Unreal Tournament 2004 ( Mac)

Rating:
Summary: Devastating Sci-Fi War Simulation - Best Alternative to CS,
Review: Well there is nothing stopping you now! The best multiplayer out there is Counter-Strike: Source with the HL2 engine but CS is not a blast `em up and is extremely tactical with a `one death and you are out' type gaming experience in small maps. Since HL2 is totally devoid of another multiplayer then what is the next best frag? Answer - UT2004 of course!

UT2004 is multiplayer all the way. Like UT2003 it has a single player/team co-op that spans the course of what is close to 120 + maps. 120 HUGE MAPS! So basically the single player mode is one big frag-a-thon on some fantastic maps of your choice. The bots have all preset AI or configurable ones meaning that having 30 bots chasing after you on GOD mode is quite possible - not that you will win or anything. So the AI is well up there in single player mode which, although has a massive number of maps, lacks one thing - a story.

A story however is not what UT is all about. UT is about fragging and team play - i.e., LAN parties and INTERNET gaming is the main reason to own UT2004. Did you ever want to fight in that huge battle like at the end of Episode II? Well there is a game mode called ONSALUGHT that lets 18 vs. 18 pit it out against each other taking down node points so that they can be king of the other's castle by blasting up the core. It really does play like that battle scenes of EP II with tanks on the ground, 30+ characters to choose from, several aircraft, ground vehicle, all can be piloted by you, with up to 10 weapons of your choice, each with alternative fire buttons. In the vast maps there are a million ways to die and a million strategies to choose from. There are also some nice new movements like double tap quick strafe and double jumping.

What of the graphics? STUNNING! The graphics in the trailer or screenshots do not do the game any justice. Watch the end of Episode II. It is more like that. Run this game on a Radeon 9800 and you will not stop playing multiplayer for the next 12 months... that is until UT2005 comes out. Realistically enough you can actually fight this first person shooter in 3rd person mode!

In short this game is like it says on the box - UNREAL.

Pros:

- Awesome maps.
- Vehicles!
- Outstanding graphics.
- A fast game engine with nice crash physics.
- 100% Blast `em up.
- Internet 32 player Games!
- Onslaught game type.

Cons:

- Huge 6 CD install.
- Learning curve is high for 1st person shooter.
- Character movement is bit too fast.
- You need the internet to experience UT2004 fully.