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Taking
place after the first Tournament, the victors Malcolm, Brock and Lauren
return to take on the next challenge. This time, they are pitted against
new races, new fighters and new environments. This is pretty much a complete
u-turn from the story and mood of the first Tournament, with each of the
characters having specific reasons for joining up and all out to take down
the evil Liandri corporation. Here, it's focused more on getting the point
across that this is futuristic-deathmatch game show of some sort, and you
are nothing but a contestant in it. Takes the mood of the game down a notch,
and away from the dark, almost sadistic theme of the first Tournament. What's it all about? Well, a lot like the original....you are there to kill any and everything that moves, most times. With six different modes of play, everything is a variant on that same basic idea: Double Domination(also known as Domination 2.0) adds alpha/beta markers that you and your teammates must defend in order to score. Capture the Flag is...well, exactly that, attack your enemies base, steal their flag and return home to score. The completely new Bombing Run moves even further away from Deathmatch by not only adding goals...but an actual ball you must run/shoot through them in order to score points for your team. Finally, in Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch you kill anything that's not A) You or B) Your teammates...past that, anything that moves is fair game... |
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Sound - Excellent use of 5.1 sound!!! This is one of those games that actually uses the two side speakers for music as well as sound effects, and that just rocks. The 5.1 mix is so good that it actually helps you identify where bullets, lighting beams, rockets, etc. are coming from, and adds a real sense of being directly in the middle of the action. The soundtrack, though not nearly as memorable as the rocking Unreal Tournament soundtrack(which, btw, can be downloaded, free of charge, check the DC UT review for more on that) it's still quite good with a great mix of techno and guitar, and that Unreal-style flair. | ||||||||||||||||||
Control - As the game allows for *full* controller re-configuration(any action can be assigned to any input), no matter how you like to play(dual analog, old school "Turok" style, etc) it can be done, and easily. Once you've got it the way you like it, control is ultra smooth with all actions being performed instantly: Double jumps, dodging, activation of the Adrenaline power-ups, etc. come off without a hitch. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Online Play - Finding an online game is simple, as you use the already familiar Live menu consisting of Optimatch, QuickMatch, Create Match, etc. From there you determine what the best server to join will be based on game type, number of players and speed(ping). The only real downside to the online game is the fact that you can't kick players off your server when you are hosting. You can mute players though, and that helps....but with this being the kind of game that people come and go so quickly, just running into a few punk-ass kids in a row will really get to you at times. Also, occasionally, you will run into lag. Yes, I know, how is that possible when it's a network of broadband-only users? I don't know, but it will show its ugly face from time to time. | ||||||||||||||||||
1. Inferno: An absolutely huge level. I think it's, around, three to four SUPER HIGH stories tall; it's unreal. You're basically in some sort of castle floating above all this lava, the sky is made of fire and there are constant screams and such playing along with the music(which I believe is new, but could be wrong). The textures are gorgeous, and the skulls spitting lava will floor you; this level reminded me a lot of the stuff you'd see in Quake 3 or something.
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Tips
for better gaming experiences: Picking the right character is so fucking-very important in how you do during the game. Be sure to give everyone a good look-over, noting what weapon they start out with, their speed, affinity, etc. Barely any of the servers have Competition mode turned on(making it more like UT, where every character is pretty much the same, no specialties at all) so screwing up and picking a crap character that doesn't suit your play style will make this game so much harder than it should be. BTW, just a quick note: A LOT of people find the Juggernauts to be extremely cheap(as they not only *start* with the fucking rocket launcher, but also have the best armor in the game), so if you're going to choose one get ready to be teamed up on, a lot. Also, if you're new to Unreal Championship, try the damn tutorial. Believe it or not, it's really quite helpful for those who are just starting out or are used to UT but new to UC. In the tutorial a *lot* of stuff that the manual just leaves out(btw, that is one of the most piece of shit manuals I have *ever* read) is revealed including the uses of adrenaline and procedures for activating it. Tired of switching the map everytime you play offline with a buddy or buddies? Don't want to play certain maps, want to customize which maps, which order and what other variables...and have it stick for the entire duration of play? Luckily enough, you can trick the Xbox into thinking you're going to host a System Link game. To do this you must have your Xbox connected to your router or DSL modem(or another Xbox). After you do this, System Link will appear above Play Live(note, System Link will NOT appear unless you have the Xbox hooked up to a modem, router or another Xbox). Choose System Link, then choose Host Game. Once you've got that setup, choose your game mode, maps, settings and mutators then start the game. You and a buddy can now play for as long as you want, never having to choose a new map after every match has ended. The Xbox will immediately being to cycle the maps for you, just as it would if you were the host online. |
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My rating: 90(out of 100) - An awesome, no holds barred deathfest that will rock you to the core! Excellent graphics, control and sound add to the amazing experience....and the vast amount of content will have you playing for a very long time. Points are deducted for the inconsistent AI, and its inability to help you out in your single player campaign or provide a consistent challenge online. | ||||||||||||||||||
...and finally... |
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HD
Usage(for the obsessive-compulsive in you): |
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UC
screenshots were borrowed from the excellent Unreal
Championship.com and Xbox.com |
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