Unreal 2

Unreal 2

Immediately following the Unreal Championship showing, we settled in for more Unreal action with Legend Entertainment's Unreal 2. Unreal 2 is being labeled the "proper sequel" to the best selling Unreal (I suppose that would make UT the "bastard spawn" of Unreal…). U2 is set in the same universe as Unreal, but follows the exploits of a new hero. A lawman in a new sector of space, our lead character is in charge of keeping order on a variety of colonized planets. Everything is well and good until six battling alien races (including the signature enemies from Unreal, the Skaarj) appear, seemingly out of nowhere, right in our fearless hero's lap. Cruising the sector in his ship, the "Atlantis," it is our hero's duty to bring order to his sector, once again.

Sparks

Burn baby burn

Legend was quick to point out that U2 would be a much less linear ordeal than the original Unreal. U2 will have 13 "chapters" taking place on a variety of different alien planets in the area. Each level would have a variety of different objectives, ranging from the traditional "find the key, open the door" formula, to more elaborate missions, such as commanding a team of NPCs (as many as eight) as they defend an outpost from alien attack.

Visuals

Graphically, the new Unreal engine is quite a sweet piece of code. Everything in the game world is rendered in true 3D: from each blade of grass in the expansive outdoor levels, to the little bumps on the ceilings and walls in the Aliens-like indoor labyrinths. No more alpha blended textures here. A brand new skeletal animation system allows character models to react in a variety of different ways. When you walk by one of your team mates he will move his entire body to track your movements, from the torso, to shoulders, to head and even the eyes. The new particle system can be used for a variety of special effects, including rain, smoke, waterfalls, and sparks from weapons blasts.

Aida	Fetching, isn't she?

Weapons

Of course, being a shooter, U2 will have plenty of weapons to play with, ranging from the more traditional FPS staples (assault rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers) to more exotic toys (most based on alien technologies). The flame-thrower in particular had a nice animation, with billowing bluish white flames that fried alien enemies to a crisp with ease.

Dynamic conversations

One of the other interesting new features that will play a prominent part in the gameplay is the addition of an "advanced conversation system." Normally when players initiate a conversation with another character, it switches to a cut scene, plays out whatever bit of story was scripted, and then dumps the character back into the game world after its done its thing. U2 will give players much more freedom in their interactions, including a variety of responses to choose from and the option to break off a conversation midway through. Of course doing so has an effect on the course of future encounters, as characters will remember these events, possibly bringing up these rude and abrupt ends to past talks. This new ability should help player become further immersed in the character and story development in U2.

Asteroid land

Remember me?

Finally, U2 will ship with the usual suite of multiplayer modes, including death match, team death match, CTF, king of the hill, and domination. The Legend guys only showed us one map (a low gravity space CTF map set in the middle of an asteroid field, complete with burning sun overhead) but assured us they would be committed to providing a strong multiplayer experience, in addition to the 25+ single player levels.