Unreal II: The Awakening Review

First-person shooters by nature take a long time to evolve. After Doom came thousands of crappy clones that all did the same thing until Quake came along and shook them up. Next was Half-Life, arguably Medal of Honor and that’s it. Practically, every FPS will have some sections in the game, which are practically identical to the original Doom only with better graphics.

Perhaps, the only game to really attempt something truly different was Deus Ex, although it has to be said that this wasn’t exactly an action packed game from start to finish. No game has ever given the same feeling of fear, tension and at certain times sheer panic that Doom has. Remember what it was like the first few times you played Doom and you’ll realise that quite simply in gameplay terms nothing has come close since.

In multiplayer terms we’re doing rather well with UT2003, Quake 3 and of course Counter-Strike. However, whilst these are all top games that are great fun to play a multiplayer game can never re-create the feeling of being totally immersed in a story and the world that a single-player game gives you.

It’s rather rare these days for a developer to focus solely on the single-player aspects of a game without having any sort of a multiplayer mode yet that’s exactly what Legend Entertainment has done with the goal of creating the best single-player game yet. However, is being the best good enough anymore?

There’s no doubting the quality of Unreal 2. Imagine the best bits from all your favourite shooters all rolled into one game with an interesting plot to boot. However, it doesn’t really do anything that new and so it has to be said that the game isn’t as revolutionary as we were hoping it would be.

This is perhaps not Unreal 2’s fault as the genre as a whole has been stagnant for years, yet whilst Unreal 2 does try to introduce new gameplay features it still plays rather like the original Unreal did only with better graphics. From a money perspective you can understand the thinking behind this as the Unreal series has a fan base that it needs to ensure isn’t alienated by any huge changes in gameplay.

However, like we said, whilst it’s not a revolution, it is a damn fine game. Naturally, the gorgeous graphics help, but what’s also surprising is the variety to the gameplay, coupled with interesting characters and a plot that drives the game forwards rather than the other way around.

You play John Denton an ex-marine who now works as a security guard and your opening mission sees you investigating a mining facility on a planet which has had it’s communications cut off. As soon as you reach the planet’s surface you realise something’s wrong. It could be the weird noises you keep hearing from the undergrowth, but it’s more likely to be the dead bodies broken and scattered around the surface. The opening level is great, and there are some genuinely unsettling moments. Wait until you get to the lift and you’ll know what we mean.

The Skaarj from the first game are back and they look better than ever. However, whilst they undoubtedly look amazing, you only get to see them for a matter of seconds before either you are they are killed. The enemies in the game are also rather too easy to defeat meaning that they’ve normally dropped dead to the floor before you’ve had chance to take a good look at them.

A plus point for the game is the way in which it gets better the further you get into it. If you like the opening levels wait until you get onto the final couple of missions, which will blow your mind. The second level is a nice idea that unfortunately isn’t implemented as well as it could have been. It sees you joining forces with some marines stranded on the planet, and together you have to fight off the enemies of aliens whilst you wait for your ship to come and pick you up. It sounds great, but unfortunately, you the player can get away with doing very little, as the AI of your allies is rather good meaning that they take care of most the aliens leaving you twiddling your thumbs.

Perhaps the best of the early levels is when the game reverts to its Doom roots and serves up a manic level full of giant (Eight Legged Freaks style) spiders and provides you with your first moments with the flamethrower. It’s pure remove brains before playing stuff, but it’s great fun and the relentless pace doesn’t let up throughout the entire level. Dozens of spiders varying from small critters to towering arachnids scuttle towards you, jumping and biting not letting up until you’ve burnt them to pieces with your flamethrower. True, it’s a very old-skool level, but you’ll be having too much fun to notice a minor detail like this.

The gameplay has numerous varieties though, and another top level sees your ship landing on an alien planet to make repairs, meaning you have to set up defences and protect the ship and its crew from the alien forces who’ve tracked you down and found your hiding place. These levels add almost a strategy feel to the game as you’re given turrets and force shields to set up to help your defences and obviously the positions you choose for these resources affect how hard or easy you find the level.

