Taking a look at the screenshots will show you what you probably imagined straight away, UT2004 looks great. Far better than the classic UT it’s not going to be much of a surprise to anyone that if you have a hot system this game will not fail to impress visually. The physics engine for bodies when they die will also impress many who haven’t played Unreal Tournament since the original. The question perhaps on your lips, especially those like me who are getting more and more cynical with these types of games, is there anything else thats ‘new’ in the latest instalment?
To answer that question I need to deviate slightly by going back to my introduction on page 1. If you read it I sound as though I believe there are two set camps in the FPS world. Single player orientated games are in the blue corner, with multiplayer deathmatch shooters in the red, slugging it out for our gaming pleasure.
While that was probably true five years ago, nowadays there’s a lot more shades of grey as many FPS’s offer both single player missions as well as multiplayer deathmatch arenas. However, a definitive game has yet to be made that has the perfect mixture of both. To use two examples, Battlefield 1942 was also designed for both, but its single player element sucked, whereas Operation Flashpoint in comparison had a fabulous single player game, yet its multiplayer options were extremely poor. To date there has yet to be a good balance, and sadly UT2004 isn’t that game either.
You see UT2004 does endeavour to bridge this gap, by offering a number of single player options (which of course can all be played in MP too). These are as follows…
Onslaught
Onslaught is a new game type which introduces vehicle combat into unreal. Going on the success of games like Battlefield 1942, Tribes and Planetside it’s clear that future deathmatch games will need to include vehicles within them to succeed. It’s difficult to get the hang of these new vehicles though, as unlike the historical ones in B1942 it’s unclear how a Raptor in UT2004, for example, is meant to behave! However figuring out how to use them successfully in combat is great fun and isn’t too steep a learning curve. Literally most of my time playing the game was spent here in Onslaught.
My only minor gripe with Onslaught is that sadly, unlike B1942, many vehicles in UT2004 don’t have ultimate weaponry that literally shudders the floor when it fires or sends many running in fear of its power. Only the mighty Goliath tank makes that satisfying thundering thud sound when it fires it devastating round, while a lot of the other vehicles fire weak pussy energy weapons. Some powerful artillery would have been a nice addition in this. Certainly not a major sticking point but something to bear in mind next time Epic…
Invasion
Invasion is another new type, which for me is piss poor. Those who remember Aliens Versus Predator (the original) may remember one multiplayer map (cant remember it’s name, answers on a post card please) where you had a small bunker and hordes of aliens attacking you from all around in a frenzy. That was one intense level!! Invasion probably was based on that idea, however in practice it is terrible. With boring uninspiring Unreal themed aliens spawning from no-where and attacking it’d be no surprise for me if this was voted the worst game type in UT2004 by players. It'd certainly get my vote!
Assault
Most notably perhaps for UT fans is that the Assault maps are back. Considered the least favourite maps by many gamers this game type was removed in UT2003, to the horror of many. Luckily UT2004 brings them back in fall force. These maps are defiantly the most interesting for those who prefer missions and objectives to mindlessly fraging, and are designed really well. Sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly where you are meant to be going, but after a few go’s things start becoming clearer.
Additionally some Assault maps include vehicles, such as star fighters, which make combat a little more interesting than conventional fragging.
The Campaign
Campaign Mode is where single players have to complete in deathmatches. True UT back in 1999 had this feature, but UT2004 has expanded this by the player earning credits for each match they complete. These credits are used to purchase team mates with differing skills for team match events. More credits means you can afford more skilled deathmatchers and thereby you have more chance of winning.
To be honest the addition isn’t that amazing or groundbreaking, and this team management failed to hold my interest for a particular long period.
Is it enough?
That last statement pretty much sums up UT2004, it just “fails to hold my interest for a particular long period.” Granted, Onslaught is a great new extra as by adding vehicles it brings another dimension to the deathmatch experience, but its one that has been done before. For those like me who are getting tired of deathmatch style games don’t expect anything that fresh, exciting or new. When companies like Epic make claims that their games add “innovative game play features such as combo moves and double-jump” you have to wonder who are the greater mugs? The companies for saying that an “innovative game feature” is a new type of jump, or us for lapping up their products? New features to me are enemies that adapt to your tactics, new game types (like Onslaught) etc. A “double-jump” simply is fine tuning of a previous game that perhaps should have been added in a patch.
Other ‘new’ features in UT2004 include the following. Four new weapons! WOW! While these weapons are interesting to try at first, finding them on maps to use in the first place is a minor annoyance. Then when you do try them they aren’t all that impressive. The AVRil is simply a homing rocket launcher for taking out vehicles, the mine layer fires mines that home in when enemy approach, and the originally named Grenade Launcher speaks for itself. Only the Lightning Gun, which featured in UT2003, held my attention for longer, being an ultimate sniping weapon that looks cool. Again, I’m not going to get excited for four new weapons.
Sarcasm aside there are a few interesting new features, one of which is UnrealTV, where you can watch a match live over the internet. Although I can’t see myself ever using it, none the less it is an intriguing idea which could be of some interest to would-be deathmatchers. Another useful feature to pro-deathmatch junkies is fully integrated voice recognition, meaning you can give orders to Bots without the need to type. More fun is the facts you can talk to your mates during online matches, taunting their lack of skill yourself in your own words.
Ultimately UT2004 feels like a polished version of UT and UT2003. It’s as though the first two were just trial runs for this game. All the best features about the two are in this, with none of the bad. The graphics have been fine tuned (with little graphical glitches in game), the sound is spot on, old favourite maps are remade, hell they even have chosen the least annoying announcer for the voice-over! If you want the perfect version of UT, then this will be your game. For me, I just can’t stop the feeling that this has all been done before…
