It can happen that the name of a successful product overshadows the name of its creators. One of such cases might be Unreal, especially if we’re talking about the game engine which became so popular that a couple of generations ended up being powered by it.
Thanks to the Epic Games we have not only this engine but a series of games that were a flagship for years and decades. I believe it’s time to pay some respect and remember those times when no one thought to complain about the balance in multiplayer, when realism and classes didn’t cross the mind, when XP levels weren’t necessary and when all you needed is a couple of friends with computers who knows how to point at and shoot something.
In this three part special we will take a trip to a memory lane and visit each game in the Unreal and Unreal Tournament series. From aliens to the bloodsport of the future. From long lost and forgotten original game to the Tournaments that gave birth to the multiplayer communities and the console ports and spin-offs that tried something new. This is the Unreal series so far.
UNREAL (1998)
It all began in the year 1998. Practically a golden age for computer and console gaming. It was such a year that it was really hard to stand out, which definitely took a toll on this game. In December of 1997 Quake II came out, and that was just the beginning.
1998 is the year in which Half-Life, Baldur’s Gate, Fallout 2, Thief: The Dark Project, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, SIN, Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit, and both StarCraft and it’s expansion The Brood War came out.
It is ironic that everyone will remember the name of the engine but barely anyone would remember the game that started it. When you start playing Unreal you don’t know if it’s a horror, thriller or an action game. The beginning is probably what stands out the most.
The player wakes up on the ship in the middle of alert, runs in the midst of explosions and turbulence, passes through the mechanisms as he hears the screams of the crew in the distance. Soon he founds himself on the ground and realizes that everything on the planet tries to kill him.
As soon as he heals himself and grabs a gun, thinking “I’ll be ok now”, the ground starts shaking and a brutish big ass alien armed with not one, but two missile launchers rampages towards him all guns blazing! The player runs backward, jumps in the water with some ammo on the bottom when some swimming creatures start biting.
He gets back to the surface only to be greeted by some flying bloodsuckers. Then we realize that our character isn’t some hero or a savior but simply an intruder, a stranger in a strange land trying to survive.
Unreal is unique in that sense because it isn’t just a game filled with aliens (as is Unreal 2 for comparison) but the whole game is alien to begin with. Even if Skaarj race is evil we are not there to oppose them. Even if the peaceful Nali race awaits for messiah we can’t be that for them.
Enemies are intelligent, agile, tough and deadly. The gameplay is smooth and responsive. Level design isn’t intuitive at all but it serves the game setting perfectly and works as a huge single environment which is quite an accomplishment, even today.
The weapons are original, creative and various as they get. Never in the entire history of gaming have been more ideas and creativity in weapon arsenals than in the 90’s and Unreal is one such great example. Whether you want to shoot hot plasma, high energy pulse shots, spinning razor plates, toxic green acid, a burst of heated metal shrapnels or even 6 rockets all at once – Unreal got you covered.
No matter how overpowered all of this seems, the fact that all of it is pretty balanced and that it also works in the multiplayer perfectly is another testament that anything is possible when you want it to be.
There was an expansion for Unreal named Return to Na Pali and it gave us a better look into the story while still letting the player to freely discover everything by him or herself. It came with some new weapons, enemies and maps but it is very much still the same thing and it works as it should, as the extension to the original.
UNREAL TOURNAMENT (1999)
Just a year later, as a testament to a great but under developed multiplayer mode of the original, the Unreal Tournament was launched and the world of FPS multiplayer changed forever.
Those were entirely different times, in fact, quite the opposite as all we had were single player games with multiplayer components being optional. The thought of having a game entirely dedicated to playing against other players was mindblowing and that is one of the main reasons why Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament became so legendary.
Even to this day, there are somewhere gamers figting over which one of those two is better. Lots of fans of the each will never ever confess that their favorite is inferior. However, I for one, as a veteran gamer and game reviewer will say that Unreal Tournament wins that battle easily. Quake III Arena is a hell of a fun and has alot going for it, but in the end it simply cannot stand against the sheer content and depth in the Unreal Tournament.
Just like some metaphor the game intro takes us from dirty, decayed and dusted underground through modern yet still raw surface of the city to a colossal, filthy rich and fancy Liandri complex as we’re introduced to a story. The story is minimal and brutal but perfect for a game that has deathmatch in it.
The variety of maps is staggering. You’re battling from the underground to city surface (just like in the animation) over the factories, castles, reactors, underwater stations, space stations, space ships, high-speed trains, oil platforms, stations surrounded by ice, skyscrapers that pierce into the space, meteors in space all the way to the pirate ship, modern ships and the harbors.
There are also secret locations, traps, moving parts and even the low gravity environments. There are also teleports as well as the score screens which track the progress of the match in real-time. To spice it all up, there are options, various modes and mutators, so there is no room for mystery to what kept players so entertained over the decades.
The weapon arsenal is pretty much the perfected and expanded version of the original game to a point that it became legendary. The new additions are the Translocator, Impact Hammer, Chainsaw, Pulse Rifle and the Redeemer just in case you ever felt the need to pilot the nuclear missile.
Ironically, Unreal Tournament offered more game modes than all of his sequels to this day. The Deathmach and its team component, Capture the Flag which is the most popular team mode, underrated Domination mode as well as an Assault mode which has always been a welcome breath of fresh air. Completing various objectives in certain mission scenarios never gets old when you feel tired of the usual game modes.
It is debatable which is the best UT game as most votes would go on a term of nostalgia but when you measure the impact and playtime of all games so far I’d say that this original Unreal Tournament is still the king of the series.
UNREAL TOURNAMENT (2000)
It took long enough for Epic Games to release something Unreal on the consoles. Lucky winners were PlayStation 2 and Sega Dreamcast.
Despite having most of the same content the game stood out thanks to a little amount of exclusive maps, completely different UI and simply gorgeous artwork spread all over the loading screens, game interface and character portraits.
Some of the stuff came out in the Game of the Year edition for PC but this version of the game stays unique nevertheless, and will stay in the memory as well rounded standalone package worthy of any collection.
End of Part I
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