Unreal Tournament 2003

Okay, so you've got some time to kill and you're looking for a deep, well-polished, methodical wargame that simulates futuristic combat at the tactical level. Boy did you come to the wrong place! Let's get it straight, Unreal Tournament 2003 isn't about in-depth planning, resource harvesting, or carefully managing your logistics trail. It's about in-your-face bloody combat, with a lightning fast pace, set in fantastic environments. The learning curve couldn't be simpler. You simply run around the maps blasting anything that walks, crawls, or moves unless, of course, it's wearing the same colors that you are. If you're new to 1st person shooter games, or you've recently been released from a maximum security prison, then you may not know what Unreal Tournament 2003 is all about. It's the sequel to the incredibly popular Unreal Tournament, which was itself a sequel to the original Unreal. "What's a 1st person shooter" you ask? A 1st person game is a game in which you control the actions of a single character. You control their movements and actions, and you view the world through their eyes from the individual perspective.

Unreal Tournament 2003 differs from other 1st person shooter titles in that it is primarily geared toward the online multiplayer community. Just as in Unreal Tournament the game can be played one level at a time against a series of computer controlled opponents - or "bots" for short - of increasing skill and difficulty. The bots are fairly well polished and with a little practice they will have you ready for prime time in no time. Or something like that... On the more difficult settings, the bots can easily defeat all but the most skilled human opponents.

Aside from some tweaking and polishing, gameplay remains basically the same as Unreal Tournament or Quake Team Arena. The game doesn't really include any truly new or innovative games modes, but all the old classics are here and offer enough variety to keep the enjoyment level up for quite a while. These include standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, double domination and bombing run. Double domination is merely a refined version of Unreal Tournament's domination mode in which teams must control two control points for a short period of time in order to score. Bombing run is the only new combat mode in UT2003. In this mode players grab a "ball" and attempt to carry it to the enemy team's goal in order to score. This mode requires some teamwork because the character carrying the ball can't fire weapons, making things a tad more interesting.

It would have been nice to see the developers take the time to offer some really new gameplay modes or more original content, but apparently they thought it was better to stick with polishing and refining existing ideas. In this respect UT2003 isn't really revolutionary, but evolutionary. The game does allow characters to jump and dodge much more realistically than earlier 1st person shooters. Against an opponent who is skilled at maneuvering with these new features you will find it much more difficult to put the lead where it needs to be.

The weapons in UT2003 seem to be a bit less potent than in the original. Characters will often survive a fairly well placed rocket or energy blast, but the gameplay is still fast and furious. On the smaller maps projectiles and explosions are everywhere with characters being blown to bits left and right. A word of caution here: UT2003 has a fairly intense gore level that may not be appropriate for younger players. It's fairly common to see players cut in half or have an arm or leg blown off. There is plenty of blood to go along with these animations. If you object to this kind of violence or are squeamish, you've been warned.
Multiplayer

After the initial setup, which was stable and painless on my system, the first thing I did was take UT2003 for a spin on the internet. Connecting to a muliplayer game couldn't be much easier. The game automatically detected all of my computer's settings and brought up a list of all the UT2003 servers currently available. Information about what game modes and maps these servers are running as well as information on how many players are currently on that server is displayed in a easy to read and user-friendly muliplayer page. If you're looking for a specific type of game or simply don't want to see servers running in certain game modes, you can alter the list by clicking on a few simple filter options.

I was up and running on a server with several other players within about 5 minutes of installing the game. Muliplayer stability and framerate were excellent on my DSL connection. I experienced no stuttering or lag whatsoever.

This is one area that UT2003 really shines in. There are a fairly large number of maps included with the game, including maps specifically designed for the various specialized game modes. These are not merely recycled versions of the same maps used in standard deathmatch, but completely new maps that were created with a eye toward enhancing the fun level for that game mode. The environments are both varied, and beautiful. You will find yourself in everything from a space station in orbit around a planet, to lush tropical jungle-type maps set in low gravity. Level design is superb with some truly breathtaking views from the top of skyscrapers to a medieval castle surrounded by hot lava flows.

The realism factor has been turned up a notch as well in UT2003 with an advanced physics model. When characters are killed or slammed by a powerful weapon or explosion they no longer just crumple and fall flat with an unrealistic set animation. The physics model in UT2003 a causes the game to "feel" quite different than Unreal Tournament or Quake. If characters are killed at the top of a staircase they will roll and tumble down to the bottom step. The overall effect is fairly convincing and adds to the flavor of the game.

Sound effects in the game are good, but not great. Most of the weapons sound fairly decent, but most seem to lack a really satisfying "whomp." The background music is hit and miss. Sometimes it is rousing and fast paced, and other times you hardly even notice it. Overall, the sound effects are good, but they don't break any new ground.
Graphics

No review of UT2003 would be complete without mentioning the superior graphics. It seems that almost every new game that comes out nowadays has pretty good graphics, but UT2003 significantly outdoes the competition in this department. For starters, character animations are far superior to other titles and sport a much higher level of detail. You can choose to play as both male or female in a variety of cool models such as robotic androids to creepy space aliens. A few of the models are a bit on the boring side, but there are plenty of good ones to choose from as well.

In in-game graphics are head and shoulders above any other game of its type right now. Textures are crisp and clear and there are plenty of little special effects and eye candy to keep the levels interesting. Explosions and weapon effects are pretty spectacular also.