I purchased Unreal Tournment in late 2003 when I had the choice of Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2003, Half-Life, or to wait for UT 2004. I decided to buy UT because of the unbelievable price and expandability of the game. The game is a first person shooter, with minimal plot and great replay
Minimal System Reqs
Let me amaze you with the minimal specs to run this game so you know that even you (Yes you with the 200mhz, windows 95 comp and no 3d card) can run this game!
CPU: Intel Pentium™ 200MHz or AMD K6 200MHz or better processor
Memory: 32MB RAM (64MB recommended)
Available HD Space: 300MB (605 recommended)
CD-ROM Drive: 4x or faster CD-ROM or 4x or faster DVD-ROM Drive
Audio System: DirectX 7.0 Compatible Sound Card
Video System: PCI Local Bus Video Card (8M 3D accelerator recommended)
O/S: Windows® 95/98/2000/Windows® NT/XP 4.0/Linux/Mac
Network and Internet Play: via TCP/IP (28.8K minimum speed)
I dont reccommend running the game at the minimal specs though. I tried running the game on my old computer for the sake of seeing how well it would do. I can tell you the game performs terribly at 233mhz and no 3d acceleration but then again... who has that hehe :)
$8 $8 $8 $8
Theres a good chance you will find this game for $8 or under which is an amazing deal! Many good First Person Shooter games today will run as much at $50 and some large ones (Such as planetside) charge a monthly fee of around $12! Work 2 hours at a McDonalds just so you can get this game
Overview
The year is 2091... Or so... I forgot really. The plot has no influence on the game. If you love the amazing in-depth plots of RPGs expect none of it here. The plot of the game is to kill all your opponents. Run, think, shoot, live, die, respawn, repeat. Amazingly repetitive and very fun.
You play a... person or a creature that is put into an arena to achieve various tasks. The task can be as simple as kill everybody and take the flag or you may have to find the way to infiltrate the enemy castle. No matter how many times you play the game will never be the same (Online at least anyways).
Graphics
This game has solid graphics... At times. The graphics really depend on what your computer can support. If you have the 233mhz computer at the top without the 3d card the graphics will be very pixelated and the game will be choppy. In almost any other scenario though the graphics are beautifully drawn and detailed. Every little blinking light is shown in perfection while you fall off the mother-ship and into space. The backgrounds of levels such as the skies aren't as well done. If you somehow jump very high you can see it looks like a painted ceiling almost rather then an infinite sky. No matter how your graphics appear, they do not take away from the gameplay.
Sound and Music
The sound effects are vivid and accurate. Basically, every guy has the same sounds, every girl has the same sounds, and every monster has the same sounds. The guns sound realistic in the sense that if they actually existed, that would be the most likely sound they would make. Voice taunts are repetitive and for the most part just used to spam the chat room since no one really has time to type during the action. With your mind thinking about everything in the game you'll barely have time to hear the music! The music isnt rich or deep. It sounds like cheap midi files playing in the background but like the graphics, it never takes away from the game. You'll actually be lucky to hear the music with all the explosions and gunfire coming out of your speakers.
One Player
Normally I would not recommend this as a one player game. If you have the ability to download modifications to the game (otherwise known as 'Mods') and mods from the internet the game holds its rich and always different gameplay. The only reason, though, to play one player would be for a tutorial to the game or if you have no internet connection.
The game can get old if you have a less than 56k internet connection. The key to this games replay value is new maps and new mods always churning out.
Which brings me to...
The Internet
The core of the game! You compete online against live opponents, in a similar fashion to any other game you may have played. The great thing about being online is that you never know what will come at you. There are literally 10,000s of maps and 1000s of servers and players up at all times (Even today March/04 it is one of the most widely played online games) Any server could have any map or any mod running at any time and you can always find a server to suit your skill level or map preference.
Game Types
Deathmatch
Basically, you enter the arena and your goal is to kill or be killed. You are on your own, a solo in a land of savages. There are guns and ammo on the floor for you to pick up. Before you start a 1 player game or server you can edit things such as Jumping Height, Gravity, Weapons and such.
Team Deathmatch
You are on a team of about 8-10 depending on where you play. Kill the other team! These can be played in regular deathmatch levels or in linear levels (Like a castle on each side and the players battle in the center)
Capture The Flag
One of my favorites. You are put in an arena with a team and you are forced to defend your flag and capture the enemy flag to bring it back to your base. Requires teamwork and using built in voice commands (Such as: Defend the Flag) to control your team.
Assault
You and your team set out to achieve an objective. If the other team doesnt stop you from achieving this goal within the time limit, you win!
Mods and Maps
Mods and Maps make Unreal Tournament the best game up to 2002-3 rivaled only by Half Life until then. Mods can edit small things such as the guns you carry or give you a jetpack. But they can also turn the game entirely around. One mod called Tactical Ops give the game a counter-strike feel. It puts the Counter-Terrorists against the Terrorists. Obviously that is very different then a deathmatch. Even so, you probably wont lost that Unreal Tournament charm when you use mods. Maps can also be aquired and just add a great sense of variety to the game. If you become very interested you can even create your own maps and mods!
Rating
This game is rated T. That means TEEN 13+. You may think of buying this game for your child under 13 but I suggest not doing so. Many games are rated T rather, incorrectly. If a game has comic micheif it should not be rated T. Unreal Tournament involves Blood, Gore, and Online anything goes. Prepare to see swearing in the chat room and hear it in voice chat. Also dont be surprised to find levels such as Adult Cinema. Worry not, though, if you find A high-quality server the Admin will kick people who swear to often or do something offensive.
When put with Counter-Strike
Unreal Tournament offers:
- Instant Respawning (In CS you wait up to 10 minutes when you die)
- Fast and Lasting gameplay (In CS firefights dont last long before someone is dead)
- Furturistic Guns
- More Gameplay Options
- One Player Mode (In CS you are usually pitted against Experts right away)
In the end, I think UT is a more fun game because if you die, it is of no consequence and you can keep gaming and having fun all night!
Conclusions
Unreal Tournament is a great, expandable game that is one of the few Must-Buy games out there and very reasonably priced. If your computer has over 500 Mhz, go get this great, solid game!
Thanks for reading!
~ GPolice
