Name: Unreal II: The Awakening
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Legend Entertainment
Media: 3 CDs
HD Installation: 2.16 gigs
Official Ad: Yes
Dirt Cheap Price: Free! Buddy of mine, from the UK, sent it over to me.
Unreal II was played on a Pentium M, 1.6Ghz machine under Windows XP MCE 2005 with a 64 meg ATI Radeon Mobility X300(PCI-E) card and 1.25 gigs of ram. It was running with all options turned to their highest settings and at a screen resolution of 1280X800. The game was played through on the "Normal" difficulty level.
Patches?
Yes, one.		 Just for kicks, let me present the recommended system requirements:

Retail v1403 patch - Size: 4.1 megs

 Windows 98/2000/Me/XP, Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 733Mhz(1.2Ghz or higher recommended), 256 MB RAM(384 MB RAM or greater recommended), 3 GB Free Hard Disk Space, 8X CD-Rom Drive, 32 MB(nVidia GeForce2 MX) Windows 98/2000/Me/XP and DirectX 8.1 compatible video card(64 MB nVidia GeForce3/ATI Radeon 8500 or better recommended), Windows 98/2000/Me/XP compatible sound card(Sound Blaster Audigy series sound cards recommended), DirectX version 8.1 or higher, 33.6kbps or faster modem(Cable/DSL recommended)
After receiving a distress call from the planet "Sanctuary", the crew of the Starship Atlantis move in to assist. What they find is an alien artifact of significant power, which makes them a target of quite a few hostile forces. Now, in a race against their enemies, the crew must find the remaining pieces of the weapon before it's too late...

What's it all about?
Like the first game, it's a first person shooter....but this time around, things are more focused on the storyline and the action, rather than heaps of level exploration. Playing as John Dalton, a Marshal for the TAC(Terran Colonial Authority), you'll make your way through levels by accomplishing a number of ever growing objectives. The single player game is really story-based, with each part playing out in the levels themselves, and then heavily onboard the Atlantis. Past their own issues and feelings(that you can get down to, to flush out the story a bit more), they'll tell you where you're doing, what weapons you're taking and then they'll send you on your way.

A damn dirty dead Skarrj!
At certain points in the game you'll actually be asked to create a perimeter and hold it for a set amount of time, you'll even get to command a few NPC marines as well. This gives the game a slight bit of strategy, and a nice break from the constant barrage of orders coming down the pipe from Aida. The game's weaponry is just interesting as fuck. Though the human weapons are all pretty standard, their alternate firing methods are pretty hip...but even so, the alien weapons are just so beyond-cool, it's hard to believe at first(I'll leave it at that). Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of "bosses" present in the game, and most levels seem to end with you fighting off a hoard of well armed enemies...