Later levels take this idea even further and allow you control over your marine allies. It’s very basic, and is limited to telling said marines which door or entrance to cover, but then it doesn’t need to be any more complicated than this, and it’s another nice gameplay feature.

However, whilst these levels are undoubtedly manic and hectic, the speed of the game varies, particularly when you return to your ship after a mission. This part of the game allows you to chill out and take your time exploring the ship and getting to further your understanding of the game’s plot by talking to the other characters who inhabit your ship.

This opportunity to actually ask questions of your ship-mates proves to add a level of depth to the game which you don’t expect to find in this genre, and it’s all the better for it. Ok, so the characters aren’t exactly Shakespearian, but it’s a step in the right direction for the genre.

It also makes a change to play as a character that you actually quite like instead of a bland, face-less, Arnie-style hard-ass. At least the character of John Denton seems real, and you actually get to see what he looks like in the cut-scenes so that you at least get a small feeling of playing as a real person, which all helps tie in with the overall plot of the game.

It is this plot that Legend hopes will set it apart from other similar games. Whilst, the plot is interesting and keeps you focused on the game, it feels like it could’ve been developed into a more integral part of the game. You get the feeling that Legend toned down the focus on the plot within the game in order to satisfy the band of hardcore fans that would’ve moaned like a drain, had they had to do any thinking.

The game presents you with dialogue choices, although again, these are rather basic. Whenever you talk to a character in the game, you’re presented with a couple of choices, and you can talk as much or as little as you want. It’s completely up to you whether you totally ignore everyone else in the game or chat to them about everything under the sun until you know their blood type, mother’s maiden name, and what they dress up in on a Saturday night.

Now, we haven’t mentioned the graphics yet, as everyone harks on about how gameplay is the most important feature in a game. Well, yes, but in a FPS the graphics are a pretty important part of the immersion levels you feel playing through the game.

Thankfully, as you’d expect, Unreal 2 looks better than absolutely anything else that’s preceded it. The screenshots look stunning but when you actually see the game running, you’ll feel tempted to just sit back and watch the pretty pictures, only that would be fatal. The effects of the flamethrower and smoke grenades are great, the enemies look stunning whilst the landscapes are detailed and varied.

This quality is continued with the sound and the soundtrack. Each creature has different noises allowing you to know what creatures are attacking you before you even see them. The voice acting is top-notch and the music is pounding.

Another critical part of the success of a shooter is in its weapons, and here Unreal 2 excels. The weapons range from your standard pistols and rifles to some of the most imaginative weapons yet conceived in a game of this type. We’ve already mentioned the flamethrower, the sniper rifle is vastly superior to its UT2003 counterpart, and just wait until the first time you get the spider gun. A spore of baby spiders is shot at your enemy that erupts into loads of little spiders that proceed to eat your enemies alive. Nice.

Perhaps the worst thing wit Unreal 2 and the factor that will annoy most gamers is the length of the game. It’s not going to take you more than a few days to complete, and the amount of times I died whilst playing it through on the normal difficulty could be counted on one hand. However, we’ve been harking on about quality over quantity for ages, and we’d much rather spend a few hours in the company of Unreal 2 than days playing through an inferior game.

Another problem is that Unreal 2 has taken the genre as far as it can go in its current state. There needs to be some radical thinking if the genre is to improve and until this happens the genre will stagnate. The genre needs to embrace crossover games such as GTA 3 and Black and White, which merge genres to create games with the freedom to do what you want, when you want.

Taken as it is though, Unreal 2 is easily the best shooter currently available, and any self-respecting fan should own a copy. The latter levels of the game are pure genius and it’s splendid graphics, intense action coupled with a decent plot make it the ultimate shooter.

92%

Simply the best!