Unreal 2 - First Impressions

[j.lu]

i want to preface this by saying that i made the mistake of playing this on a computer that is slightly below the recommended requirements put forth by the game.

the game opens beautifully, with a cutscene which leads you to your ship. you hop on board and travel to your first mission, during which you are briefed and introduced to other members on board. things do drag on a bit, so luckily you can just walk away from them and continue on, hehe.

after what seems like a ton of load time, you land on the planet, the location of your first misison. *beautiful* stuff going on here. head down the stairs and into the building, and well i don't want to give any of the plot away, so i won't describe what's actually happening.

i will say that in order to have proper gameplay (once the first mission began), i had to dumb down my res to 16bit 640x480 in order to kill *anything* at all. also, load times are a HUGE factor.

those of you with a fully equipped rig are going to enjoy this game alot, but if you don't have at *least* the recommended sys requirements (P1.2GHz, 256MB RAM, GeForce 3 or equivalent), then you will definitely be disappointed. it's a resource hog.

anyway, i'm really looking forward to trying it at home on a better computer and adding more to this review.

loins

[j.lu]

ok i'm back after playing on a real computer.

i don't think i can even put into words how impressed i am. the weapons are fantastic, and the skaarj are horribly amazing. try disintegrating one of those blue aliens and watch blue muck fly everywhere. your jaw will drop. shoot an FRG into an oxygen tank and look at the fire. seeing the skaarj block your bullets with their wolverine style claws, dodge away from a grenade, and then come in for the kill is SICK.

the first battle you get into is a beautiful sight to see... with blue lasers flying about everywhere. those blue lasers look particularly great when you're outside, constrasting the greens-browns of the landscape.

a couple words of warning: 1) save as soon as you start the first mission. the intros are painfully long. 2) be prepared to walk slow. the "run" in this game is slower than unreal tournament.

wow!!! overall, i can honestly say that i love it. everyone in the office was crowding around, oohing and ahhing. also, for all of you UT2K3 haters, the gameplay does not feel as bouncy and cartoony as its multiplayer counterpart. have fun!!

loins

[Cobra]

J.lu can you play whit bots?.

[UltraJounin]

ITS OUT?!?!?!?!?!?

[Squirrelinabox]

cobra it is a single player game only.

[j.lu]

as SIAB said, no there are no bots, it's a single player game.

it's not quite out yet.. it comes out on tuesday. i work at a video game company, and things can be a little incestuous like that sometimes.

loins

[Cobra]

Ok thank's. I didn't know. When Will it be avalable in Canada?.

[StealthDP]

The game is quite impressive.


Or so I ...urm... hear....:rolleyes:

[Scourgem]

Thanks for the info j.lu - now I am even more psyched. :D

[Inkswitch]

With all due respect......

Are you guys on DE's payroll?

This game is a very pretty POS. The AI is actually just the same stupid computer opponents with their aim at 100%. Also, the game is only about 5-7 hours total to finish. That is just unnacceptable for a full priced game. It becomes clear that the reason there is no demo out is that DE would have had to put 1/3 of the content of the whole game to make a decent demo. DE is obviously more worried about leasing their new engine than making good games.

Oh well.......back to Battlefield 1942.

[SK TastesLike KFC]

I haven't felt like playing any video game for quite some time now.

This one (I heard) is extermely engaging and might well suck someone in for 5 hours on the first go-round.






SKTLKFC:moon:

[j.lu]

well i haven't given my post weekend review yet.

i'm not the type of gamer that will go through a game in 5-7 hours. more about pecking away at it in numerous small intervals. and after playing for a while, i was admittedly a little bit bored. but i also wonder if that's because i'm not a huge fan of single player games. anyway, i'm sure others can express their opinions on this game's replay value.

[Kindness]

Excerpted from the "The Final Word" section of the Gamespy Review (http://gamespy.com/reviews/january03/unreal2pc/)
If you're looking for about 10 hours of mindless entertainment, you'll certainly have some fun with Unreal II before tossing it on the shelf. ... Ouch.

[_F7_]

Well I finished the game so here's my impressions:

Gameplay: Typical FPS really...shoot kill and shoot kill some more. There were a few missions that were really good where you had to set up a defensive perimeter using "defensive" weapons (Rocket Turrets, Gun Turrets, and Force Field barriers). That part was very cool.

Story: I have to give the story big kudos. It was pretty engaging and I couldn't wait to end a mission to find out what was happening next. The characters were very well done and without spoling the ending; you realize you've developed concern for them.

Graphics: Top notch. Effects were very cool. Graphic quality was awesome (I ran the game with all effects ON and set to their highest setting: I received no video lag at all).

