Hydro2Oxide
12-29-2008, 05:03 AM
http://rr.xbox360.ign.com/ReaderReviews/PostReview.aspx?reviewtype=game&object=746631
^^^ Click for a TL;DR and full review. Please give a thumbs up! ^^^
Unreal Tournament has been a long going series, starting before I was so big on gaming. I mostly hopped on the band wagon when 2004 came out. It was a fairly brainless shooter, but it did many things right. It also had some not bad graphics, and was heavily moddable.
Now 3 years later, Epic has thrown out Unreal 3, the next generation of UT. The game does not let you down, it has most of what UT2K4 had (Minus assault mode, I have no idea why...) on top of some great weapon tweaks, a Gears of War-esque art style, and some top notch graphics. Not to mention a bad ass hover board.
For starters, the Campaign mode has become... well, more of a campaign. It has a minor (I mean minor) story line with some characters. Though I must admit, I barely played it. It was a series of tutorials on simple game modes I already knew, and quickly was bored of it. New players to FPS/UT games will take much more use of it than I have. It's an improvement, but still a far cry to a real story driven single player.
As you quickly get bored of that, there's multiplayer, the whole reason you bought this game. There are some classic and new maps, and a tweak on the popular game mode, Onslaught. It's now called Warfare, but it's the same old game mode with a twist. They added a dynamic known as an "Orb" in which one player grabs it, and pretty much suicide bombs a Node controlled by an enemy. You can still shoot it and cap it manually, but this little sucker can turn the tide. It may seem strange, to go from attacking the enemies core to going to mid field defense, but quickly becomes habitual. I for one enjoy it. Assault has been dropped, so all that leaves you with is Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, CTF, and Vehicle CTF. I'm sure you can guess what Vehicle CTF is. As well, the Campaign can be played online with other players, so it's essential a player vs. bot scenario. To me, it's a bit of a swing and a miss. Character customization is a big factor. You choose a base model and mess with armor choices from there. There are five "Factions" But 3 of them are human looking, one reptilian, and the last one being robots. I found this system to be far superior than the previous 50 or so models to choose from.
There have been a few tweaks to the weapons and vehicles, as well as a plethora of new tricked out rides. For starters, the Lightning Rifle has been dropped completely, and left for the Sniper Rifle to do the job. And on top of a previous favorite, the Translocator, there is now a Hoverboard for any time access. Simply hit Q and you are gliding in style. There is also an option to "Hitch" on to a friendlies vehicle and go for a ride. It's extremely useful for when there are no rides available, though it can feel a bit wonky at times. As far as the new vehicles, there is a new race (The name escapes me) that seems to be more alien, and therefore they have their own vehicles. One is a small orb with three legs that scurries on the ground (Looking rather similar to the Reavers from GoW) as well as can retract the legs and roll (Whole lot of fun) and a more War of the Worlds like large three legged creature vehicle that shoots out evaporating laser beams (Sounds like a law suit waiting to happen) They are a different handle than most vehicles, but are easily learned how to work. The Scorpian has no more energy whip, but a more energy cannon like thing that travels in a parabolic arc. The claws also look less cool and are shorter, but it has received a turbo if you will. Extremely useful for outrunning locked on rockets. Considering I'm not too avid a player of 2004, I wouldn't be able to point out all the handling changes, but I felt all vehichles turned out well.
The games graphics are simply stunning. The game has taken a far more Gears like art style, including but not limited to creepy pale monsters, guys in bulky armor, a grittier cave like setting for certain levels, and the cut scenes just seem Gears-y. Of course, this game is by the same company on the same engine, so it was to be expected they morph it to a far more popular game. While I do love the graphics, the advanced video settings are heavily lacking. There are two bars (Texture and World detail) which heavily effect all of your options. So if you want high model poly count, but no bloom effects, you don't have that option. I was heavily disappointed in this, so my game doesn't look as good as it could.
All in all, this is a solid gem in the '08 year that has become more of a buried treasure. I heavily suggest picking this game up if you are looking for a shooter you can get used to and play easily. It's got a measly 20$ price tag on Steam so there isn't much to lose, but a whole lot to gain.
*Just a note, I just realized this game came out in 07. Boy do I feel stupid.
