Unreal Tournament 2004 - PC

Despite being extremely well received and generally proving popular within the FPS gaming community, it was always considered that UT2003 didn't quite introduce as many new gameplay features as people had originally hoped. Granted, the tried and tested formula - still considered by many loyalists to be unmatched with regards to its exhilarating multiplayer action - was still intact and as good as ever, but the game was released at a time when people were beginning to demand a little more from their shooter.

Which is probably why this 2004 update does more than merely build on previous instalments, it throws an absolute mass of new features into the mix, not least including the likes of a new hyper-charged Onslaught mode and, more interestingly, the introduction of vehicles, Halo-style. It would be a severe injustice to omit any single addition found in UT2004, so scan down a little to feast your eyes on the full nitty-gritty.

At the core, the game continues in similar vein, with you suiting up as the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future and battling it out with up to 32 other players in action-packed, frag-filled arenas. Of course, there's a host of new maps for all the established game modes, including Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Bombing Run and Double Domination, as well as all new arenas for the new styles of play. In addition, the game contains all of the maps, mutators and game types - such as Mutant, Last Man Standing and Invasion - from UT2003, as well as all its free downloadable bonus packs. But, more importantly, that feature list in full:

<ul><li>Onslaught Mode: Onslaught is an epic-in-scope team-based challenge that pits two teams in bitter warfare across massive terrain maps in a frag-filled battle to destroy, capture and hold key power nodes. Vehicles play a major role as war-hardened flying and driving machines transport combatants to the "front" and serve as mobile platforms to launch devastating attacks on the enemy.

<li>Assault Mode: In the completely redesigned Assault mode, gamers are challenged to complete a variety of mission objectives to attack or defend bases in a bigger and badder version of the Unreal Tournament classic; many Assault maps require the use of vehicles as a critical gameplay element.

<li>Vehicles: Unreal Tournament 2004 features a variety of land-, space- and air-based vehicles, including buggies, tanks, hovercraft, aircraft and more

<li>Voice Technology: Integrated voice communications, including voice-over-IP technology to allow real-time chat with teammates and opponents during gameplay; voice recognition, allowing players to issue orders to computer controlled bots; and, text-to-voice conversion of typed chat. Voice chat includes 3D audio on supported sound cards, so players can sense where voices emanate from.

<li>New and Revised Weapons: The devastating arsenal of bone-crunching weaponry that Unreal has become famous for returns, with several enhancements. Many existing weapons have received model and texture updates as well as sound improvements. The game also includes all new weaponry for the massive Onslaught and Assault battles, including the massive AVRiL (Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher) to take down incoming vehicles, the Grenade Launcher, which discharges sticky explosives on enemy emplacements, vehicles and personnel, the Spider Mines, the vile and brutal arachnid bombs that scuttle the landscape searching for unsuspecting adversaries, and a completely redesigned and reintroduced Sniper Rifle, not seen since the original Unreal Tournament.

<li>Characters: New and classic fan-favourite Unreal characters join The Tournament to challenge players, including the vicious Skaarj and the infamous Xan Kriegor.

<li>New Maps: More than 100 levels are included in the game for all new and existing gametypes, featuring tons of new textures, static meshes and music. In total, Unreal Tournament 2004 ships with more never-before-seen maps than the entire number of maps that shipped with Unreal Tournament 2003!

<li>UnrealTV: A match broadcast system that allows for hundreds of people to view an Unreal Tournament 2004 match with minimal performance impact on a game server, creating a television sports like viewing environment for fans to watch professional and other matches.

<li>Voting: Complete end-user voting system allows users to choose game type, maps, mutators, rules and settings and enables players to remove troublesome competitors from the game. Custom clan-match voting system allows clans to negotiate acceptable game settings prior to a competitive match.

<li>New User Interface: A completely redesigned user interface (UI) is easier to navigate and supports context-sensitive menus, an in-game login menu (to improve team balancing) and an improved server browser with enhanced server filtering options. The underlying user interface system has been reengineered to be easier for Mod authors to build menus and implement their own UI designs.

<li>Other Improvements: Tons of cool gameplay tweaks and refinements including unique crosshairs for each weapon, the ability to carry dual Assault Rifles, improved computer-controlled "Bot" team coordination and movement, network bandwidth usage optimisations and more!

<li>Unreal Editor: Unreal Tournament 2004 will ship with the most powerful game creation toolsets ever released to the public - the same software the developers used to make the game. Amateur level designers and mod makers can use the Unreal Editor, including the Unreal Editor's "Matinee" tool, to make their own maps, new game modes and animated movies using the Unreal Technology.
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Impressive, eh? more