There are several different aspects of this game, but it is most easily divided into Singleplayer and Multiplayer. My favorite, and what Unreal Tournament was intended for, is Multiplayer. The Singleplayer is good, but if you’ve got a connection to the internet that is not too slow, definitely try to play online. First off, though, a little bit about the single player feature:
The game is, of course, divided into many different types and maps, which do not change if you are in singleplayer or multiplayer. These include Capture the Flag (my favorite), Deathmatch, Last Man Standing, Domination, and Assault. I am sure other people have gone into detail on each of these games so I am just going to focus on my favorite map and my favorite game type, Facing Worlds Capture the Flag. By describing this map and game type I can give a better review of Unreal Tournament.
Although I recommend playing this in the multiplayer interface, to learn the game, or each new map, I usually begin by ordering around a team of computer players called bots. You can set them to be good or bad, or even inhuman. By watching the computer play you can see where the weapons are in each map, as well as some strategies. In Facing Worlds, a haven for snipers, you can first learn by getting the sniper rifle at the top of your team’s tower and picking off the bots below, as most of the map is exposed this way. The better the bots are, however, the better you will have to hide, and you will learn to expose as little of your body or head as necessary to fire your gun. The object of the game is, however, to capture the flag. In singleplayer I usually keep a bot or two on defense, have a few on offense, and the rest covering me. (You do this by pressing Control V. A menu will pop up and from there you can order your bots around. In multiplayer you can do the same, but since you are playing with real people they will not automatically obey your orders!).
Once you've learned the ropes a little bit you'll be ready to head into real competition with real people. This is where the real fun -- and the passage of many hours of time -- begins. I recommend registering yourself with NgWorldStats so you can see your progress and your world rankings. This can be addictive, though.
If you ever get tired of playing with a team, you can always play against real people in Deathmatch, where it's every fighter for himself. What is really great about Unreal Tournament is each map, each level, each gun takes a completely different skill. One person can be really good at one map or with one gun or one type of game ... but be terrible at another. For example, I dominate at capture the flag, but I am terrible at Deathmatch. Stick with one map, one level, or even one gun if you feel like it. Using only one gun will eventually cause you problems -- like dying often -- but if it doesn't take away from your fun more power to you.
If you do not have this game -- get it! If you don't want to shell out the cash before you know how good the game is, get the DEMO!

Recommended: Yes