🚀 go-pugleaf

> And ya know - Unreal is still one of the finest games conceived and
> executed

    Agree.  The ambience/music (this must be singled out as magnificent);
the astounding level design (not all of course, but the initial exit from
the prison ship to the planet surface is the most amazing sequence in the
history of gaming -- one review likened it to entering a new era, bringing
gaming into the light -- along with levels such as the first skaarj
encounter, or the darkened mothership level;  the funky and unique weapons,
which were ruined in UT (imho).

 - I still enjoy going back and running through some sp missions,
> the expansion pack, and mulitplayer online.  It may not have the visual
> impact it once possessed but the combination of creatures, weapons,
> objectives, sounds and music, all combine to make it a kickass game even 6
> years after it's arrival.
>
> FeldrewCo30

    I disagree about the visual impact.  I recall running U1 on a K7-700 +
voodoo3, with the latest patch, at 1280x1024 full detail, and simply being
amazed at the visual quality *with glass-smooth gameplay*.  This is hard to
pull off in recent games.

    Unreal2 had a similar feel to it, with the superb mirror effects from
U1, and long outdoors vistas.  Unfortunately U2 had the same problems of
very few AI opponents, zero environmental interaction, a sparse world with
few npcs.

You feel very much alone in Unreal games, which worked in U1, but falls
short in U2.  Sweeney et al need to add someone to the team who will work on
gameplay flow and story, and add richness to the package.  The engine is
fine, they need to apply themselves in these other areas.

rms