| Unreal Tournament |
| Graphics: 5 Sound: 6 Gameplay: 9 Replay Value: 4 Reviewer's Tilt: 8 Overall: 6.9 |
| 50% fun...but 50% mediocre |
| I rented Unreal Tournament yesterday, not expecting anything big. I knew from the reviews that this game sucked. And to tell the truth, they were right. Mostly. But the game's really not a complete failure. Some parts are actually somewhat fun. Unlocking characters and new levels is a blast, but a lack of variety and a lack of character customization (the two things that make Quake oh so much better) isn't in this game, which doesn't help the already lacking gameplay. The game is fun, but very, very flawed. Where should we start out? Ah yes, the graphics. They're pretty mediocre here. Again, I wasn't expecting anything big. The game is a sad story of poor lighting and textures, and a just plain lousy framerate. If you get sick over games that run at 25 fps at best, then this isn't your cup of tea. Most of the time, the game runs at a constant 30. But when you cram at least two other people on the screen, the game goes to about 10 frames per second. No joke. Maybe that's why there isn't that many characters in the arena with you. Remember Quake III: Revolution? Remember those great graphics and that fast, smooth framerate? Well, it's not here. And that's a shame, considering that this game borrows little bits of Quake here and there. Oh, who am I kidding--the whole game IS Quake. A very, very flawed version of Quake. I'm the type of guy who doesn't care about graphics...I prefer the gameplay. But when the graphics distract from the gameplay, that's a problem. Fortunately, the game makes up for it with some nice...uh, pixelated blood effects and awesome level design. These levels are an architecture feat, and they really work well with all the killing. The gameplay is fun for the most part. I was having a blast shooting things level after level, but I waited for something new. Every mission was like "Shoot 20 to advance." It got on my nerves. Thankfully, you can unlock several modes of play, including Capture the Flag and others that were shamelessly borrowed from Quake. Hey, I know what you're thinking. I keep coming back to Quake. Hey, the borrowed Quake gameplay isn't a problem with me, it's the execution of the material that is unsettling. The biggest problem here is that you have to put up with monotony to do something new. That's really, really bad for presentation. Those of you who are Quake veterans will be bored stiff with the Deathmatch, but those of you who aren't will enjoy it for a little while. But if you want to do something different, like a nice game of Capture the Flag, then you have no choice but to keep playing. Not exactly good. I was quite impressed with the controls of the game. They're precise, sharp, and most importantly: responsive. You can customize the controls to different settings and to your own liking, and there's plenty of tweaking options. My only complaint is the camera. When you look at the ground and move a step forward, the camera jolts back to the middle of the screen. If I want to look at the ground while walking, I should be allowed to do so. A small complaint, but it really isn't so small when the gameplay suffers from this flaw. Overall, Unreal Tournament is a fine rental. Nothing I'd want to fork over that much money to, but $5 to Blockbuster isn't a bad place to start. The game could win you over if you're into the genre. |