Unreal Tournament 2004 Review

What do the words "First Person Shooter" mean to you? What images come to your mind? Often, if you say this to a gamer, they think of army style games where your (you're) strolling through a battlefield in a setting such as Vietnam, blasting soldiers as you make way to victory. Ah, but the Unreal series departs from this stereotype. The Unreal tournament has returned, this time with an explosive impact that dares to make a bigger impact then the first unreal tournament ever did.
For people who don't like to read, let me just make it simple for you: buy the game now. It's that good. But for us who want more details please read on. I'm sure you will be pleased.

Starting with unreal tournament 2003, Atari and Epic made a pact to distribute a UT game every year or two like a sports franchise would. Unreal Tournament 2003 was ok, but missed the mark in comparison to how the original was. 2004 aims to correct the misses that 2003 made. I must say, they have achieved so.

UT2004 isn't simply a refinement to UT2003. 2004's new maps; two new game modes, the returning Assault mode and the brand-new Onslaught mode, are alone enough to make 2004 better then 2003. UT 2004 though aims to go one step further. UT 2004 feel's much closer to the first Unreal Tournament, than UT 2003's more deliberate "army tactic" pace. In addition the look of the package, the menus the whole "feel" just radiates excellence.

Oh did I mention? Unreal Tournament 2004 has ten game modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Invasion, Mutant, Capture the Flag, Bombing Run, Last Man Standing, Double Domination, Assault, and Onslaught. Oh and of course there are always the mutators to add more fun. Yes, UT 2004 "rocks out loud."

Deathmatch mode is basically what it has always been: a free for all fragfest. The maps are excellent and add to the feel that the original had. They even have some from the past. I must say deathmatch mode, no matter how much I have played, never grows old. Last man standing, invasion, and Mutant modes are basic variations of deathmatch mode. Last man standing is basically as it's name implies, while Mutant is largely a mutator version: the first player to kill becomes a super-fast, all-weaponed Mutant, who is also the only player who can be harmed. Invasion is basically you against a wave of badies; which I love to death.

Capture the flag remains unchanged to. You work as a team to capture your opponents flag. nothing new. Double Domination mode stays the same as well.

Bombing Run also makes a return: pass the ball through the other team's goal, score a point. Of course, there's a hitch. The trick is that while you're carrying the ball, you are effectively defenseless, as pressing fire throws the ball. Ball-tossing also opens up the possibility of passing the ball to a teammate. Sadly I hardly ever see this mode used. It does provide a good experience to learn defensive tactics.

Assault originally appeared on the first UT: you must complete a series of objectives in order to win. Epic has gone out of their way to address complaints that the original Assault had; (aka) confusion about objectives, disorientation on the map, etc. Epic, by adding a number of helpful guides and indicators, has made the process much easier for players to understand what to do. A narrated intro movie explains the different objectives, while the camera provides a fly-through to each one on the map. Also, in the game, an arrow on your HUD points in the direction of the next objective. This all improves Assault greatly.

My new addiction out of all these modes (because I love chaos) is Onslaught. Two teams try to take control of "nodes" scattered throughout the map, ultimately forming a link between their power base and their enemy's, at which point the enemy power base can be attacked and hopefully destroyed. Oh have I forgotten? Not only that there are many vehicles in assault mode, there's even more in Onslaught mode. With all that goes on, you might think that this could cause total chaos in the game. It does, very much so. A good fun chaos as you take charge in vehicles and race to a mode while taking out people left and right or having yourself taken out. Fun, indeed.

The weapons of Unreal Tournament 2004 are a mix of old and new. Old favorites like the Shock Rifle, Flak Cannon, Link Gun, and Rocket Launcher are here. The Assault Rifle gets a bit more fire power, with both its grenade-launching secondary fire. The Sniper Rifle now leaves a puff of smoke after discharging also. Other changes are minor. You also gain access to new explosives as well.

As far as music goes it's average. It's the same stuff and oddly enough, sounds we've been used to fort he last two unreal tournament games. You'll still have to hear the similarly player taunts ("Die bitch!" and "My house!") which are old as my mother's bread. The music is ok with some maps having better music then others.

The engine is awesome but it's fairly the same from the UT 2003 engine. Still it can be taxing on lower end cards and processors so make sure your comp can handle it decently. Multiplayer mode adds another experience to UT 2004, that I must say you need to try at least once. It's like taking the single player mode and doubling it. That's such much content that you'll be playing this game for months on end.

There's far mode "stuff" in UT 2004 then what can be described here mainly because I feel that the best part is discovery in this game. Nothing is better then learning how a weapon can be used in fire, in action. I could write an bible on this game, and that still wouldn't be enough. You'll thank me for the experience.