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The best graphics, game play, and engine to date

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: April 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Here is something I just don't understand. This game was released about 6 months after Quake II. A number of reviews I read were saying that Unreal was behind in the times and Quake II offered so much more.

LIKE WHAT? Quake II uses OpenGL, but the graphics are NOWHERE NEAR Unreal. The sky for one is 100x better in Unreal. The sound is better, the AI, the weapons, and so much more.

In fact, even though I see a 3dfx OpenGL option in Quake II, it just looks like Direct3D to me. I'm not saying Quake II sucks, but you can easily tell WAY more time was put into Unreal.

As for the requirements, you really do need a fast system to play it. The first one I started playing it on was a Pentium 233 MMX without an accelerator. It was decent, but not great. You can play it, but there was some chop. Last summer I bought a Voodoo2 card, and as soon as I plugged it in, the graphics were much better, the framerate doubled, and the game moved faster. Later I went to a Pentium II 266, then 450, but still, the Voodoo made a difference.

I DEFINITELY recommend an accelerator. The game is really good without one, but you will be amazed when you see the difference.

Reflections, lighting, water, the sky, and countless other additions. When I stepped outside the ship and saw the sky with 3dfx Glide for the first time, I serious stared at it for 15 minutes. It is UNREAL.

It is very hard to visualize the graphics without seeing them. Another thing that is difficult is to say the parts that are the best. If I said the trees, someone else might say the buildings, if I said the waterfalls, another might say the castles.

This game is very cheap now. Even if you do not have an accelerator, get the game.

There is no way to describe it, you just have to see it in action.

In my mind, it is FAR better than all the Quake games, Half-Life, Sin, Blood II, and so many others. The graphics were the main selling point, but it does offer much more than that.

Try and hit a Skaarj with a rocket! They constantly duck. You can't hit one from a distance, you have to get close to it, and they are FAST!

Some highlights:

- Waterfalls and water fountains - Underwater passages with great detail - Stand still and watch the screen; it moves a little - your breathing! - Trees and plants with amazing detail - There are twigs and such on the ground - An AMAZING multi-colored sky with 2 suns - Transparent water with plants - Detailed rocks - Very detailed indoor architecture - Candles and torches lighting rooms - Walk into a multi-colored room and look at your weapon, then turn to the sides -- the shading of the light reflects on your weapon! - In the ship, the same room where you get the armor has a mirrored floor, look down!

This game will probably take you a long time to solve. Some levels are small, some are HUGE. Just kick back and check out the scenery and listen to the sounds of the birds, water, and wind!

The name says it all: UNREAL.

Not the Breakthrough Epic Games Hoped It Would Be

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: January 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First of, let's just say Unreal could've been one of the best games released in the 90's if it wasn't for a few flaws.

First, the networking code for multiplayer gaming was disastrous. Eventhough it was somewhat fixed about 6 months later, it hurt the multiplayer community of Unreal enough that it could never really compete with the established community of iD's software's Quake and Quake II. Now, however, the network code of Unreal (thanks to recent patches) is rock solid, and the community, although small, still exists, which is more than you can say about some releases of 1998 (like SiN or Shogo).

Second, it was too much game for the hardware of the time. The game code was a bit bogged down, Unreal was said to be a resource hog, and it brought even brand-new systems to its knees at the time. When it was originally released in early summer 1998, no Riva's TNT video cards or Pentium-III chipsets had been released. The most consumers could hope for (as far as power was concerned) were 3dfx's Voodoo2 cards in Scan-line Interleave (SLI) configuration so they could keep up with the graphical demands of Unreal, which ran choppy and slow on older systems. And this particular configuration ran at well over $400 at the time, a bit much for the casual gamer. Now, of course, new "gaming" computers ship with Voodoo3's, TNT2's, or GeForce256's standard alongside a Pentium-III or an Athlon, which is more than enough power to run this game. Now everyone, even those buying $1500 PC's can enjoy stunning graphics and captivating imagery without slowdown. Hardware is not a problem. If you bought a new computer since the summer of this year, you can run Unreal, and you can run it quite well.