*It appears my IGN review has not been added. It'll take a few hours I expect.
^^^ Click for a TL;DR and full review. Please give a thumbs up! ^^^
Unreal Tournament has been a long going series, starting before I was so big on gaming. I mostly hopped on the band wagon when 2004 came out. It was a fairly brainless shooter, but it did many things right. It also had some not bad graphics, and was heavily moddable.
Now 3 years later, Epic has thrown out Unreal 3, the next generation of UT. The game does not let you down, it has most of what UT2K4 had (Minus assault mode, I have no idea why...) on top of some great weapon tweaks, a Gears of War-esque art style, and some top notch graphics. Not to mention a bad ass hover board.
For starters, the Campaign mode has become... well, more of a campaign. It has a minor (I mean minor) story line with some characters. Though I must admit, I barely played it. It was a series of tutorials on simple game modes I already knew, and quickly was bored of it. New players to FPS/UT games will take much more use of it than I have. It's an improvement, but still a far cry to a real story driven single player.
As you quickly get bored of that, there's multiplayer, the whole reason you bought this game. There are some classic and new maps, and a tweak on the popular game mode, Onslaught. It's now called Warfare, but it's the same old game mode with a twist. They added a dynamic known as an "Orb" in which one player grabs it, and pretty much suicide bombs a Node controlled by an enemy. You can still shoot it and cap it manually, but this little sucker can turn the tide. It may seem strange, to go from attacking the enemies core to going to mid field defense, but quickly becomes habitual. I for one enjoy it. Assault has been dropped, so all that leaves you with is Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, CTF, and Vehicle CTF. I'm sure you can guess what Vehicle CTF is. As well, the Campaign can be played online with other players, so it's essential a player vs. bot scenario. To me, it's a bit of a swing and a miss. Character customization is a big factor. You choose a base model and mess with armor choices from there. There are five "Factions" But 3 of them are human looking, one reptilian, and the last one being robots. I found this system to be far superior than the previous 50 or so models to choose from.
There have been a few tweaks to the weapons and vehicles, as well as a plethora of new tricked out rides. For starters, the Lightning Rifle has been dropped completely, and left for the Sniper Rifle to do the job. And on top of a previous favorite, the Translocator, there is now a Hoverboard for any time access. Simply hit Q and you are gliding in style. There is also an option to "Hitch" on to a friendlies vehicle and go for a ride. It's extremely useful for when there are no rides available, though it can feel a bit wonky at times. As far as the new vehicles, there is a new race (The name escapes me) that seems to be more alien, and therefore they have their own vehicles. One is a small orb with three legs that scurries on the ground (Looking rather similar to the Reavers from GoW) as well as can retract the legs and roll (Whole lot of fun) and a more War of the Worlds like large three legged creature vehicle that shoots out evaporating laser beams (Sounds like a law suit waiting to happen) They are a different handle than most vehicles, but are easily learned how to work. The Scorpian has no more energy whip, but a more energy cannon like thing that travels in a parabolic arc. The claws also look less cool and are shorter, but it has received a turbo if you will. Extremely useful for outrunning locked on rockets. Considering I'm not too avid a player of 2004, I wouldn't be able to point out all the handling changes, but I felt all vehichles turned out well.
The games graphics are simply stunning. The game has taken a far more Gears like art style, including but not limited to creepy pale monsters, guys in bulky armor, a grittier cave like setting for certain levels, and the cut scenes just seem Gears-y. Of course, this game is by the same company on the same engine, so it was to be expected they morph it to a far more popular game. While I do love the graphics, the advanced video settings are heavily lacking. There are two bars (Texture and World detail) which heavily effect all of your options. So if you want high model poly count, but no bloom effects, you don't have that option. I was heavily disappointed in this, so my game doesn't look as good as it could.
All in all, this is a solid gem in the '08 year that has become more of a buried treasure. I heavily suggest picking this game up if you are looking for a shooter you can get used to and play easily. It's got a measly 20$ price tag on Steam so there isn't much to lose, but a whole lot to gain.
*Just a note, I just realized this game came out in 07. Boy do I feel stupid.
*It appears my IGN review has not been added. It'll take a few hours I expect.