Graphics - Excellent. The graphics have been seriously beefed up since the first game, yet they still retain the lush environments that made the original such a sight to behold. All of the Earth-like environments have a very high level of definition, and alien planets sport of a lot of special effects like organic surfaces that look wet, gooey or just right out shiny. Everything is very convincing, and makes for a constant barrage of eye candy. Character models, especially their textures, are also really impressive with the amount of detail they were able to cram in there. I'm telling you, whether it's one of the marines looking at you, or being face to face with a Skarrj warrior, it'll send a chill down your spine!
Sound - Great. The soundtrack presents a lot of Unreal-ish tunes that will definitely remind you a lot of Unreal Tournament and Unreal: Gold(which is always a good thing). Sounds effects are crisp, and environmental effects are plenty; both help with the game's overall atmosphere. Voice acting is performed very well by the various players, but it's especially well done in the way they handled Ne'Ban and the way he doesn't really understand the English language.
A lot of the in-game chatter is pretty funny, with Dalton constantly mouthing off to anyone in his way(I actually laughed out loud quite a few times). About the only weak point to the sound would be the way Dalton says some of his lines...they seem kind of off for some of the conversations, but you can get past it pretty easily though.
Control - Everything is alright once you get past how amazingly slow your character moves. I can't believe it sometimes, it's almost like you're moving in slow motion. To add to it, hitting shift to walk...it’s almost like you’re creeping on your stomach. Past that, like I said, the control is fine. The signature Unreal "dodge" move is present(can even be fine tuned) and everything else comes off without a hitch.
AI - Unfortunately they tried to make the AI more along the lines of something you'd see while playing online(you know, spastic movements and constant jumping) rather than the more life-like AI we saw back in Unreal: Gold. It doesn't seem to matter much, most of your weapons make enemy encounters go by real quick anyway. One major gripe I've got, and I don't know that it would have to do with the AI or just the game's overall balance, but the damage scale, at times, is just unbelievably unbalanced. Some enemies can't seem to land a hit, and when they do it doesn't seem to do much...but others will kill your ass in two or three taps. It can get to be real, real annoying at times.
Replay value - Moderate to low. The game definitely has quite a few memorable scenes, things you will remember(the spiders in the lab, the fight with the marines in the forest, protecting the ship from the Liandri Angels, etc)...but I don't know that they are enough to keep bringing one back time and time again. I can see going through it one more time at some point down the line, but that'd be about it. As for multiplayer, there is the "XMP" multiplayer addition(free for those who own the game, or it's just included if you buy the Special Edition version)...but looking at how slow the characters moves, and with the fact that UT, UT 2003 and now UT 2004 are out, I just can't see even bothering with this...
Getting it to run - Easy. Just run through the three CD installer, patch it and you're done. If you bought the Special Edition version of the game, with the XMP multiplayer mod pre-installed, I don't think you need the patch at all. If you're version is identified by "Unreal v2001" then you've got the most recent update. Oh, the game requires that the CD be in the drive, so slap that mother in there before you start up.
Tips for better gaming experiences:
Your Combat Assault Rifle's alternate fire will, most times, knock people down. Once that happens, keep pounding them as they can’t move until they get up.

Incendiary grenades will kill almost anything in *one* hit...just be sure to back WAY up before using them as they'll set your ass on fire as well.
How I spent the first three hours of the game...
When holding off the enemy while the radar is being raised on the final Polaris stage, jump on the roof. From there you can see all the entrances, and the enemies will, oddly, almost always just shoot at you while your automated canons and NPCs take them out.

During the fight with final artifact's guardian, break out the Lance(you know, that "worthless" piece of shit from the first level). That thing will fuck it up, and fast!

The Takkra, in Defensive Mode, is amazing. It will shoot down any projectile that can be shot down. Break these out anytime you get some...and don't even think about wasting them with the Offensive Mode.

If you need further help, be sure to check out Dr. Explodo's Unreal 2 In-Depth FAQ and Walkthrough over at GameFAQs or GameSpot's Unreal II Game Guide.


Still Supported?
Yes. You can receive support for the game at the Atari Unreal II support page.
My rating: 78(out of 100) - A decent, and welcome, addition to the Unreal series. Great graphics, a hip soundtrack, interesting storyline and some bad-ass weaponry really make for a fun, and memorable experience. Unfortunately, certain things like the unbelievably slow speed your character runs at, the unbalanced damage scale and the goofy AI also make this an experience you're only likely to want to go through once...
Computer Gaming World gave it: 4 stars(out of 5)

Aida's Opinion: As if Dalton wasn't enough, now I have ya'll following me around the ship all day? Another thing, why am I not in any other Unreal game? My hot ass deserve attention! How about a prequel based on my time in the Strider Wars...come on Epic!
Ah, the smell of burning arachnid...nothing quite like it.
Whooping some Skarrj-ass with the marines.
The lush scenery of Unreal II...
In the heart of Drakk-land.
Fun Stuff on the CD:
Nothing...just the game's manual in PDF form, which gets installed on your HD anyway. To help make up for the lack of extras, I made up a few wallpapers of various scenes from the game. Available in 1280X800(widescreen) and 1024X640, you can download them here.

Hey boss...
Single first, Multi second:
While the game was in development, Legend stated that there would be no multiplayer game included, that UT 2003 would essentially be performing that task. A year after the game's release, Legend changed their mind and created the XMP(Extended Multiplayer) pack. For more info on what it's all about, check out the Unreal II: XMP Preview over at Beyond Unreal or just download the add-on over at the Unofficial Unreal II XMP website.