It was only a matter of time before game makers tried to turn the seemingly ubiquitous online deathmatching experience into a single-player game. So the almost simultaneous releases of Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena shouldn't really be surprising. What *is* surprising is how remarkable and well-done a game Unreal Tournament has turned out to be. It transcends mere deathmatching and gives both single players and Internet players one of the most incredibly diverse, well-crafted, and purely entertaining action games in a long while. Taking the strongest elements of the original Unreal game -- beautiful graphics and level architecture, and impressive AI "players" -- Unreal Tournament has essentially given single-player gamers the opportunity to engage in a genre of first-person shooter that was previously available only online.

While it adds some key enhancements to the original Unreal engine -- especially in the realm of Internet play stability -- Unreal Tournament doesn't look that much different than the original. But, even after almost two years, the Unreal engine is still a beautiful piece of work. As expected, you'll find all the Unreal graphic trademarks, from those distinctively detailed, finely drawn textures, to incredibly impressive lighting, weapons, sky, and fog effects, along with expansive combinations of indoor and outdoor locales (and beyond). There are a horde of different characters to choose from for your battling alter-ego (and to fight against),...and they look detailed, distinctive, and have very fluid animation.

Equally as impressive as the beautiful visuals is the audio portion of the game. The music is evocative and dramatic, there are a ton of taunts that vary with each character, and the sound effects for everything from the weapons to footsteps and explosions are fantastically well done. But, for all the good things you can say about the presentation of the game, that's not the real reason that Unreal Tournament is so excellent. That reason is the sheer amount of customizability of options and play modes, notable map design, and the very tuned gameplay it offers.

Unreal Tournament's focus on team gameplay with Capture The Flag, Assault, and Domination game modes adds something far above simple mindless deathmatching, and gives the game a lot more appeal. Add to that the fact that you can play all these games in both single- and multiplayer modes. For those who are new to multiplayer gaming and nervous about just jumping in, don't have stable Net connections, or simply don't want to be bothered by other human players, Unreal Tournament offers the opportunity to play a single-player game with AI competitors, called "bots," which are so good, they actually seem like human players most of the time. They'll taunt you, run away, gather power-ups, use group tactics in team games, and even screw up.



Recommended: Yes