Review: Unreal Tournament

Although it might be based on the same technology that powered Unreal, Unreal Tournament is very different in design from its namesake. Where Unreal was a story-based action game, Unreal Tournament is an arena first-person shooter. There is no story propelling the players through the game; there are no strange lands to explore; and there is no puzzle-solving. There is only combat. Head-to-head deathmatches are the main event here, with some "capture the flag" and other modes to round out the experience.

Unreal Tournament is all about multiplayer action -- even when the other players are really players at all, but computer-controlled bots. The single player mode, in fact, is populated entirely with bots who seek to either destroy you or, if they're on your team, assist you at all costs. The AI in Unreal Tournament was heavily praised in 1999 when the game debuted, and it's still impressive today. Enemy and friendly bots behave in ways that a human might behave, which makes Unreal Tournament stand out from the competition. At higher levels within the tournament, AI bots develop more complex tactics and moves; they don't just get stronger and more accurate.

 A player dodges a rocket.

Unreal Tournament is meant to be played on dedicated servers with others, but there is a substantial single-player tournament with several rungs for those who want to train in private before facing any human competition. The tournament is divided into four categories: deathmatch, capture the flag, domination, and assault. The first two, deathmatch and capture the flag, should be self-explanatory. Domination is a king of the hill scenario, where opposing teams try to occupy several hot points throughout each map; if the points are held long enough, that team wins. Assault is the most interesting of the group. Teams are divided into assault and defense. The assault team must accomplish a mission -- like escaping a castle or destroying an energy source -- and the defense team must try to stop them. Then the roles are reversed. Whichever team accomplished the task in the shortest amount of time is the victor.

Between the surprisingly deep and varied single-player campaign and the ability to play all modes online with other players, there is more than enough content in Unreal Tournament to last a long, long time. The sound and graphics are excellent -- what else would you expect from an Unreal game -- the enemy AI is experty programmed (and customizable), the action is fast and fluid, and the levels are memorable and diverse. Unreal Tournament deserves its reputation as one of the very best arena shooters of its generation.

Score: 9.0