Ran on:
AMD Athlon XP 2000+
512MB RAM
ATA 133 hard drive
nVidia GeForce4 ti 4600 128MB

[UltraJounin]

AND NOW FOR MY PROFESSIONAL REVIEW!

I just got it and Im impressed by everything except:
-the game speed
-DALTON is a slowpoke
-dodging sux
-and where is the asmd? :)

[Fnix.USA]

So this game is like walking on UT? So it will take you twice as long to finish the game?

I have it but have'nt had time to play it.

[MalOSB]

Originally posted by Inkswitch
With all due respect......

Are you guys on DE's payroll?

This game is a very pretty POS. The AI is actually just the same stupid computer opponents with their aim at 100%. Also, the game is only about 5-7 hours total to finish. That is just unnacceptable for a full priced game. It becomes clear that the reason there is no demo out is that DE would have had to put 1/3 of the content of the whole game to make a decent demo. DE is obviously more worried about leasing their new engine than making good games.

Oh well.......back to Battlefield 1942.

Err WTF are you ON? Even if we WHERE on DE's payrole it would make F*** all difference because the game is made by LEGEND?

I get my copy tomorrow so i'll reserve judgement until then. PcZone(uk) gave it 94%... They don't give out many 90+ in a year so it can't be as bad as you make it out... And they comented on the AI being brilliant.....

Oh and the game Engine is Epic's not DE's...

DE = Unreal, Unreal Tournament, UT2003 and Unreal Championship

Legend = Wheel of Time, Unreal2

Epic = all ect Wheel of time (i think) They work with both DE and Legend

[UltraJounin]

Originally posted by Fnix.USA
So this game is like walking on UT? So it will take you twice as long to finish the game?

I have it but have'nt had time to play it.


Feels like its slower than UT walk :rolleyes:

[kill-9]

I just posted a link with cheats. It should help increase Marshall's speed.

If you didn't see my post here is the link
http://www.playground.ru/cheats/1129/

[UltraJounin]

Originally posted by kill-9
I just posted a link with cheats. It should help increase Marshall's speed.

If you didn't see my post here is the link
http://www.playground.ru/cheats/1129/

GJ Kill-9 :rockon:

[Fnix.USA]

I leave teh hax out!

Teh hax = 4 teh n00b

[UltraJounin]

anybody else tried these... i cant get em to work:confused: :dunno:

[MalOSB]

I played the game for a day now and my first impresstions are that it very impressive. The graphics rulz natrully but also the sound on my 6.1 setup is awesome as is the music... Gameplay is fun and the Hell levels are brilliant. It has probelems... i found a HOM in the hell levels which is below standards :P

Yes the running speed is slow but you are wearing huge armour!
And yes this will end up on my shelf in a couple of days... but it'll be down again in a couple of months because this is the easiest single player game to modefy and update. I can see loads of neat maps and modes on the horizon :D

I think Legend did a good job. It could have been so much worse and yes it could have been so much better.

Mal

[Inkswitch]

Originally posted by MalOSB
Err WTF are you ON? Even if we WHERE on DE's payrole it would make F*** all difference because the game is made by LEGEND?

I get my copy tomorrow so i'll reserve judgement until then. PcZone(uk) gave it 94%... They don't give out many 90+ in a year so it can't be as bad as you make it out... And they comented on the AI being brilliant.....

Oh and the game Engine is Epic's not DE's...

DE = Unreal, Unreal Tournament, UT2003 and Unreal Championship

Legend = Wheel of Time, Unreal2

Epic = all ect Wheel of time (i think) They work with both DE and Legend

Well, just about every game by a big publishing house gets 90% in it's ratings. That is just the way it is and has been in gaming for years. And, I haven't seen anyone rate it that high. Even the most liberal reviewers are giving it 74-80.

The game looks great. If all you are interested in is looks, this game is for you. If you are interested in gameplay, get Battlefield 1942.

Oh, DE, Epic, Ingogrames, whatever. Maybe if one house could concentrate on one game, the games would be better. UT2k3 and U2 pretty much suck. Pretty games with no gameplay value.
I buy games because they are fun, not pretty.

[HortonsWho]

Originally posted by Inkswitch

I buy games because they are fun, not pretty.


Same goes for prostitutes...


:p



Yeah... ElectricHead has been telling tales out of school. ;)

[Turkish]

I too also purchase games that are fun. It takes alot of effort to get me to get me to purchase a game vs downloading an illegal copy.

