Unreal
          (ACTION)
                                      
                                      
    Over three years ago, Epic MegaGames, a small, successful shareware
    developer that published cute platform games and pinball titles, made
    public two test screenshots from a new 3D game engine aimed at
    outdoing the titans of games. While id Software busied themselves making
    another game about a rocket launcher-toting, alien fragging marine, Epic
    had loftier aspirations. Although most details were kept under wraps,
    it was known the title would make full use of MMX, a forthcoming
    technology that promised to unleash incredible computing power. In an
    era when the term "3D accelerator" was not part of the basic vocabulary
    for gamers, this news and the screenshots stirred intense interest among
    the gaming community, and a large, loyal fellowship formed around a
    first-person shooter no one had seen.
                                      
    Time passed, and id Software published its game. Not only that, the
    company developed and published a more advanced sequel. All the while,
    Epic languished behind a number of false starts, including its
    technological investment in the over-hyped MMX. Designers joined the
    team, worked for months, then left, with all their work being
    discarded. Major release dates were missed, and fevered discontent
    rose among the online community. To satiate the hungering masses, Epic
    released an endless parade of screenshots and movies, intent on
    showing a game was in development and looking great.
                                      
    Yet no one was convinced. Despite enthusiastic press previews, people
    were certain the game would loiter behind the times. Epic was making
    grand promises of mind-bending advances in artificial intelligence, a
    sharp, unbroken game world filled with purpose, and graphics to die
    for. They were attempting the impractical, and no one could see it
    happening.
                                      
    More time passed, and finally , the game was at last completed and
    released in one fell swoop. The timing could not have been better. Our
    watering at the mouth over the recent id Software offering had dried
    up, and we were parched for something new, something forward-looking.
    Not only was the game worth the wait, each moment of the extended
    development cycle is on the screen. Epic has created a stunning title,
    and released the right engine at the right time.
                                      
    Despite its lengthy development, or perhaps because of it, the game is
    on the cutting edge of technology. Yet it is more than beautiful
    visuals; the programmers have created a well-engineered, comprehensive
    engine that features robust physics, powerful networking abilities,
    potent artificial intelligence, impressive scripting, and a
    smooth-as-silk interface. The design team responded in tandem,
    creating a game world that pierces our imaginations with fresh,
    invigorating experiences. Clarke also said, "Any sufficiently advanced
    technology is indistinguishable from magic," and Epic has proven him
    right. Beneath the polished veneer of back-breaking computer code is a
    brilliant game that alters your perception of what is possible with
    the first-person genre. Unreal points enthusiastically ahead, and
    there is no looking back.
                                      
    A powerful and disorienting taste of the new world occurs in the first
    moments of the game. You awaken, a dazed prisoner aboard a transport
    starship that has made an unscheduled crash landing on an alien
    planet. It seems the planet is rich with Tarydium, a valuable
    electro-magnetic power source that muddles up starship navigational
    systems. As fate would have it, you are not the only intelligent life
    form to have collided with this innocuous sphere; rather, a savage and
    unrelenting race known as the Skaarj has also made it home, enslaving
    the peaceful native population and stripping the planet of its
    resources. This clever concept thrusts your scumbag persona from one
    prison into another and provides a simple purpose -- survive the alien
    onslaught that follows your arrival and escape the planet. Of course,
    survival is imminent because you do not have a gun.
                                      
    In this manner, the game forces you to proceed with care and absorb
    your unfamiliar surroundings. The attention to detail is stunning:
    Lights blink and flash with unsettling disorder; screams of the
    tortured echo down dark, foreboding halls; and busted equipment hisses
    with malcontent. There is no doubt you are in the bowels of a forsaken
    starship. The gritty, industrial graphics, somber lighting, and
    frightening sounds evoke a powerful sense of "atmosfear," a term
    coined by Adrenaline Vault writer Jordan Thomas. This well-fashioned
    ambiance permeates the entire game, and is augmented by a powerful
    scripting system the designers use to control the mood throughout.

    Despite all the hype and hoopla generated by the game before it was
    released it has not displeased the loyal followers for whom Epic's word
    on Unreal was law. It is certainly a game to have for everyone, if not
    the gameplay, atleast for the visually stunning graphics.