UT 2003

Developer: Digital Extremes
Publisher: Infogrames
Estimated Release:
UT 2003 official home page: http://www.us.infogrames.com/games/unreal_tournament_2003_pc/

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Unreal Tournament established itself back in late 1999 as the shooter of choice for discriminating action FPS fans. Though it never really supplanted Quake 3 as the game of choice in most of the big money tournaments, UT did appear in a few money tournaments and remains about as popular as Quake 3 in terms of number of players online at any given moment. There were a number of aspects that made UT so popular – among them were the variation in game modes (CTF, Assault, etc), and the variety in weapons.

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Single player and gameplay

Though it’s probably not what most people will play it for, UT 2003 brings a more robust single player experience to the table. Whereas the single player game in the first UT was nothing but a glorified ladder with bots, UT 2003’s single player will feel more like a team management experience. Players will go through the various game modes with NPC teammates. In the matches, players will be able to order their teammates to help them accomplish objectives, escort, or protect certain areas. As you progress up the leagues, your teammates will gain experience, and become more skilled while adapting to your style of gameplay. However, if certain teammates are not working out for you, you have the ability to hire and fire your teammates, just as a general manager/coach can sign and waive players in real life professional sports. Certain teammates will have strengths and weaknesses, and affinities for certain weapons, depending on what species they are.

These species variations (there are six different species, varying in speed, hp, power, etc.) can also be made available in multiplayer via a toggle in the mutators. Mutators, as many UT veterans remember, are a set of pre-made game variations that you can easily turn on while creating a game. Insta-gib (one hit kills from the Shock Rifle) was probably the most memorable example from the original UT. Another gameplay addition is the ability for players to double jump. Though this feature appeared in some past shooters as a bug or artifact, it is included purposefully in UT 2003 for players to use. You can even double jump off of walls to dodge shots in Jet Li-esque fashion.

Grimy snow

Lots of detailed foliage

Perhaps the most intriguing gameplay innovation in UT 2003 are the special moves which are activated by adrenaline pills. Scattered throughout the map, players can gather in adrenaline pills and store them up. Your supply of adrenaline pills does not go away when you die, so you can choose to use them as you get them or save them up for extended use later on in the map; the more pills you have saved up, the longer your super power will be activated. Using adrenaline pills as a resource, players can punch in special key combos to activate super powers. One of these is added speed, where you’ll run much faster and have yellow streaks flying out behind you. Speed boosting could be incredibly handy for getting that extra bit of oomph needed to escape with a flag in CTF or chase down a flag carrier. Another super power is Berserk, where you fire faster and do more damage with your shots than normal. There are a few other super powers but these were not revealed to us at the show.