Graphics

Models Inc.

One of the biggest problems with the original Unreal was the lack of good character models. They were bug eyed, disproportional, and just outright awkward looking. The development team for Unreal Tournament has clearly done their homework in this department and produced some good looking models for UT, that certainly look more human. Model animations are fluid and seamless, making for a truly immersive gaming experience. While running and side stepping, characters do not suffer from "ice skating" syndrome as was the case in shooters of previous generations. Character reaction to damage is nicely done as well; dying to a plasma shaft or minigun is a violent shaking of your torso, just as you'd see in a movie. To top it off, Epic thoughtfully included a good range of different skins and faces to customize your character's look. These skins and faces range from human to robotic to zombie-like.

Dance!

Not so sexy

One size fits all?

There were a couple of things that disappointed us in the models department. First off, Epic only included humanoid models (male and female) with an Olympian physique. It might be a bit nitpicky, but the "story" behind Unreal Tournament is that it's an intergalactic gladiator competition. Surely there are some non-humanoid life forms somewhere out there! At least a wider range of body types might have provided more variety. And while we're nitpicking we'd also like to note that the characters tend to hold their weapons in one hand as they run. This seems a little bit hokey to us, given the massive size and supposed power of all these guns. From what we can tell, it was done to make running animation look more natural but if a few more animations were included, it shouldn't have been too much of a stretch to see characters running around with weapons cradled in both arms like you'd expect.

He's got my flag!

Who's that in my base?

Thumbs up

On the whole, Unreal Tournament is a visually stunning game. The backdrops on some of the maps are utterly gorgeous, most notably the enormous textures on the CTF map "Facing Worlds." We could stare forever at the Earth and asteroids in the midst of a starry space backdrop. The snowfall outside of Ice Station Zeto is so believable, it's almost distracting, while the moving backdrop of the spaceship level "Hyperblast" has to be seen to be believed. The tessellation system works seamlessly, with characters providing an extraordinary amount of detail up close. Combine all that with muzzle flashes and weapon effects lighting up the many dark and shadowy maps, and it's easy to see why many players can get entranced by UT's gripping, visceral beauty.

Combo Shock Rifle attack for you

Wow - that's pretty!

How many people own a red light bulb?

On the downside, Unreal Tournament makes gratuitous use of colored lighting. In fact, most of the levels are just dull hues of gray, with the only splashes of color provided by that cliché of 3D games, colored lights. The brooding, industrial look gets a little too much emphasis - we would have preferred to see more natural white lighting, with varied colors applied directly to the textures instead.