What about the game content itself? I will be perfectly honest when I say that Unreal, at it's time, had some of the most amazing graphics I had ever seen on a computer... ever. The first hour of the game I was mesmerized by what you encounter... Shiny floors that reflect your image, halos of light appear around spotlights, you creep through a system of vents that's completely clouded by a green fog. Then when you step outside you are in a natural utopia. You can hear the wind howl as you are in a canyon stepping out of a crashed spaceship. There's wildlife (both friendly and un-), and beautiful, rippling pools of water. Further in the game, there's more emotional encounters. In a deserted battle arena at nightime, you face down with the first boss, a creature the size of a house that you pulls up rocks from the earth and throws them at you. Throughout the game, you travel through occupied spaceships, medieval castles, ancient Aztec-themed pyramids, a village in the sky, a crater in the middle of a volcano where a demon lives, underground rivers that must be navigated by raft, and plenty of challenging, but not too-challenging puzzles to give you rest from the action.

When you are done playing the single-player mode, you can play online against other opponents, or use Unreal's unique feature of 'bots', artificially intelligent opponents controlled by the computer that fight you on multiplayer levels and act many times as a real player would.

Included with the game is the actual map editing package that Epic Games, makers of Unreal and Unreal Tournament, used to design the whole game! This means not only can you design your own deathmatch arena (complete with any props or effects you saw in the game), but that there's also hundreds of user-made maps that you can play once the game gets a bit stale.

Overall, this game is an absolute STEAL for this price (at time of review about fifteen dollars). It's fun for both the beginning and experienced gamer, and there's an option to cut-out the amount of blood shown so it's also kid friendly.

Highly recommended for gaming software under $20.00

Days of nonstop action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 10, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is one of the best I have ever seen. Although many will argue that Half-Life may be a better game, I find it annoying. There is too much story and too many things to do. Unreal, meanwhile, is a simple "shoot now, never ask questions" kind of slaughter house. But it does have a collosal story line which is revealed as the game progresses. The AI will make you sweat as you try to outmaneuver and outshoot (not to mention outrun) a horde of enemies as you fight for your life. The weapons are unique, and somewhat strange, but they suit their purpose. The enemies are many and visious. Also, note that it may take you at least a solid week to beat the game even on easy (that's assuming you are really good! ). Enjoy!

This one's going to last for a while!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 22, 1999
Author: Amazon User

With the best game engine currently in release underlying killer sound effects, great graphics, and the most evil enemy AI, Unreal is sure to stick around as one of the top games for a long time. Add to this the number of online servers and multiplayer support available for this game and you'll have a grand ol' time killing all your friends! The unsupported level editor which ships with the game can be fixed with a patch from the Unreal website and then you're making your own levels with the easiest design interface I've ever used. The game could easily benefit from some extra speech and humor (you don't hear a peep out of your own character until you die), but it's dark atmosphere and excellent surprises should have your heart pumping everytime you have to look around a corner. Whether your a die-hard gameplayer or a detail-happy level designer, this one's for you.

Coffee...food...help me

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: February 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is so addictive, I have considered giving up my job just to get to the next level. This is the first serious shoot 'em up game I've purchased, and I LOVE it. And I am a 51 year old woman,so imagine what it will do for younger folks who play it. The graphics are so good, you might get killed by some ungodly creature because you were standing around like an idiot,staring at your surroundings. Get this game. You will not be disappointed.

Ultimate Graphics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 16, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun to play just for looking at all of the scenery. I enjoy all the brilliant colors and the array of monsters to kill. This is a Quake-type game but is better in everyway except the weapons. Just plain fun.

Gorgeous but marred by shallow gameplay

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

It still amazes me how good this game -- now over two and a half years old -- looks. Sure, the top of the line PC stuff is definitely prettier now, mainly due to higher polygon counts. But we have yet to achieve a quantum leap in graphics quality equivalent to what "Unreal" and "Quake 2" accomplished in late '97/early '98 (just compare "Unreal" to the previous year's "Jedi Knight" to see what I mean). To this day the game's textures are flat-out gorgeous, particularly the ones on the "Vortex Rikers," "Terraniux" and "Dark Arena" levels.

