Unreal Tournament

It's a strange position this ... Here I am, having purchased what most of us probably think of as a multiplayer only game without having access to a LAN, and without being a great fan of playing over the internet (can't afford being that ... :-). And still, I did buy the game, so you might ask yourself why. First, I'd like to say that it was partly another example of low prices promoting impulse buying, the game cost about half the normal price since the store was closing down. Second, I had played the demo for a few days and knew just how much fun the game was when playing single player. UT's bots are good enough to participate in any gametype and perform as good as anyone can ask, and that's what makes this game just as playable in single player as in multiplayer. The first time I played capture the flag and heard "Red leader, I've got your back" was a big kick. The system for ordering teammates could be speedier though, clicking through menus is nothing you have time for in the heat of battle, but at least you can bind keys to individual orders, and the bots seem to perform pretty well without your interference anyway.

Many game publications are mildly critical when speaking of the single player "tournament", and go over it in as few words as possible. And sure, it's no Starcraft of storytelling, not by a long shot. Still, I'd like to say that it's not meant to be either. I like to see it as a way of offering a more structured and "learning curve correct" experience. Also, consider that UT tournament has about as much story as any good old beat-'em-up, and no-one complained about them ... Gameplay was what counted there, as in modern multiplayer games, and as in single player games, period! The tournament is normal "unrelated" gameplay put in a more rewarding context, and as such I think it works pretty well. It's not meant to be the original Unreal campaign, so quit complaining!

You all know what Unreal looks and sounds like, and you've probably heard of the game types, so I'll just say that it's been furhter polished and that weapons and gameplay is a lot better than ever, and leave all the rest of that to other reviewers.

The levels I could say a word or two about though. There are fifty of them included, split up on the different game types. Deathmatch recieves the biggest cut of course, and they all play well. There are a few ones that instantly stick in your mind, like the mountain peak monastary with its narrow wooden walkways and the galleon, but many of them feel more or less like generic sci-fi settings. Maybe it's just that they're so many that it takes longer to ge them all into your mind, but my current feeling is that many of them look a bit too much the same. The new assault game type has a few characteristic and great looking levels, everyone seems to mention the operation Overlord level, but those won't, and wouldn't since they're so linear, work in deathmatch.

Unreal Tournament offers a kind of gaming experience I'd like to see more often; one where single and multiplayer gaming are essentially the same. What I mean is that in UT you can do pretty much the same things, play the same game types and so on, regardless of whether your opponents are humans, bots or a mix of the two. UT gameplay somehow feels like returning to basics of computer gaming. It's all about gameplay, even if it happens to be backed by gorgous and fast graphics, and you can jump in and play for five minutes and enjoy it just as much as playing for five hours (or five days). That's something all games should do, make themselves available in five-minute fixes, that increases long term replayability a lot.

Better stop now before I start repeating myself too much ... Just give the game a try, will you?

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