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When Unreal was released back in May of 1998, it turned a lot of heads. But while the game delivered the most immersive and interesting single-player shooter for its time, the multiplayer game was very weak in comparison. The weapons never really seemed to pack a punch. The deathmatch maps were hit and miss. The performance of Internet games took months of patching before it was acceptable, but by the time that happened, most people had already moved on to bigger and better games. In contrast, Unreal Tournament goes in a new direction for the first-person shooter genre by stripping away anything that resembles a single-player adventure mode, and instead, it strictly focuses on the more popular multiplayer aspects of the genre.

Rather than spend development time working on a cohesive single-player scenario that most players will only play through once or twice, Epic Games used that same time to refine the multiplayer game. Consequently, the only single-player mode available serves as training for multiplayer matches by pitting you against computer-controlled bots. The bots have good, adjustable artificial-intelligence settings, which let you tailor the game's difficulty to your own personal skill level. On the lowest setting, anyone should be able to defeat the bots with little or no hassle, but once you bump up the difficulty, you'll have an actual challenge on your hands.

The single-player mode will also teach you the basics about each different type of game contained in Unreal Tournament. Of course, deathmatch is the old standard free-for-all battle. Capture the flag, the quintessential first-person-shooter team game, is also included. Domination is a different type of team game. Each Domination level has three control points; when you touch a control point, you claim it for your team. The longer you hold a control point, the more points your team scores. So you duke it out to see who can hold the control points the longest. Assault is yet another new team game in which one team plays offense, and the other defends a base. Each map has a different set of offensive objectives (push the button at the front of the train, destroy four computers, and so forth). If the offensive team completes its mission, the two teams switch sides, and the new offensive team must complete the same objectives in the same amount of time it took the first team to succeed.

The selection of weapons in Unreal Tournament is mostly taken from Unreal, but the weapons have all been redesigned to look and sound much better. The new weapons include the impact hammer, which is more or less a portable pneumatic piston that you can use as a last resort when the rest of your weapons are empty. The pulse gun fires small energy shots in its primary mode, but the secondary fire spits out a rail of energy that you can sweep around, like Quake's lightning gun. The redeemer is essentially a portable nuclear missile; the primary fire mode shoots it in a straight line, but the secondary mode switches to a really great-looking guided-missile view that lets you target foes from across the level. The nice thing about the game's weapons is that they seem really well balanced. There isn't a single weapon that causes you to run away in fear when you see it in your opponent's hands. The weapons may seem a little alien to players used to other first-person shooters, but once you get a feel for how each weapon operates, using them becomes second nature.

Ratings (scale of 1-10):8

Graphics: 9
Sound effects and music: 9
Originality: 7
Challenge: 7
Overall: 8

S.W.A.T. MOD
OPENING By:ThrasherX9
Ok here it is, after wating 2 hours to d/l SWAT on my 56k, which i was getting pretty good speed, 4.5 k/sec. Not bad, considering all the downloaders. Anyway, so i unzip it, and install it. Instalation was very easy, and good. So as i readied(made up my own word ) myself to play SWAT, i simply went to the SWAT options menue, and quickly and easly set my configurations. So far so good. So, i now go to a practice session where i shall test SWAT with Bots. Again, customization was very easy, picked my map an loaded up the game.

MAPS
Oh yes... THE MAPS!! one of the most important thing in a game are maps.(one of the important things) Well, the first map i played was Subway i think it was called. The map had great design and it was quite big, not to big, not to small, really however, just right in size. The textures where quite well, and i dont remmeber any real bugs in that map. Then i played Home Alone. Ah yes, reminds me of a Rogue Spear map. I think i had most fun there, however, the texturing wasnt that great and the level was rather blah-za. Either way, i did have quite a blast on that map. ONE big problem i had with one map though, was... damn cant remmber the name, its the one where the SWAT start off in a little parking lot below ground(sorta tunnel) and the hosteges are behind a big door. Anyway, when exiting the tunnel, i noticed a HUGE glitch, the whole half side of an area was warped. It looked like the cliping mode in DOOM, wierd stuff and reahter irretating, didnt help my headach that much! All in all the maps where quite good, and i qould give them a 9. MAPS: 9/10

