Unreal Tournament 2004

Rating:
Summary: Big improvement over UT2003
Review: I waited until enough reviews were out before finally buying UT2004. I wasn't overwhelmed by UT2003 because of its "hyperactive" gameplay and marginal multiplayer games. I finally decided that UT2004 was worth a shot. I am very pleased so far. The game installed smoothly, there is no baloney server registration (aka Steam), and the menu's have been improved over UT2003. The installation is enormous, 6 CD's. The install on my system was 5 GB. The game is loaded with great maps and different game types. It has the feel of the original Unreal Tournament. It is exciting, the graphics are smooth as silk and I am enjoying the heck out of it. UT2004 looks like the accumulation of all of the best of UT2003 only greatly improved with lots of extras. I have a fast machine and good graphics card but even with the resolution set to 1600 x 1200 and everything maxed, the graphics are unbeleivably smooth. I could go on and on but overall, I'm very impressed with the game, several notches higher than UT2003 and lots of fun......

Rating:
Summary: 30 year old guy says awesome
Review: I just recently got a kick azz computer so I decided to buy a game to have some fun and all I have to say is this game in awesome! The only other game I had played recently was Diablo II so I haven't played that many computer games but this game got me addicted. It's amazing how good computer games are now. I used to play games when I was younger and these games today blow those games out of the water. I have never played a game like this so I was so into it thinking wow this game is fantastic.

You walk around or fly around with your team trying to kill the enemy team and their base and it's just fun as heck. There's tanks, hoover crafts, all kinds of cool guns, and tons of maps to play. I've been playing about 4 months now and I'm still coming across new maps here and there, who knows how many there is. The best mode to play in is "onslaught". That's where you go out with a team and battle. I've played for few months and just now I'm starting to feel like I should get a new game and mix it up cause I've been into this game for a few months. I don't plan to stop playing it either , it's still fun for me cause you are playing vs. other players so it doesn't get old. At least not yet.

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.

Rating:
Summary: Fragaholics anonymous
Review: I've had this game since the day it was released, and I just keep coming back to it. The scary thing about this game is the quality of the enemy AI. For the first couple of months, all I did was play against bots in instant action mode (usually either bombing run or domination maps). One day I finally decided to try my hand against human players online, and much to my surprise, most players responded in a way I had come to expect from the bots. It really underscored the amount of time spent by Epic in developing a lifelike AI system for the game. Now my time on the game is split evenly between the single player ladder portion of the game and online fragfests. Usually I end up in the top 3 scores either way, which is nice for my ego. That being said let's look at the rest of the game. The graphics are top-notch, as we have come to expect from the Unreal series, and the gameplay is smooth and fast. Weapons are well balanced, which is somewhat of a feat considering that there are plenty of instances of dismounted fighters going up against vehicles. A lot of the old favorites are in the game, from the flak cannon to the shock rifle to the oft-maligned goop gun. Sadly, my personal favorite gun in the game has been replaced. The Enforcer pistol has been retired in favor of the Assault rifle. It's a bit more powerful than the enforcer and has an alt fire grenade launcher for that extra oompf, but I must say, I miss running into a pack of folks with twin pistols blazing. Enough nostalgia tho. If you're even remotely a fan of online shooters, pick this game up. You can have a blast with it even if you never go online. The graphics and gameplay are great, and the developer and mod community continue to find ways to make the game better. You'd be hard pressed to find a better way to drop $30 for sheer entertainment.