[MalOSB]

Originally posted by Inkswitch
The game looks great. If all you are interested in is looks, this game is for you. If you are interested in gameplay, get Battlefield 1942.
[/B]

Good comparison.. If you want graphics go buy this Single Player game... If you want gameplay go buy this Online game (which did not get over 90% in PC Zone because its off line play sucks). :D Nice one ;)

I'm sorry your not impressed by the game... i really am. I'm quite enjoying the game for the GAMEPLAY at the moment the graphics and sound are a bonus :)

Mal

[Fnix.USA]

Im on 3rd-4th mission, and its tightwork all the way.

[Angel_Mapper]

Ok, time for the Ångel Mapper nitpick report. I'm sure you guys have just been waiting for this. :rolleyes:

1) That's it? I just installed this game last night. I'm done. Wow. The first Unreal took longer than this.

2) It sure is purty. Talking with one of the crew members I realized that as he walked tiny puffs of smoke were trailing from his cigarette. In the mission toward the beginning where you have to find some lost marines (not Blito's fault this time), the lightning and thunder had to have been the most impressive effect I have seen in any game. Late at night with the sound turned way up, it can sure scare the hell out of you the first time. :eek: And that spider jumping into my face and knocking me off that pipe almost made me fall out of my chair. On the opposite end of the purty scale, it also had the most disgusting things I have ever seen in a game, particularly the living planet with the hair sticking out and the crap that those pods shoot at you. :blah:

3) Where's the plot? :dunno: Not really that engaging beyond the moment. I could have covered the entire plot of this game with two specific episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and saved myself 8 hours. Pretty blah, but it did have some funny moments: "We're going to Hell. At least Aida told me to go to Hell."

4) How did they miss those obvious level design errors in beta testing? This rock on the trail in the dam level can be walked right into:

http://angelmapper.com/Unreal2Problem2.jpg

And dear Jebus if this isn't the worst mistake I've ever found in a game, and one that I don't know how anyone could have missed. Am I supposed to be able to lift-jump through a solid elevator roof to my death?

http://angelmapper.com/Unreal2Problem1.jpg

Overall, I consider this nothing more than a mod, it doesn't deserve to be called a full game.

[Fnix.USA]

It's more like Jedi Knight 2 than Unreal 1.

I mean, wheres the old unique go in the caves and get blown to hell world? Where are the Nali, Nali Villages and ancient theme plot?

This game as Angel said is more of a MOD. Well it's pretty true.

Think of it as "Operation Na Pali", for UT2003. But I find the game uniquely entreiging.

[C.H.U.D.]

Originally posted by Fnix.USA
But I find the game uniquely entreiging.

Well that settles it for me. I'm saving my $50. lol

C.H.U.D.

[Dman]

I just purchased the game today , Didn"t have time to play it but the graphics are top notch . I took a quick look , played about 5 min.

[Fnix.USA]

Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
Well that settles it for me. I'm saving my $50. lol

C.H.U.D.

Hey listen buddy! That big word I spelled means it's good, so go buy it! You can get it for $20 at BestBuy.

[~PsY~]

I dont think it will be here very soon. :(

[Fnix.USA]

Gimme your adress and I send it to you then PsY. :D

[[S]uper[D]ank]

Well PEPE bought the game and I installed it... cause he's PC was out...

im on LEVEL 8... and i have a **** load of screen shots i will post once i finsh the game!..

the game rocks!... play alone at night and you will jump off you chair!.


I love the Queen spider how she blows air and all the litlle spiders... and i like how the big spiders launch at you! getting air shots of the spiders!...

the Nali in the Elevator was cool!

i like the game!...

Im stuck on level 8 where i have to go underground... i might have to re-start that level so i can have agood health!....

cant wait to finish the dam game!


l8ts!

[Inkswitch]

Originally posted by [S]uper[D]ank
cant wait to finish the dam game!l8ts!

You won't have to wait long.;)

[ThirtyTwo]

everything about this game rocks. its fun and very engaging. but when the credits came up at the end iwas like what the ****. it didn't even take a day. i wouldn't have been bothered if it was less dosh though.
still, i can't wait for the mods and new maps to start coming.

[Turkish]

I beat the game several days ago in "Hard" difficulty level and it still seemed pretty easy.

The last gun is the best.

I like the spider cannon but it's absolutly useless.

Rail gun sucks. Rockets still own and the 2nd fire on the assault rifle owns all. If you aim it at the enemy' s legs they will fall down and you could keep smackin'em around with the primary fire.

All in all the weapons are neat. No shock-rifle but the shock-lance is pretty good after the limiter is taken off. But the shock-lance is only good against mechanical and robotic creatures, it'll also destroy someone's shield with one good placed secondary fire.

