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The Plot: "Unreal Championship" didn't hold much appeal for the single player, with most of the game's strength being in its XBOX Live support. While steps have been taken to offer the solo player a more involving experience in "Unreal II", there's still not much substance behind the game. Players take on the role of John Dalton, a Colonial Authority officer, who is given different missions to go on and different objectives to successfully complete across several space colonies. Still, the game really still feels as if it's entirely a shoot-em-up, as you're lead through different rooms or areas, blasting away at different alien creatures that confront you. Unlike "Halo", there's really not a great deal of thought or strategy involved before taking on a group of enemies - they try and swarm (aided in their quest by the weird enemy AI movement animation) and the player simply holds down the fire button. Enemy AI isn't particularly good, and the odd enemy movements sometimes make it difficult to aim and fire. The series of weapons that the player is offered are enjoyable though, including a grenade launcher, laser pistol, assault rifle, flamethrower and others. The laser pistol isn't too hot, but the rest of the weapons are satisfactory. Players can't save whenever they please, but there are checkpoints at a few stops along the way, and the "normal" difficulty setting won't have most players missing the lack of save-as-you-please. "Hard" difficulty will give experienced players more of a challenge, but the game's length is still rather limited. Multiplayer online and co-op offline are available, and that's really what appeal this title offers, because the solo offline campaign is pretty uninspired. Rating: 6.9/10 The DVD Graphics: I liked some aspects of the look of "Unreal II", but that really had to do with the design of some levels, which was fairly cool, if certainly not groundbreaking. As for the graphics themselves, "Unreal II" presents a mixed bag. Character models are merely okay, with not a lot of detail. Animations sometimes seemed unusually off, as enemies occasionally to move in a jerky, sudden fashion. It also didn't help that some of them occasionally sunk or merged with their surroundings. Adding to the problems are soft textures, blah lighting and framerate that occasionally slowed up. Rating: 6.5/10 Sound: The game is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The game's soundtrack does put the surrounds to some minor use throughout the most intense battles within the game, but there really could have been more for the rear speakers to do to suggest enemies stalking the player throughout some of the game's more confined spaces. Sound effects seemed recorded well, as did dialogue. Voice acting was adequate. Rating: 8/10 Rating Issues: "Unreal II" is rated "M" (Mature) for graphic violence. Final Thoughts: "Unreal II"'s XBOX Live capabilities may get some interest from players, but its main campaign remains rather uninspired and the graphics are surprisingly mediocre. Maybe worth a rental, and some may want to wait until the inevitable price drop. |