Sex has nothing on this...
Written: Aug 01 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to get into, graphically adept, fun, expandable, mods etc
Cons: none really
The Bottom Line: Really great game, especially in Multiplayer
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| smarkey's Full Review: Unreal Tournament for Windows |
Unreal Tournament, over a year on and I am still playing this game regulary, why? Well the multiplayer aspect if fantastic - the range of mods is superb. The single player is still eminantly playable also.
So what are the recommended specs, the makers suggest:
CPU: P200mhz or better (P2 233/266 recommended)
Memory: 32mb (64 recommended)
Available HD Space: 120mb min (605 recommended)
Soundcard compatable with Windows
Basic graphics card (3d Accelerator recommended)
Operating System: Windows
Modem or better for internet play
Well first of all, if your system is at the minimum spec then I would forget trying to play this game...what do I recommend:
CPU
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I would recommend a Pentium 2 266 (AMD K62-350) or above with a decent graphics card.
Athlon or Pentium 3 based systems are ideal though.
Memory
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64mb bare minimum. Memory prices are so cheap at the moment that you can double that for less than £20. Memory upgrades are one of the cheapest, and easiest to perform upgrades you can get. As a plus it is also one of the most effective ones.
128mb Recommended - more memory = quicker loading times, and less HD accessing - this applies for virtually everything. After you go past 128mb though the differences are less and less noticeable.
HD Space
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I would recommend having around 1gb on your HD. This is to allow room for a full install and to still leave room for the *swap file. More Hard Drive space will also enable you to install more mods... more on which later (10th August onwards).
*Swap file, this refers to the method Windows uses to simulate more RAM. When you run low on physical RAM (ie memory) Windows will start using your HD to store information in a swap file. This isn't good though, swap file usage eqautes to jerking if accessed too often. More accessing of the swap file also causes more defragmentation of the HD and can cause programs to load slower.
Sound Card
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I would recommend a Soundcard such as the Soundblaster Live or the Aureal Vortex, this will enable you to use 3D enhanced sound. Though by using a soundcard that isn't 3D capable you won't notice too much. All in all a good soundcard is nice, but unless you demand stunning audio in games not essential. On a lesser computer enabling 3D sound can also cause slowdown of the main game.
Graphics Card
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One of the most essential parts of running UT. You can run it without a 3D accelerator but I wouldn't advise you to try this method. The best videocard for UT would be one that is compatible with Glide - only the Voodoo series of cards were compatible with these. The company that made the Voodoo cards (3DFX) are now out of business though so I find it hard to recommend buying one of these cards. The one caveat is if you have a slower machine such as one of the P2 series or the K6-2 series. Using a Voodoo 3 or above with these processors will seriously improve the performance of UT. If you have an Athlon or P3, then I would recommend a GeForce 2 series of card.
Why?
Well with UT you also get a seperate CD that contains enhanced textures that were only useable at the time on a Savage 4 card (pretty much obselete now). Some programmer released a patch for UT that enabled you to run in OpenGL mode using a GeForce 2 card.... the modified OpenGL renderer also enabled you to use the enhanced textures resulting in much improved game visuals, and oddly enough faster Frames Per Second.
The game itself
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This game is a First Person Shooter, that means your viewpoint is out of the eyes of your character. The game is predominantly setup for online mulitplayer gaming but, in a change from other games of this ilk, it also has highly intelligent bots. These are computer controlled opponents that act uncannily like real players. This is great if you don't have the time nor the money to go on the internet, or your ping is useless when you do get on.
A whole abundance of maps are included in this game, and many many others are available to download from the internet. Recommended sites for maps etc are places like Fileplanet, and www.planetunrealtournament.com (the latter is great for links to map sites etc).
So what are the objectives of the game?
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Well shooting your opponents mainly, with a variety of weapons, these weapons are as follows:
Impact Hammer
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This is a short range weapon, the primary fire does moderate damage and can help to stop projectiles from hitting you. The secondary fire can kill an opponent instantly, to do this you need to run into them the hammer will automatically fire and kill them. This is pretty tough to do though, if the opponent is wearing armour then it will not always kill them.
There are several advanced tactics available to use with this weapon such as using it to make you jump higher, and using it to propel friendlies along the map quicker....
The Enforcer
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- this is your basic pistol, it has two modes of fire. The mode is normal firing and does moderate damage with decent accuracy, the secondary mode is Firing with the guns held in a different manner. This will increase the damage from each shot, but will decrease accuracy. For added effectiveness two enforcers can be used at once providing you can pick up another one from an opponent who you have fragged.
GES Biorifle
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Affectionately known to everyone as the Snot Shot. This weapon in primary fire mode is quick and shoots out balls of green slime that upon contact with an enemy causes moderate damage. This is a handy weapon for using to defend a base in my opinion. The secondary fire mode can be charged up and fired, a big ball of green slime will shoot out, and then once it touches a surface it will fire out many more balls of slime. A direct hit with this is usually fatal when fully charged up.
