Unreal Tournament is the best first-person shooter as of now, full stop. Forget your Halo and your Half-Life.
This is up-front in-your-face blasting, all right. Absolutely no tactics or strategic elements are in this game; the whole game is based around running around and shooting everything that moves. And without all the microscopic features and little elements that are in games these days, Unreal Tournament proves less really is more. There is no feeling like blowing somebody up with a locked-on rocket and watching their internal pulp go soaring into the air. No feeling in gaming is more satisfying than a well-earned bloodied kill in Unreal Tournament. None at all.
Maybe I'm overrating this game by awarding it with a hefty 9.6. But in my eyes, this is the most enjoyable shooter ever, and I'm going to explain why in the epic review that's to follow...
Unreal Tournament doesn't have much of a background story. There's no twisty plotlines or sophisticated storytelling. The only cutscene in this game is the intro, as far as I know, and in it it briefly explains about the Liandri Corporation working with the NEG to establish a grand tournament, and warriors from all over the universe are selected to fight in it for an ultimate prize. It's not very intriguing, but who cares, because this is one hell of a grand tournament.
Unreal Tournament's game modes are very simple and are very individual as well. The standard Deathmatch is self-explanatory, it's just you and a number of other dim-witted gun-wielding idiots dashing around a space-age arena grabbing weaponry to disintegrate each other with. Then there's the obligatory Team Deathmatch, see above, but with your own squad to issue basic orders to like Attack or Cover. If you want something slightly less freeform, there's Assault, which has you working with your team to push through the enemy's defences while completing a series of objectives, before telling you to defend against the enemy, because they will assault you. Last Man Standing has you competing against numerous other veterans to stay alive the longest, and Domination has you fighting to control strategic control points throughout a level. That only leaves the classic Capture the Flag, which is the basic version of CTF where you have to steal the enemy flag and bring it back to yours.
I admit there's not much innovation or unique features in the core gameplay itself, but Unreal Tournament quite frankly doesn't need it - its execution of classic FPS game modes is almost flawless. Deathmatch is the best example of freeform gunplay in the gaming industry as of now, mainly because it's just so damn intense and addictive. If you need a meaty shooter to wear out some of your social frustration, you really should raid your bargain bin, just for the Deathmatch mode. Seriously, this game could just be a long slog of Deathmatch arenas and it still would be one of my favourite games. Last Man Standing is very tense on harder difficulties, where you're cautiously streaming through the arena looking for the elusive other player, and Capture the Flag can lead to some serious air-punching moments.
To add even more enjoyment, the weapons in this game are tops. Some of the most memorable guns in the industry are in Unreal Tournament, from the radioactive-blob firing GES BioRifle to the kickass Pulse Gun, from the ASMD Shock Rifle to the Redeemer [which is one big missile full of ownage at the best of times] Each and every one of them are satisfying to use and really make you feel like a bona fide killing machine, especially when you're rampaging online with a fully loaded Flak Cannon in hand. If you want to be a psychopath with an extremely powerful gun, you know where to come - your bargain bin.
Even if you're not an online multiplayer sort of person, which is obviously the focus of this game, there's still a wealth of single-player content. It's easy in places but there is seven difficulty settings and a hellish final challenge. Each difficulty setting feels very individual and can often make you feel like you play a different game every time you amp it up - on Novice and Average the AI is quite forgiving and can easily get surprised when you run round the corner with a Ripper in hand, but on Godlike if you done that they would immediately spring to sense and lob a bombful of shrapnel your way quite instantly. And you won't have even had time to blink, so it goes without saying that Godlike is recommended for hardcores and afiocanados only.
And if you are an online multiplayer sort of person, and you have a good network connection, an expensive gaming mouse, a tolerance to ownage, and quick finger reflexes, get ready for some of the most explosive social action ever... it's just so unbelievably addictive if played online. All the fun single-player can give you [if you skipped the above paragraphs, there's a hell of a lot of fun] gets amplified. It just goes to show that games like these are more fun when CPU bots are replaced by real players with the same experience level as you.
The now outdated graphics might put off players used to visual masterpieces like Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and Call of Duty 2, but back in the day these were definitive graphics. There's some excellently done levels on show here and some decent special effects that wowed more people than just me five years ago. Character models could be better, but there really is some great visuals on offer here, even if they don't measure up to the otherwise inferior UT2004.
Sound reaches similar greatness. The musical score is widely ranged and varies between arenas, and they really do stick in your head and become associated with that particular mission, from the screeching guitars from arenas such as Morpheus to the ambient sounds of arenas such as Facing Worlds. The taunts are very amusing, especially if played online. Highlights are the sarcastic "I'm sorry, did I blow your head apart?!?" and the obvious "Die, **** Don't be surprised if people look at you strangely if you say these out loud on the train. "Medic!"
I've wasted precious time of my Saturday night typing possibly my longest review yet, just to tell you how mind-bogglingly good this game is. Even if it's outdated in some areas these days, it's still the finest example of a multiplayer shooter in this fickle industry, and has done for shooters what Ocarina of Time did for RPG's. Old-school and explosive, Unreal Tournament is a fast-paced assault on the senses and can prove highly addictive.