Unreal

I just finished this game and it was a truly unreal experience! It's especially amazing considering that it came out '98.

The AI is very intelligent considering the age of the game, the enemies dodge your shots and are often hard to hit.

The 10 weapons you get are all very original and all have two different shooting modes. You also get several different items like jump boots, temporary invisibility, etc.

The story is simply great and the graphics are the most beautiful I have ever seen in a FPS game.

There are 38 levels in total. All well designed and very original.

This game gets my highest recommendations!

Despite numerous shortcomings, I maintain that Unreal is the most beautiful FPS ever made. By combining exotic locales with a mesmeric soundtrack, this game feels very much like a vacation rather than the frantic danger and shooting you see in all other FPSs. Yeah, you do have the usual bunch of monsters and weapons (which are kinda impotent and crappy in this game and that was a major shortcoming) but combat is really not that common or frantic and you'll find yourself saying OOh and AAAh at the environments and levels more often. It isn't just the graphics but also the very creative and intelligent level design that makes this game so good looking and hypnotic.

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!

This is a great first person shooter, with good textures and one of the best maps ever made. This Unreal game had to fight against the Quake II game.

If i go back to 1998, when this title was released, i would give it a 8 out of 10. You can now play Unreal Tournament, and soon Unreal II.

Cappella..

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.