Unreal Tournament: Web Wombat: Games

Adding to this very negative mindset was the fact that we'd be using controllers, not an optical mouse and IR keyboard. But the task was set - and play the game we did.

At first, my biggest problem was - surprise, surprise - learning to use the control pad. It's frustrating when you can't turn quick enough, or you forgot how to jump, or use secondary fire, for instance. But, as much as it hurt to use the dual shock 2 for such a prestigious title, things sweetened up nicely after an hour or so of game time.

After completing, nay, dominating the majority of the deathmatch stages, one might say I was having fragtastic time.

Perhaps the game will become a huge rental hit, because if you've already played the PC version, there's very little to get excited about here. That's not to say that this gore-fest isn't a cool game - in fact it's one of the coolest on file. There are a few PS2-exclusive levels, but they're not worth writing home about.

Multiplayer is plenty of fun, whether just two-players or four. The games can be tarted up with the inclusion of bots, too. These AI controlled players make two-player games immeasurably intense, until you start losing and happen to throw your controller in a sink full of dirty dishes. Shame on me…

On top of using the control pads, you can actually use a USB mouse and keyboard. We didn't get to try this feature out, so we won't comment on it.

The same weapons as were present in the PC version have made the trek to the PS2. These include, but are not limited to, the Ripper; Rocket launcher, Biorifle and my pet wep, the Redeemer. This little baby fires off a miniature plutonium warhead causing incalculable damage.

Now to the crunch - how does the PS2 version of this title hold up to the PC version? Quite well, actually. All the blood is still in there, as the head shots and monster kills. The game moves at 30fps, which is pretty good. 60 would have been nicer, but there's only so many polygons you can texture and then can cram into 32Mb RAM.

The levels contain a good amount of detail and there's no clipping in sight but the game does have a tendency to get a little choppy when more than half-a-dozen combatants decide to engage in close-quarters folly. The sound is actually really good, with crisp speech (I love the taunts) plus the music isn't too bad, either.

With more game modes than Vanilla Ice has bad hair days, the game is guaranteed a long shelf-life. Even the single-player stuff will take the best part of a week to finish.

With team, deathmatch, capture the flag and assault game types, combined with over 50 maps and 12 weapons, boredom is not something one normally associates with this calibre of game. If you never had the chance to try this game on the PC, then get it now - it really is a must-have. As for those who have played the game before, it might be worth renting first.

Game: Unreal Tournament
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1-4
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Infogrames
Distributor: Gamenation

Rating: 80%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

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