Unreal

Unreal is completely different from all the other fps's out there. There is a since of ongoing life on the huge, breathtakingly beautiful levels. Fish swim in the ponds, lakes and rivers. Bugs buzz about and birds fly around. Various kinds of animals can be found through most of the levels. There's plenty of action and challenge to be found in this epic undertaking. At the time of it's release, Unreal was the pinnacle of technology and still stand head and shoulders above most of the rest.

Announced way back in 1994, Unreal was promised to revolutionize first-person shooters with a memorable, story-driven single-player campaign and incredible graphics. But with the release date constantly being delayed, we didn't know if Unreal would ever come out, or if it would actually be a great game when it came out. Fortunately, Unreal proves that great things happen to those who wait.

While Unreal doesn't really do anything new to the genre, what makes it so special is its execution of familiar first-person shooter elements. For instance, you don't find secret areas by finding hidden cracks in the wall or whatever -- your allies will open up secret areas if you're smart enough to keep them alive. The level designs are straightforward but very interesting and well designed, which keeps the player immersed into the game without worrying about frustrating keycard hunts which were standard in first-person shooters at the time. The weapons are also awesome. You'll start out with a "dispersion pistol" that has a recharging ammo supply, finding other familiar weapons like a pistol, chaingun (the Stinger), shotgun (Flak Cannon), and plasma gun, as well as truly unique weapons like the ASMD Shock Rifle, Eightball Rocket Launcher (which charges up multiple rockets if you hold down the fire button), Biosludge Gun (which shoots out powerful green blobs at your enemies), and a sniper rifle. Most importantly, they all have primary and alt-fire attacks that are really satisfying to carry out. You can also use a translator to read alien messages that reveal parts of the storyline, which also keeps the game interesting throughout.

Of course, the gameplay won't be all that Unreal has to offer -- the graphics are simply the best for its time, with incredible environmental detail and relatively high-polygon graphics for the time. The audio is also great, with memorable sound effects that make for an immersive atmosphere, as well as catchy music.

All in all, Unreal shows its four years of development with a game that's arguably better than Doom and Quake ever were. Two thumbs way up!

Unreal's visuals were unmatched at the time. The music was insanely, umbelievably amazing and stunning visuals combined with the music, good sounds and well designed levels made for an amazing and highly atmospheric experience that is still unmatched today. The only thing is that the game was more of a tour through a very beautiful place rather than a tense, fluid and fast paced action game that it was supposed to be. It is thus nothing like Half-life, the Quake series or anything else if you want a real shoot em up. Unreal was comparatively primitive on the weapons and enemies front but it was a unique experience that could'nt be missed.

Unreal was an absolute masterpiece! I've always enjoyed LAN gaming, and this game ran so perfectly over the network. Going through each level in co-op mode with my twin sister was so fun that we did it twice! And that's saying something, because we get bored of stuff really quickly. Yes, the single-player levels were great, from quaint and peaceful to exciting and high-tech. Besides the gorgeous single player levels, the multi-player section of the game was so delightfully complete! Many levels, all with the option of bots, and team play. It was a pity there was only one "darkmatch" level. After single player was finished, endless death-matches kept us both busy for hours and hours! This was what made Unreal 2 so horribly disappointing - possibly the best aspect of Unreal - co-op and death match - were missing from its insipid sequel.

Your a prisoner on a transport ship heading to a prison moon. But the transport ship crashes on a unknown planet. The game starts out in a way that will leave you stunned. You wander the dark corridors of the Vortex Rikers. Suddenly, the door behind you slams shut, trapping you in the confined space. Great, you think to yourself...another cell. But then you realize the blast door is not completely closed; a small gap, maybe five inches, is visible between the door and the grimy metal floor. You crouch, and try in vain to peer into the darkened room. Then, suddenly, human voices cry out in panic and terror. An inhuman, almost animalistic growl meets their screams, and the next thing you hear are the sounds of a brutal life-or-death struggle between man and mystery. You can hear the gunshots and the cursing of the hapless crew members as they realize their lives are about to end; you can see the muzzle flashes of weapons being fired. Yet you have no idea what the hell is going on just a few feet away. Then, the door opens, and your eyes catch a shadowy green form -- tail? scales? -- skittering away from the horrific scene before you. Bodies, blood...everywhere. Welcome to your nightmare. Welcome to Unreal.

Many instances of this gritty atmosphere are evident throughout unreal. The whole story is told in a unique way through diaries that were left behind. Then there is the nali alien race which are the peaceful natives of the planet. Who are being slaughtered and subjugated by the brutal Skaarj aliens. Video game are know to trigger shock, fear and rage. All of which Unreal does throughout the game. But never have I experienced SADNESS. which is the only way I can describe my reaction to the brutal killing...murder..of a defenseless Nali by a psychotic Skaarj. The poor guy was just trying to show me a Dispersion Pistol power up. Did he have to die for it? Unreal was one of those games which had so much effort put into it and it shows. The Single player element of Unreal died however, with the release of Unreal Tournament. Which without a doubt the best multiplayer FPS ever. The original Unreal still has a strong fanbase going for it.

Go pick up unreal. It's only $9.99(Unreal Gold which also includes the expansion pack Return to Na Pali). It can be run now on almost any computer since it is quite old. It's graphics won't look as stunning as today's games do. But this awesome game came out in 1998! Unreal was no doubt one of the greatest games of all time.