Unreal Tournament 2003

It's bigger, better, faster and even more addictive than before. It doesn't try to emulate games like Counter Strike or Medal of Honour in terms of recreating the gritty realism of real life war. This is a futuristic frag fest where individual skill and reflexes win over guile and precision.

The graphics as you would expect are eye poppingly good with the levels I've seen so far a class above anything out there in terms of style and atmosphere. The addition of large highly detailed outdoor arenas is a notable improvement on UT.

The game types of old are back with Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Domination (slightly modified) all present. A new addition however is Bombing Run which I had my doubts about before playing it. Having tried it out on a number of online servers I'm hooked. It's american football meets rollerball with guns! The objective is to get the ball through the oppositions goal to score points. If you're lucky enough to find a closely matched game online, you're in for a treat because it is incredibly fast paced and end to end with twists and turns in the scores all the way. And yes team work does pay off, you're even able to pass the ball between team-mates to cut open a tightly packed opposition defence - just like in real sport.

I might go so far as to say Bombing Run is more enjoyable than Capture the Flag which is saying something! Anyway, whoever thought up this addition to the game deserves a very big clap on the back because it is an instant winner.

To enjoy UT2003 you don't have to play online (but it helps!). The game comes with a single player option where you can work your way up a ladder system to become the ultimate champion or you can just hop into action straight away in a stand alone match against some frigtheningly skilled computer controlled Bots. The AI of the original UT was impressive if a little lacking in places but UT 2003 takes it to another level. At times you could almost be playing against real people, they can be that convincing!

In finishing, I would recommend this game to all first person shooter fans. It's high octane fun that will get your pulse racing like no other first person shooter game I've played. The only thing you've got to worry about is not getting addicted.....

Improvements:
- The addition of the "instant action" option on the main menu makes it easy to form a new game with bots on any of the available maps.
- The graphics rival those of Halo on the XBox. Some of the new levels are simply astounding, especially the outdoor arenas which show water and grass etc in great detail.
- The bone crunching sounds when your character falls down a ravine and hits beams on the way down. These sounds are also present when you continue shooting a dead opponent and he/she slides around on the floor.

Downsides:
- Loss of certain game types. Assault has been replaced with Bombing Run which, sadly isn't as good.
- The AI enemy seems to be unable to use the chain gun properly. You will come across someone and wonder why they aren't firing at you. Once you've wasted them you realise that they had the chaingun. It's just a small bug and it'll probably be sorted soon.
- The sniper rifle has gone and been replaced with an inferior Electric gun. This gun takes time to reload after shots and leaves you open to attacks.
- The grav boots have gone too although there is now a double jump ability which is useful.

All in all, this game is good. I wouldn't say it is a massive improvement on its predecessor with regards to gameplay but it is still a very good FPS.

By the way, you will need a very high spec machine to run this game.

The Unreal Series returns once more in Unreal Tournament 2003, combining many of the great features of the original, with some of the better features of some other games, resulting in one great multiplayer game! You can now play through the Single Player ladder, taking your customised team of bots across several worlds to compete in intergalactic tournaments based on several game types, including: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Double Domination, and the new original game type: Bombing Run, mixing football with fast-paced FPS combat!

The new game includes 8 characters from each of the game worlds, and also some 'hidden' characters to unlock with your progress through the Single Player mode. And you can then take yourself or your team of bots online into a faced paced fight to the death in ANY of the games maps and gametypes. Male and Female models for each race, such as the Jugganaughts, who are gene-boosted humans in cyber-suits, to the robot Automations, all the way to the Gen Mo'kei aliens from the planet Arborea. Each and every model fits in with the games sci-fi like theme, and you may have too many to choose from to decide on a favourite.

Use brand new weapons, and prepare for the return of old favourites such as the Shock Rifle and Flak Cannon. Super Weapons help bestow fear in your opponents, using either remote controlled Nuclear Warheads or the ground targeted "VAPOR" Space-Based "Ion Cannon". And the new "Link Gun" brings a new level of teamwork into games, allowing you and your team mates to "link-up" to gain MASSIVE increases in firepower!

Try out the brand new physics engine developed by MathEngine, a UK company resposible for the infamous "Karma" engine! This engine removes all those death sequences youve seen over and over again, clutched to their stomach before rolling onto the floor, or blowing into pieces... With "Karma" each and every death in the game is generated using the engine to be unique to that situation, and you will never see the same thing twice. Expect to blow your oponents into the air, only to wrap around a girder on the ceiling, or roll down somebody elses body down stairs just as you would expect in real life. Commonly known as the "Ragdoll" effect, because deaths really are just like throwing a doll of somebody at a wall to watch what happens. Youll be committing suicide over and over again just to watch how you will die! Brilliant!

Mutators allow you to endlessly customise your game, by allowing you to set up each game with ANY mixture of mini-gametypes. Why not play "InstaGib" giving every player nothing but Super Powered Shock Rifles with instant hit-kill! Or use "Quad Jump", giving you the power to jump into the air 4 times! Or mix both of those together with "Low Gravity" at the same time, giving you the power to mix and match endless amounts of mutators into any game you set up. And hundreds more will be available form the internet, as well as being able to create your own with the provided editor.

As with the original game, Unreal Tournament 2003 ships with "UnrealEd", the exact same game editor that the Developers themselves use to create their own maps, gametypes, and mutators. The easy to use program will allow anybody to be making new levels in no time using their new "prefab" system, allowing you to drop pre-made items directly into your maps, there is no limit to the editor stopping you from creating maps that surpas the quality even of the developer made maps! The original UT had this editor and the custom content available to download from the internet means that after 4 years, there are still thousands of maps available to download and play form the internet as well as Mods, modifications to the game created by players for the players that forever increase its value.

Unreal Tournament 2003 will undoubtedly be Game of the Year once again, it is just that good. Anyone who loves FPS games should consider buying this, any one who loved UT shouldn't have need to read this far to realise they should be buying it right now!