Oldies But Goldies: Unreal Tournament

Boy is this a good one folks! Unreal Tournament games are a peculiar series. They started as a mod for quake, until they shifted into what basically was a showcase of what every new rendition of the Unreal Engine could do. But even so, with fast paced combat, mature themes, gratuitous ultraviolence and some rather interesting and fun modes to lay waste to your enemies, the popularity of the series only grew. But as the games stopped being released regularly, I feel that a spotlight needs to shine to this great series of games.

This is a weird subject. The premise of the Unreal Tournament was that due to the increase of violence in a Dystopian future, corporations created a technology called "respawners" which would, you guessed it, allow people that died to respawn. Shortly after, they created the Unreal Tournament, an ultra violent sport/reality show, which would give an outlet for all the pent up aggression of the masses. Bread and Games, the roman style folks!

The story then takes a turn and it presents us with a number of wars (between humans and an alien race called Scaarj), a tale of vengeance, and generally speaking any scenario that would involve the player going off the rails and blowing -everything- up. Is the story great? Nope! Is it entertaining? Yes! Does it leave enough for the imagination to fill in, for those with the inclination to do so? Absolutely! I found myself creating random scenarios in my head as I queued up mission after mission

Gameplay wise, the game stays true to its arcade quake roots. Fast paced, with a vast array of interesting and unique looking weapons to choose from, it is simple, fast and easy to learn/hard to master. The only thing of note that is worth saying, is that the game separates itself from the herd by its unique and diverse play styles. My personal favorites: Capture The Flag, Assault and off course Onslaught

This is a rather interesting part of the game to say the least. The voice acting is properly cheesy, with all the hardcore 80's action lines, like "kiss my ass" and "you be dead" and all that jazz, but the music is an entirely different type of monster. The music is usually interesting, with a solid mix of electronic and fast paced guitars, but as the series advanced, more and more complex soundtracks were added, making the music all the more appealing. The sound effects are well made, to the spot and enhance the gameplay.