Sniper rifle in the game zoom's like you were on someone's back from 1-click away. 1 to 2 shots and it'll drop a normal skaarj.

Flamethrower is neat but the secondary fire just doesn't seem that neat. They should have made it shoot out a fireball or something.

Shotgun is awesome. secondary fire owns at close range. only having 8 bullets sucks :\

"Grace" is neat but you never get enough ammo for it.

Other then that the story was pretty good. The voices were damn good. especially that one level where the "Jerk-ass" keeps raggin on you and you start to get mad :P

last point.... having no dodge feature sucks ass but a well placed jump will usually avoid unnecessary harm.

[CJHobbes]

Originally posted by Fnix.USA
Hey listen buddy! That big word I spelled means it's good, so go buy it! You can get it for $20 at BestBuy.

$20 at Best Buy already? Didn't it just come out?

If so, damn...that price dropped faster than Daikatana.....and we all know how that game turned out ;).

[IHopeToGod]

I'm hearing mixed reactions about the game. General concensus is that it has good to great graphics but it's a short game :D . Also it seems that if you are a long time gamer and are used to games with diverging plot lines or open ended gameplay then you may be disappointed. However if you are relatively new to single player games then you will really like it. It's not the next Half-Life unfortunately, but then again very few games will ever achieve that status.

It also seems that not having multiplayer has hurt it in the reviews that it has been receiving since it is a short game. I bet if it had multiplayer, review sites would be giving it scores of 85 -90. When it comes to first person shooters it seems that multiplayer is becoming a standard, and could save an average game like Soldier of Fortune 2 from negative reviews.

I will reserve my judgement of the game until I do a serious upgrade :eek:

[FragginFool]

I PLAYED THE GAME FOR ABOUT A HALF HOUR LAST NIGHT AND I THOUGHT IT WAS REAL PRETTY AND ALL THAT STUFF.... THE GAME PLAY IS ALITTLE SLOW FOR MY TASTE AND I DO MISS THE HUMAN ELEMENT OF ONLINE MULTIPLAYER ACTION....DAM THOSE BLUE MONKEYS ARE GREAT SHOTS!!!!...... MOST PEEPS SEEM TO WORRY ABOUT HOW SHORT THE GAME IS, BUT IM SURE THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE MISSION PACKS ON THE DRAWING BOARD JUST LIKE WITH THE ORIGINAL UNREAL........AT THE CURRENT RATE OF MY GAMEPLAY I`LL BE DONE WITH THE GAME IN NOTHING FLAT. LAST BUT NOT LEAST...IS AIDA A BABE OR WHAT?:rockon:

[~PsY~]

Si teh short?! WTF? How short si it?

[Dman]

The games awesome. A little short , but thats okay .Right now theres nothing out there that impresses me more , and you have to expect mission packs for the game .

[Dman]

short

[kill-9]

I had the game 3 whole days before the release and I still haven't finished it yet. Maybe I didn't find it as addictive as most. I play it about 1hour everyday right now i'm at the part where you get the sixth relic and have to fight the aliens. Impressive graphics? Yes but not something I want to play for hours on end. Max Payne now that game was addictive. This one is OK.

I take everything in moderation except Jack and cokes.

[Dman]

I know the game story line gets boring after so many plays , but you have to look down the road to the possibilties this game holds . Theres gonna be mission packs and what not . Don"t give up on it to soon .

[Turkish]

Yes the game is short. From start to finish.

3 Days play time. Now you have to realize that this is on Hard Difficulty.

It took me 6 days to beat Hitman2 on Hard.

13 days to beat N.O.L.F2 on Hard.

WarCraft3 took 3 weeks on Hard.

The game is short. But I look forward to the expansions.

[~PsY~]

I can't get past the Big Spider. I flamed him like 22 times, and I was only hit 3 times till I died.

I don't use cheats like all of you others here.

[Angel_Mapper]

Originally posted by ~PsY~
I don't use cheats like all of you others here. Them's fightin' words. Don't accuse people of using cheats like that. I know I didn't.

[~PsY~]

HTF did you finish it so fast angel? You never play UT, so how did you get through it so fast?

EASY or God? :p

[HortonsWho]

Originally posted by ~PsY~

I don't use cheats like all of you others here.

:rolleyes:

[FragginFool]

Most of us seem to cheat only because you cant play worth a f@ck!!!!.....Button up an go play a nice quite game of solitaire!:moon:

[Dr_Death]

Hi

I guess this is my first post :)

I've been playing Unreal 2 and really love it. I've been reading on various forums people's comments about either loving or hating it, trouble people have had in playing it etc.