Graphics(models ect...)
Ok, this is where to ME! SWAT hurts its most. The models to me arent really all that good. Ok, they are not that bad, but they aren't as good as some other models ive seen in other mods before.
The skins on the guns where however pretty good. I actually liked those. My favorite weapon was the one you buy before the Sniper(ok, im not that good with guns! :P) So, anyway, as i was saying. The models didnt even have shells ejecting from them when they fired, that bugs me, becuase i always though it looked so cool when you see the bullets fly out of the gun after you shot. So to me, thats another minus. The good wepaons i thought that where actually well done where the Deagle, the gun before the sniper, and the MP5, oh ya, and the M16. The others(the shotgun=UGH!(YUCK!)) didnt look as good. Ok, now one thing that REALLY needs to be beefed up in this department is the hands!!! HOLY CRAP! what the hell, i couldnt even tell what finger was what when holding the knife! They are way too blocky, they dont even look real! So for my conclusion on Graphics, i give a 7. Graphics: 7/10

SOUNDS
Now, now, i dont know what everyone is complaining about, but i thought the sounds where actually pretty cool sounding. I guess its just me, although, ive never heard any of these guns fired in real life, so, that could be one factor. I really liked the bullet sounds as they wized pased my head and all around me.(TOO COOL!) That was one of the features that i thought was pretty unique in SWAT. The player sounds are pretty much the same, expcept for stuff like "HOSTAGE DOWN!" and "Ive found the Hostages.
I really liked the Civi sounds though. How they would just spurt out something, really helps you kepp a count on how many hostages you have. Um, thats really i can do in the sounds department, so i give sounds a.... hmmm.... 9! SOUNDS: 9/10

GAMEPLAY
Ok, here comes the big one, HOW DOES THE GAMEPLAY!? Well, i though it was quite well, except for a few cons hear and there. Im going to lay out the pros and cons for this catagory.

PROS
One thing i liked was that it was sort of fast paiced, i dont know, people where complaining about this, but i liked it. It made it more intense, and exciting. well, no, im not going to do a pros vs cons thing... not my style
Anyway, one thing i thought was very weird is that it didnt seem like CS at all, or even UT for that matter. It was weird, becuase alot of people expected it to be like CS, when really it isnt. I thought it was more like rainbow 6, just more fast paiced. All in all it was pretty good, i give the game play an 8.5. GAMEPLAYE: 8.5/10

CONCLUSION
Ok, im going to make this short, the bots worked quite well except for few minor things here and there. One thing i forgot to add is i think some of the SWAT skins need to be worked on. Well, thats it, i thought it was definitly worth the d/l, and i suggest any person who like CS vs T mods. I give SWAT an 8.5. CONCLUSION: 8.5/10

NOTE:i started this at about 1:00am, then fell a sleep and im now completleting it at 10:46AM. So look out for grammer errors ect... i dont feel like reading over it.

A Strike Force REVIEW BY THRASHERX9


INTRODUCTION:
Well, being the BIG fan as I am of SF, in fact I've been with SF since the very beginning, so I'm going to make this as none biases as possible. What was a nice change is that it was only 35mb versus the before huge size of 80MB, so that's a PLUS. After D/L there was a nice installer, there was no UMOD, which is cool. IT was like installing a game. After installation i READ THE README, which some forget to do, which can be critical. So i started up SF with its cool starter, (which by the way is very important you start up STRIKE FORCE first) which SF has its own OS thing, whatever its called, it doesn't run as a normal UT mutator or mod. Which is also a plus, it has a nice little intro with some kick ass music. I set up my controls, and then selected my character that best suited me and started up one of the three maps. Also SF has its own uninstaller for those dopes who don't like SF!!

GRAPHICS:
Well my first look at SF was "WOW! these guns look amazing!!" They are one of the best models I've seen in any mod, right now i say the best real life models for any mod on UT PERIOD! The hand models and gun models look great, in both 3rd and 1st person view. When shooting the weapon, you see emptied bullets fly out the side, and the animation is great. One in particular is the Deagle which has a great firing animation, and it doesn't warp which I've seen guns do in a couple mods (which i wont name) when reloading. One thing i like is the reloading animation, best I've also seen. I love taking out a clip, then you fling it off the screen, then you slap in another clip, it all looks so sweet. The NEW inventory stations look cool as well. For graphics i give it a 9.5. GRAPHICS: 9.5/10

MAPS:
Well, well, well, part of the soul of a mod is the maps, one of the most important aspects to pay attention to. The 3 maps the come with the mod are... well, i only really liked one of them. They are all Team Death Match, no Assault here. My favorite map was SFTDM-Bad Cargo, which is an excellent map, tons of fun. Not only are the textures great, but it looks like a realistic cargo center. The gameplay in that map is great, tons of firing cover, and places to hide, and it's just the right size, not much to say other then its a great map. The other 2 i didn't care for that much, they where rather plane, and only semi fun to play. Why they took out SFTDM-Mansion i don't know, it was going to be in the SF release, but didn't, that was also a fun map to play. One good thing though, is that there are about 30 maps on the way to be D/L, so there is a TON of choices to choose from. Even though they only released 3 maps with SF to make the D/L size smaller, i still will only give maps a 5, only because i like 1 out of the 3. MAPS: 5/10

