high resolutions in
32bit mode. I've been killed a number of times because I had to
stop and stare at the architecture. The textures in the game are
extremely realistic and will draw you into the world of UT. The
characters are modeled well and the sound is superb. I especially
like the sound of the announcers menacing voice saying things like
"Rampage" and "Congratulations, You're the Winner".
The
only thing I don't like about the game is that the command menus
are mouse driven and can be cumbersome to use in the heat of battle.
Also, This IS the unreal engine so Glide users will generally get
better performance than Direct3D users. This is not always the case,
however, as I have had better framerates with direct3D.
Now on to the play modes. Naturally there are the standard deathmatch,
team deathmatch, and CTF modes that are now standard with most Multiplayer
games. Where UT really shines is in the Assault and Domination game
types. In Domination you need to capture and hold certain points
on the map. The more locations you hold at a time the more points
you get. Usually the first team to 100 points wins. There is a lot
of strategy involved and you have to do more than kill everything
that moves. Personally, the strategy aspect of Domination takes
away from the fun for me. I would rather run around and blow stuff
up instead of capture and holding specific points.
In Assault (my favorite mode) you ,uh, assault things and, uh, blow
stuff up. Your team is given objectives to complete while the opposing
team tries to keep you from achieving them. After you've accomplished
all the objectives the roles are reversed and your team is on defense.
Whichever team achieves the objectives in the shortest amount of
time wins. The objectives are either to blow something up, flip
a switch or get to a certain point. You can fight on trains, under
water, and even storm a beach like the opening scene of Saving Private
Ryan. The maps are amazing and innovative in the Assault mode, which
simply added to its appeal for me.
I have mixed feelings over the playability for Christians in this
game. The violence level is quite high. Blow someone up with a rocket
launcher and pieces fly everywhere, bouncing off walls complete
with a trail of blood. Shoot someone in the head with the sniper
rifle and their heads will pop off with the announcer saying "headshot".
Heads will also roll if you get enough headshots with the enforcer
or hit someone in the neck with the ripper. There is a small amount
of swearing in the pre-canned taunts, but fortunately you can turn
off the more "mature" taunts. They are not off by default,
however, so be wary the first time you boot up.
So do I recommend this game? Yes and no. If you can't get past the
violence, this game clearly isn't going to be a good idea. It's
the great AI, the superior game play, the sheer fun and excitement
of the game itself that makes it so appealing. If that's all there
was to the game, it'd be a great choice for any Christian. But the
graphic nature of the violence clearly make this an issue with many
Christians. It would have been nice if the makers of UT had allowed
the graphic violence to be turned off along with the mature taunts.
by
Michael Williams
Final
Score
Highlights: The
game engine is amazing, excellent AI, High replayability
Lowlights:
The
menu driven commands
are cumbersome. Can't turn off the bloody and gruesome death graphics.
Hints:
Keep
moving. If playing online, try shooting where the person will be
1/2 second later.
Recommendation:
If you can get
past the graphic violence, this game offers a lot and is worth the
purchase price.
Age Appropriateness:
Teens
17+ (a graphcially violent game, some "mature" taunts)
Christian
Sense (CS): 2.5-
the graphic nature of "gibbing" someone and the "mature"
taunts bring this one down from neutral.
Game Engine
(GE): 4-
One of the best uses of the Unreal engine made
Game Play
(GP): 5-
Perhaps the best of its kind ever made.
Overall:
3.8
|
