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Platform: Xbox Genre: Shooter Publisher: Atari / Infogrames Developer: Digital Extremes / Epic ESRB: M (Mature) Released: Q4 2002 Support AE! Buy Games Here:
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Unreal Championship
Score 8.7 / 10 |
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Pros: -
It’s Xbox Live compatible -
Great multiplayer gaming that Unreal is known for -
Generally great selection of weaponry
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Cons: -
Online frame-rate can get scrambled at times -
Not-as fun as a single-player game -
No keyboard and mouse many FPS veterans prefer
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Related Links: Review: Unreal Tournament 2003 (PC) Review: Unreal Tournament (PC)
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"Making the experience unbelievably rapturous is the Xbox Live headset communicator."
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The
Xbox has seen its share of mighty impressive first-person shooters since
its release. Starting with the instantly-classic Halo, and including
Serious Sam, Time Splitters 2, and Medal of Honor: Frontline there’s
plenty of great FPS action to be had. But up until now, they all have
been lacking one feature that PC FPS’s possess: online multiplayer
gaming. The Xbox-exclusive Unreal Championship takes care of that by not
only being another high-quality FPS, but with its online compatibility,
offers the chance to play some marvelous online Unreal multiplayer
mayhem (and at a great price, too).
Unreal
Championship isn’t just a port of previous Unreal Tournament games. It
was specifically created to harness the power of the Xbox, and the
result is a spectacular creation. The same great Unreal game-engine
makes the gameplay and visuals rather impressive. Unreal Championship is
a real looker, and the level and character designs are top-notch. The
only problem is that the frame-rate may be too fast at times, making it
difficult and vertigo inducing trying to track down a kill. Also
making it to the championship round is the superb selection of game
modes and weaponry that Unreal is famous for. Got a deathwish? Join in
some vicious “every man (or species; there’s more than human
characters to choose from) for himself” Deathmatch (or if you prefer,
Team Deathmatch with a few of your fellow bloodthirsty compatriots).
Capture the Flag, Bombing Run, Survival, and Double Domination increase
the gameplay options to the ultimate max.
Big-ass
guns are of course a requisite for FPS fighting, and there’s no
shortage of weaponry to unleash some serious hurt. Some are much better
than others, like the Shock Rifle and Flak Cannon 3.0, but each has its
advantages. Another plus is Unreal Championship’s control setup.
I’ve said it before; I think the Xbox controller is perfectly suited
for FPS gaming. Unreal Championship has tight and responsive controls
right in line with Halo. Single-player
Unreal Championship isn’t quite as fun to play. There’s a thin story
behind the action, where you put together a team in quest for the Unreal
Championship, but it all boils down to you squaring off with weapons of
mass destruction against opposition hell-bent on taking you out before
you take them out. The single-player mode is really nothing more than a
training exercise to learn and become a pro at the gameplay mechanics
before heading online. There is a tough challenge presented by the
CPU-controlled forces you fight against in single-player gaming, but
nowhere near the level you’ll find online. There’s just no
substitute for human competitors. Xbox
Live compatibility is Unreal Championship’s strongest feature. Having
the ability to enjoy a little classic PC-style FPS bloodfest on a home
console is an absolute blast. Even better, the game performs and
controls relatively awesome online, even without the standard keyboard
and mouse set-up of PC shooters. Making the experience unbelievably
rapturous is the Xbox Live headset communicator. Instead of typing
messages (or pushing hotkeys) for communicating or taunting, all you
have to do is speak right into the headset communicator, keeping your
hands free for creating all the carnage you can handle.
The
only issue with Xbox Live and Unreal Championship is that you will
sometimes run into extremely laggy connections and schizophrenic
frame-rate issues, making playing an entirely psychotic and
headache-inducing undertaking. It doesn’t happen very often, though.
For the majority of your Unreal Championship playing connected through
Xbox Live you can expect a smooth frame-rate with nary a trace of lag,
disconnect or general broadband-related disruption to be found. The
development team did such an amazing job it’s almost impossible to
tell the difference in the gameplay quality between single-player
offline and multiplayer online games. Unreal
Championship brings traditional PC-style FPS multiplayer butchery to
your Xbox and except for some minor jumpy frame-rate issues during some
online matches, delivers a great online experience. (Just another
example of why Xbox Live was a great decision on Microsoft’s part.
Really, a game this great does nothing but enhance the chance for home
console online gaming, now in its infancy, to succeed in a big way. Not
too deep as a single-player game, but if you have Xbox Live, then by all
means make buying Unreal Championship a necessity. -
Lee Cieniawa (March 29, 2003)
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