BOTS:
BOTS, ah yes, another important factor in a UT mod. The bots to me, are no better then SWATs or Infiltration's. The bots will follow orders, they do for the most part know where they are going, and do not just sit and wait for you to come. They are very much improved over the VIP release, which is good. However, they still don't use the inventory station, and the opposing team of bots usually rushes you, which can be frustrating on a small map because it doesn't give you a chance to get your gear ready. But who would want to play with bots any way!? Well, besides people with crappy connections. I give bots a 7+ 1 because they improved them :) BOTS: 8/10

SOUNDS:
Sounds aren't the most important part of a mod/TC, but help it allot. There are allot of sounds that's for sure! The Deagle sound is my favorite, this baby can pack a whollop, the best gun sound if you ask me! The other best sounds are the 2 sniper guns, which also pack a whollop. As for the auto-matics, they are good, not the best, they don't make my speakers shake, but its hard to make gun sounds. Never the less they are good, and i like them very much. NOW, SF did something unique, they made all new command sounds, you know, like in UT you press V, then Orders then Cover Me, then ALL and you get "COVER ME!", well SF made all new sounds for those, with plenty of taunts, such as "Not in My country you don't!". However, to me, i think who ever did these sounds did a poor job. He has no enthusiasm, he sounds so plan when he says some of these, i think SF should get a different voice actor! Well that's all i have to say for the sounds, i give them a.... 8.5. SOUNDS: 8.5/10

GAMEPLAY:
The dreaded gameplay, so how does the game play? Well, this really depends on what you like! For those who like fast paced Rambo on you own action, or stay with your team Rogue Spear and Tribes action, this is the game for you! This game is soooo realistic it puts other realistic mods to shame! Really, this is the most realistic mod id say... EVER! You get hit in the head you dead, your hit in the leg, you walk slower and you loose more then half your life, you fall 10 ft you loose 10 health, you get shot in the arm, it affects you aim. Running is slower, but you can double tap forward to sprint for about 8 seconds. The gameplay here requires team effort, you can't just go up against 5 guys and expect to live, you need your buddies around to have fire support ect... That's what i like! games that totally require Team Effort(that's why i loved Tribes so much, and cant wait for Tribes 2 and TF2!! YIPPEE!) Game play is a little slow paced, which it can take awhile at times to get from one place to the other. OH YA! i forgot to mention, when you lose i think its down to 50 health, you start to pant heavily, and hear your heart beat-REALLY COOL! other players can hear it too, so be careful not to give your self away. I really like the idea of picking your character, each with his own face and skills. It balances out quite well. Those that complain, are either TOTAL whiners, or it just isn't the game for them, but not every game is for everyone, not everyone liked Half-life. All in all, i give gameplay for SF a 9!!GAMEPLAY: 9.0/10

THE GOOD,
THE BAD,
AND THE UGLY:
OK, sure SF is an excellent TC But like everything else in this world it isn't perfect. There are several things i would like to get added, such as better voice acting, and bullet streams would be nice. ONE THING THOUGH that is very needed, is that you cant tell who killed you, or who you just killed, OR EVEN WHO WON THE ROUND!!! Someone needs to take care of that. Also SF has its little minor bugs here and there. Nothing major, just minor bugs, not even worth mentioning. If you liked Tribes or Rogue Spear, this is the TC to get, multiplayer is excellent, which i for got to add, but so what, GET IT NOW!!!
One more thing I'd like to add, some people where complaining about uninstalling SF(WHY YOU'D WANT TO I DONT KNOW!!), and that SF screws with the UT.ini, it doesn't, you just have to select UT from the SF starter, and everything will be fine, then you can uninstall, THATS WHY A READ ME IS IMPORTANT TO READ!!! some people....


CONCLUSION: 9.0/10

-Map Review-
Name: DM-1on1-Rose
Author: getteW
By:Nali City Review, Edited By:WarDogg
8/10
This map was excellent, lightings and textures were good, items places and bots were great as well.

This map had good frame rate but didn't look the best. Still very nice though.

The level was some sort of facility but don't know for sure. This level had it all, trust me.

Items placing was good also, good positions. Some were harder to reach but nothing serious.

Bots were very clever indeed, dodging, weapons, ammo, attacking,etc.

The lighting in this stage was satisfying enough with blinking lights, light relfections, etc.

sounds in this game wasn't too good. I don't believe they had music that's why. I love the music in UT, if only they had it...

Reviews
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1.UT
2.SWAT
3.Strike Force
4.DM-1on1-Rose

Nali City-CLICK HERE