The community have been waiting for this one for sometime – the idea of a dedicated game, especially in the first-person genre, being a comparatively young one. With pretty much every major addition to this burgeoning genre, a new take on an approach seems to have been offered, with considerable improvement. As one of the major players, if only on reputation alone, and Games latest Unreal Tournament has been awaited with some enthusiasm – the active and growing community of players and amateur designers salivating at the thought of the latest edition of the games engine, as well as the refined and improved gameplay mechanics.

This latest instalment also sees a departure in ethos for Epic Games, with the strengthening of the brand, and its realignment as a sports-style title thanks to the name change from Unreal Tournament 2, to Unreal Tournament 2003. A small change on paper, but one that shows a big shift in thinking, aiming towards the regular updates and gradual evolutions of a game made famous by EA’s yearly incremental progressions through Soccer, and other subsequent sporting simulations.

With this in mind, it is unsurprising to note the crux of the game has changed little from the original title – what has occurred is more of a refinement and simplification – a honing of approach, and sweeping away of the ‘dead wood’. The game is fast, very vast, the levels are open and encourage fighting. They are well designed, and you will, ultimately, not be annoyed by any aspect of the game’s design. It is encouraging, and ultimately very fun, taking an arcade-style approach to – which contrasts dramatically with the popular spate of shooter’s released recently.

This idea of an arcade approach, is prevalent most strongly in the game’s movement towards a skills-based mechanic, with new combinations proving devastatingly effective in combat, as in a beat ‘em up style game, and ‘adrenaline’ offering moments of physically impossible speed and power.

This slickness is also present in the excellent weapons-balancing that will no doubt please seasoned players, and also the AI of UT2003’s bots, which offer an excellent variety of believable components which range from the totally inept to down-right immortal. There are five types of game now, from team and lone deathmatch, to Domination, Capture the Flag, and a new Rugby-inspired game called Bombing Run, the aim of which is to get a ‘ball’ through a hoop in the opposing team’s base. It is quite fun, though ultimately stands in the shadows of its more established brothers.

For the offline gamer, a tournament style ranking arrangement will amuse for some time, with an interesting option which allows the trading of combatants between teams – the sports influence showing its impact once again.

As previously mentioned the level design is very slick, and very beautiful at times, the immense variety of levels showing considerable inspiration, as well as an attention to detail that all maps not only look lovely, but play well, too. The likes of ‘Plunge’ are particularly fun, and ultimately it’s easy to see that considerable thought has gone into designing maps that assist rather than hinder the speed and frenetic aims of the gameplay. The graphical effects are, as you can see from the screenshots, delightful, and the new detail and richness of the landscapes, characters and weapons is enough to get any fan of the genre hot under the collar. If you’ve got the to enjoy the game at its best, that is.

Ultimately, if you have broadband and want to enjoy the fastest, slickest and most refined multiplayer-style first-person shooter in existence then this game has to be for you. It’s polished, well-designed, diverse, and consequently an awful lot of fun. Not a revolution by any stretch of the imagination, but what is sets out to do, it does with some panache, easily becoming the best example of this type of game currently available.

Not exactly intellectual, but who needs stealth when you’ve got a Redeemer?

The game's official microsite holds all manner of exciting additional information, here, should you be interested.

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By Luke Guttridge