That said, the gameplay is pretty weak. I came to "Unreal" after having played "Half-Life" -- still the penultimate single-player first-person-shooter (FPS) experience -- and "Unreal" didn't even come close. I could barely be bothered to play halfway through the game. Only the lure of new graphics ahead kept me playing, but I never finished it. While "Half-Life" keeps you intrigued with lots of in-game scripted moments, a plot containing at least a few twists, and a series of unforgettable sequences that leave you shaking your head saying "That was so cool," "Unreal" just throws endless levels at you. And buttons to push, and levers to throw, and doors to open. Sure, the enemy AI is pretty good (for its time -- "Half Life" put that to shame as well), but the number of different monster-types is pretty low, and there's no context for any of it after the first few levels. The action isn't intense enough to hold interest by itself. To borrow an apt phrase, there's no "there" there.

Still, the atmosphere is amazing, and more than enough to justify buying "Unreal" given its now-low price. Some of the moments are simply breathtaking -- first emerging from the crashed ship into Nyleve's Falls; walking around the outside of the Coliseum in "Dark Arena"; and above all the approach to Terraniux, when the setting suns backlight the huge looming spaceship that dominates the landscape. There is also some fine architecture -- "Dark Arena" and "Sunspire" spring readily to mind -- but remember there is a difference between designing a cool building and creating a really great game level. The music is great too, although sadly not in Redbook format, so you can't just play the tunes off the CD.

Bottom line: if you haven't bought "Unreal," and your system has the appropriate specs, pick it up. It's a piece of gaming history and still pretty darn gorgeous. But don't expect a seminal gaming experience. Expect instead a sublime "it-might-have-been."

Unreal is an awesome game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 21, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Unreal is the first and only shooter-type-game that I own, and I must say that there is something about it that differentiates it from the rest. Quake never appealed to me, but the graphics and 'atmosphere' of Unreal are just incredible and are sure to lure anyone in. I also like the fact that instead of going for the 'put a billion enemies on the screen', there are fewer, more difficult enemies(the artificial intelligence is incredible!). Unreal gets five stars from me!

An inspiring, inventive fantasy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing PC games for one year (exactly the same amount of time I have had a computer lol)

In that time I have played these games: Abe's Oddysee, Unreal, UT, Quakes 2 & 3, Halflife, Darkstone, Wheel Of Time, Aliens Vs Predator, and Nocturne.

Out of these "Unreal" is hands down the best game that has ever graced my computer. Even competing with games that are more recent, I have never before or since seen visuals that one literally gasps at.

The water-world is beautiful. The pools and fountains so gorgeous I could have died to enter this world and actually dive into it. The sountrack is equally compelling.

The scale of the world is enourmous, totally stunning. You feel a fleeting sense of loss as you enter each new world, only to be replaced by more wonder.

This game comes closer than any other game I have played to resembling a film or a book. There is a defined mission, you want to exit this world, for despite it's wonders it has been cursed with a cruel alien presense.

The scenery is uparallelled, it is almost photo-realistic in places. Movement is fluent and unrestrained, you are able to walk, run, swim, jump and crawl through the various levels. Unreal is totally immersive.

A brief synopsis of just a few of the levels (or worlds, each having been designed by a different person, each has it's own distinct mood)

Some are within spaceships, both hostile and friendly. Some in dark castles surrounded by craggy rock. Some of the world are Nali villiages (Unreal portrays scenery like no other game) and some in the water demon's kingdom. I must make special mention of "Sunspire" which is the most indredible adventure you will ever take, complete with amazing mirrors and reflective surfaces, and huge lift-wells which reach literally to the skys. When you complete this level you are on top of the world, as you await the most charming of entries into the next world.

Throughout the game you will be helped by the indigenous population. The Nali will steal your heart. Several times I replayed a scene because I couldn't bear to go on knowing even a single Nali was killed in battle.

The scope of this game is dizzying, the graphics mindblowing. If you are imaginative and can totally supspend your sense of reality I think you will find this a rare treat. Some people here felt let down by the ending, which I can understand. But at least a cliffhanger leaves a promise of more to come!

Now to wait until Unreal II hits the shelves! (Not to be confused with UT, a seperate game)

Even better than Quake II

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 25, 1999
Author: Amazon User

In my humble oppinion this game is better the Quake II. The graphics is better, and the sound is so much better. If you have a Sound Blaster Live! card, then get this game, because it was designed to run on this card.

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