Thankfully the game has run smoothly on my comp, 1.2ghz, 256 mb ram and Geforce 4 card and it's played really well. Visually for me it's a stunning game and I like the storyline that draws me into the game. I agree with Angel Mapper the mission towards the begining with the lightening is impressive. Playing it late at night in the darkness and the sound turned up made me jump quite a few times. The spider mission on Hell freaked me out, I hate spiders at the best of times so I was just obliterating them all. And like Dman says there is nothing out there at the moment that impresses me more. So at the moment I'm playing both U2 and UT2K3.

[Dman]

Couldn"t agree with you more Dr Death .

[Squirrelinabox]

The game is taking me forever to beat... well... probably because I can't force myself to play it again right now. I played probably about an hour of it and it really.... really... sucked.

I think the weapons were the worst part of the game, but the enemies were pretty awful as well. I also actually got stuck in some parts of some levels and had to restart the level because there was no way out. I didn't go looking for bugs in the map, I was just playing, going where I thought I was supposed to go, and once in awhile I would fall into a spot I couldnt' jump out of.

Anyway, I will probably end up going back to it just to say I finished it, but it is pretty damn awful, and if it is as short as everyone says... then I really am damn happy I didn't pay for the game.

[muscat]

Too Short

Need a better cinematic, punching scenes, etc.

The first levels ( first 1 to 3 hrs ) are not really interresting to play. (but the graphics are nice and the weapons are well done)

After 3hrs, some weapons are very interresting and some levels impressive but the suspence, punch not really well done.

Legend need a good director (experienced movie director)

[Cobra]

From what that I have read I'am not buying that game NO WAY.

[~PsY~]

The "Dam" Mission is very beutiful with the stunning scenery. Probably one of the more famous levels.

The Mission is "Pure Briliance"...

[jperson]

My favorite thing about Unreal2 was the sheer attention to detail. Every single reflection has a unique shader and cubemap. Some techniques like near-terrain and far-terrain are intriguing, not to mention fantastic sunset/sunrise settings and spooky atmospheres. My favorite level is a forest at nighttime. It was very very encompassing.

Anyone seen ol' abe lincoln yet?

[[x_X]]

ive been playing the game on and off for a few weeks now. i did not particularly enjoy the first couple of missions against the spidercreatures although the forest mission with the marines was awesome.

fighting against humans and autoturrets/cannons was much more challenging and fun.

damn the sniper rifle rocks. wish i had one of those in UT or 2003!

isaak's modified weapons acquired through the game make for more interesting play. the altfire rocketlauncher with lock-on is particularly useful and fun. the incendiary, toxic, and emp grenades are very effective as well.

im disappointed about the "incident" holding off the skaarj during the rescue attempt. mission failed??? is it possible *not* to fail a mission? 7 artifacts, and still working on the game.

[Spiff]

Isaak's weapons are interesting, but that spider gun? how often did anyone use that? Never? thats what i thought

[BluJay]

Originally posted by ~PsY~
The "Dam" Mission is very beutiful with the stunning scenery. Probably one of the more famous levels.

The Mission is "Pure Briliance"...

You like the dam mission? Sweet... :D

[Gui]

I didn't read everything but I've just finished it and I think this game roxxorz!

Time to sleep now... :loopy:

[X-Terminator]

The "Unreal 2" demo is now available, and I am currently in the queue for download at FilePlanet.

It'll take a while, but hopefully it'll be worth it! ;)

[X-Terminator]

Well, I've just played that demo. Although not the full game (obviously), my first impressions are very good. Action, gameplay, a bit of humour, and the graphics are brilliant!

Makes the first "Unreal" (whose graphics are still mildly impressive even today) look like "Doom" in comparison.

I found only two minor problems:

1) When typing in the cheats, (well yeah I had to try! :D ) indeed they worked, but the screen showed no confirmation message. So for example, I typed in the God Mode cheat, but saw no message saying "God Mode on" (or similar). Instead I had to test it for myself, running the risk of blowing myself up with a point-blank Grenade Launcher shot! (Oh yeah, and the cheat to get all the weapons doesn't work in the demo! :p )

2) The first time I played it through, it constantly kept minimizing on me, and I had to constantly keep clicking on my taskbar to bring it back up again. Turns out that it was the AutoHide on my Microsoft Office Bar that was interfering with it. I switched AutoHide off, and had no further problems.

The game is definitely something that I'll be getting a hold of. I might have to wait a while (it'll be cheaper! ;) ) but I look forward to the full experience! :)