Unreal II by another name would be a much better option.

User Rating: 7.5 | Unreal II: The Awakening PC
Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 10
Sounds: 7
Value: 6
Tilt: 8

Since its debut back in 1998 with Unreal, I was totally amazed of my feet with this technological marvel. Ever since, it has placed a special place in my heart and then always looking forward to Unreal’s newest games. UT1999 was an absolute blast as it was a fast paced no-nonsense multiplayer FPS action and UT2003 equally same. So when I heard the news about Unreal II as a single player game I really couldn’t contain myself.

I normally don’t buy games at full price as my PC generally couldn’t take any newer games at high settings however basing on for what I have seen and/or read, I purchased Unreal II at full Australian price. The games promised the same fast-paced action with a great story, ‘conversational trees’ and of course, mind bending graphics.

Well, to my surprise, the game was not what I have anticipated. The game was a lot slower, did have a good story (not a great one however the ending is quite good), conversational trees was more like clicking on all the available options (as there is no reward principal of selecting the right line of conversation) however true to their word it remained that beautiful eye-candy graphics.

Unreal II did not follow the storyline of Unreal at all. I was expecting Kralls and Nalis yet nothing was mentioned. Only the Skaarj made the appearance and it was a pretty lame excuse of why they were there in the first place. In spite of this corporations like the Liandri and Axon were mentioned which gave the game some ties to the original.

This is not to say that the game is overall meager. The developers should have prepared this game under a different title other than Unreal (or even stated from the creators of Unreal…). Looking at another way; I found this game enjoyable not knowing if there were any ties to the original Unreal at all. The game play was a lot slower; that’s not a bad thing but linking to Unreal, it is. There was no mention of Na Pali either; again not a bad thing however linking to Unreal, it is. Then again, the Skaarjs are known to be nomadic and continuing to spread terror (as they do).

On the surface, Unreal II does feel like the run-of-the-mill FPS. Enter, grab the item or person and leave whilst blasting away anything that moves. However the game went one-step further as there are missions that requires defending an onslaught of attackers. You have the opportunity to order your men to defend certain location/s and involves you placing turrets and force shields. This requires more than just blasting away as there are quite a number of different entry points. You can say a limited RTS game play. This places a refreshing way to tackle your enemies besides that shoot-first, ask questions later as you feel that you are part of a larger playing field.

Still good to their word, the graphics for Unreal II is unbeatable. Stunning backdrops, first-rate lighting and smooth frame rates gives the new Unreal engine two-thumbs up. You really didn’t need a beefy PC to run this game in its fullest glory as the engine is fully optimised. Considering the story involves ‘planet-hopping’, I feel that this was primarily designed to boast their engine for future outsourcing. All the planets are quite unique in the flora and fauna as it ranges from forestry to dying, bleak ones to futuristic ‘extraterrestrial’ types. Even the space backdrops are actually pictures from NASA. – a nice touch indeed. This goes to show the versatility of the new Unreal Engine and what it’s capable of.

It will be a hard case to beat when it comes to sounds. The original Unreal boasts some excellent tracks therefore well suited for the adventure at hand. Unreal II used a different approach (like the game play style) therefore orchestral scores are replaced instead. These scores make the game feel more like a cinematic movie and well suited. The voice acting was indeed on par as well coupled with limited emotions. This was a definite mark up from the original Unreal as there was no voice acting (other than the expansion pack which was limited). On the other hand, the weapons sounded a little feeble and needed a little more vigor. General sound effects like creatures squawking, lightning storms and even the bleeps from the computers are reasonable.

As far a FPS goes, this game is quite short. There are twelve levels in all and won’t take longer than one hour to complete each level. There is very little replay value (other than the obvious difficulty settings) however those ‘defensive missions’ are worth another shot so you can employ different tactics. Basing on the normal settings the game is not too hard to beat if you use the correct weapon at the appropriate time. However using the incorrect weapon can be quite punishing indeed (e.g. using a toxic grenade on robotics is not a good idea however using EMP instead will short-circuit them).

There is no multiplayer to speak off as stating the obvious that is what Unreal Tournament 2003 is designed for. However due to the public dissatisfaction there was another release of Unreal II called Unreal II XMP, which is a free add-on that consisted eight maps, three vehicles and three character classes. I haven’t really touched on this multiplayer experience yet however for what I have heard and read, it’s actually a blast to play.

Unreal II by another name would be a much better option. I feel that the main cause of the mediocre public attention was (like me) expecting Unreal II to be like the previous Unreal (or UT1999) – fast-paced action with Nalis. However when playing this game it was a totally different experience. The game itself presented that cinematic feel and did produce an engrossing story. The developers tried to encourage interactive with other characters instead of that shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later feel. I thought this was a good approach to this genre however it fell just a little short of being from a good game to a great game. It’s worth playing for the experience (and to add to this, I did quite like the ending) however don't expect anything 'Unreal'.