Shock Rifle
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Excellent weapon, in primary fire mode it will fire a blue bolt of energy that upon hitting an enemy will do significant damage. The secondary fire mode is a ball of energy that when shot out will fly slower than the blue bolt but will do a little more damage.
Top tactic: Fire the secondary weapon then shoot it with the primary fire function. This will cause a moderately large explosion none as the Shock Combo, this will cause a lot of damage to enemies nearby. Multiple kills are possible with this move.
Pulse Gun
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The primary fire, fires quick pulses of energy, this mode I seldom use, the pulses of energy don't fly totally straight though, which is actually good. The secondary fire mode is excellent, this fires a constant beam of energy that if targetted upon an enemy soon kills them. Also good for getting multiple kills where several players are fighting in a confined space.
Ripper
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This weapon fires razor sharp bladed projectiles. The primary fire will rebound of walls and can be used to headshot people. Headshotting means you basically shoot/cut the opponents head off! This is accompanied by a message saying you have performed a headshot. The secondary fire, fires explosive razor bladed projectiles... fast rate of fire, and explodes on impact. Can also be used to jump further by aiming downwards and pressing secondary fire.
Minigun
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Primary Fire = Fires a fast continous stream of bullets, effective at short range for good damage
Secondary Fire = Fires an even faster stream of bullects, accuracy is slightly more impaired though not significantly so. This weapon eats through ammunition extremely fast though.
Flak Cannon
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The primary fire on this weapon fires a spread of lethal balls of white hot shrapnel, this weapon is very effective in this mode. Secondary fire fires one ball of lethal shrapnel that if it hits usually kills instantly. I prefer using the primary mode for this weapon though, close up it is excellent.
Rocket Launcher
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Primary fire = Press once for a single fast moving rocket, on contact with something it will explode and cause significant damage. Holding down Primary fire will load up to 6 rockets at once when the fire button is released or the final rocket is loaded it will fire, and will propel up to the 6 rockets in a spread out line. This is very handy for killing enemies. If you hold down Shift whilst firing up to 6 rockets it will cause them all to be aimed at the one thing, this can even kill someone who is wearing Shield Armour and has maxed out health.... amazing.
Secondary fire = Fires exploding shells out of the launcher, these can be fired yet again up to 6 at a time. These will bounce a few times before exploding, very handy for shooting off ledges or around corners and hoping for the best :-)
Sniper Rifle
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This weapon can kill with one shot. The primary fire function will shoot, whilst the secondary is used to zoom in. Find a good hiding place, zoom in and shoot someone in the head. One of the most satisfying weapons in the game. This weapon does require some skill though to be able to use effectively.
The Redeemer
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WOW - Primary fire fires a lethal rocket that has a massive blast radius and will kill anything within it (virtually). Secondary fire is the most amazing weapon ever, shoot this and hold down the secondary fire button, this will cause you to get a First person view of the rocket, and will enable you to guide it towards the target yourself!!!! Excellent fun.
That was just a quick run down of the weapons this game has to offer, for a more comprehensive read, go to:
The Translocator
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A teleportation device fire it where you want to go and press secondary fire and it will take you there. This can be used for many things including telefragging, this is where you wait for an opponent to run over it, teleport and because 2 people can't be in the same place at the same time, the enemy will explode!
http://planetunrealtournament.com/utguide/weapons.shtml
The modes in this game include:
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Deathmatch
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Basic deathmatch free for all, kill or be killed. Every kill is called a frag, after you or your opponent have made enough frags (up to a specified total) the game will be won.
Team Deathmatch
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Deathmatch whilst in a team. Either red or blue teams, this can be wonderful for making strategies you can communicate with your team either via typing exclusively to other members in your team (teamsay) via Voice over net communication (only for people with fast connections ADSL and upwards) or via the command menu, which is available by pressing V in game.
Last man standing
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You and your opponents have a set number of lives, each time you are killed a life is knocked off your total. This carries on until you have lost all of your lives (and are thus out of the game) or until you kill all of the enemies.
Domination
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A team based game where several command zones need to be captured, once captured you start earning points for them. Once you have reached a set points total you win the game, this is an excellent variation of Team Deathmatch and games can swing to and fro quite dramatically.
Assault
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This is another team based game whereby you have to complete set objectives which are given to you at the start of the map. After one team completes the objectives as the attackers, they then have to defend and vica versa.
For example Team A are defending, but Team B manage to complete the objectives in 3 minutes
Team B then have to defend, if Team A complete the tasks in under 3 minutes they win if not then Team B win.
This is an outstanding variation on the team deathmatch theme.
Mutators
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Mutators are downloadable, some are also available to use in the game, or you can make your own (with coding skill).
For example: Instagib gives everyone Shock Rifles with a difference they fire orange lasers that kill on impact... 1 hit kills all around. Secondary fire isn't available with them in this mode, nor are any other weapons.
Experiment with the mutators to see what ones you like. Virtually all downloadable mutators and maps are usuable with the computer Bots as well.
Smarkey
PS. The title of this opinion isn't true! Not quite anyway, but I was told sex sells so I thought I would put it to the test.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
smarkey
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Reviews written: 25
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