Unreal 2: The Awakening Preview

Epic's new first person shooter, Unreal 2: The Awakening (U2) is nearly here. Gamers have been waiting for some time for the installment in the Unreal story and I am happy to report they will not be disappointed. You want the short version? Unreal 2: The Awakening is the most immersive single player, first person shooter since Half Life. Want the long version? Read on:

The scenery looks peaceful enough...

Erm, we need to check your equipment.

When I first booted the game I was treated to one of the coolest company logo intros I have seen. Throbbing music, pulsing visuals and stunning animations entice you to actually sit still and not slam the escape key to bypass the intro and get right to the menus. The cut scenes are all rendered using the game engine and look crisp, colorful and make nice use of lighting and texture effects. A far off shot of a large ship coming into orbit around a planet that looks like Earth plays smoothly at 1600x1200 on my AMD XP 2000+ and Geforce4 TI4400. It's when I notice that this planet has two moons that we are not in our own neighborhood, let alone solar system. You are in deep space and you get as nice view as your single man craft departs the mother ship and heads down into the atmosphere. The scene shifts to a pristine seascape with the sunlight dancing on the light blue water and a large building jutting up from the foliage on the shore. The small ship docks on a landing pad attached to the building and we zoom in closer. A lone man walks up the stairs on the outside of the building and the camera flies through the window as we are introduced to our protagonist. At this point we learn that your character has been trying to get back into the military and his request has been reject, again. He is currently working for a security force and you are offered to go through a short tutorial that familiarizes you with controls and some of the weapons. The three tools of your trade that you get to start with are the ubiquitous pea shooter pistol, assault rifle and grenade launcher. All weapons feature an alternate fire mode and have nice sound effects. During the tutorial, several jokes are made here that allude to the long development cycle for the game and the origins of the Unreal Tournament circuit.

After returning to your orbiting ship, you are greeted by your first officer and make a quick inspection of your ship. It's a nice way to introduce the rest of the crew and also reveal how desperate your situation is. The ship is being held together by chewing gum and spit, but you do not have much time to cry over your lot in life. Your ship has received a distress call from a mining facility and you need to respond. After being briefed for the mission by your buxom first mate, you set down on the besieged planted and the fun begins. As you are landing you see some miners getting mauled by a nasty group of monsters who quickly flee as you approach.

Does anyone have any aspirin by any chance?

I bet there is a nasty monster lurking in the shadows.

As you progress through the facility you are guided and prompted by a lone miner who has locked himself in the security office and is monitoring your progress via cameras throughout the compound. The environment is well detailed and creepy as you move through different areas and see the remnants of the staff in various slaughtered states. Monsters use staves that fire energy bolts that ricochet off of the floor and walls. Sounds are well are well done and contribute to the creepiness as growls and snarls echo down corridors. One of the most intense scenes comes while you are riding an elevator to the lower levels. We meet an old friend here and the raid on the mine begins to look more ominous than first thought.

Visuals are first rate. Textures and particle effects have a jaw dropping quality that will make this game a pleasure to show off to family and friends. Smoke and fire effects are quite nice. One of your crew members is smoking a cigarette when you first meet him. A nice touch is the butt of the cigarette glowing as he inhales and then as he walks around the deck there is a slight trail of smoke trailing behind that looks real and natural. The characters themselves are very detailed and a co worker who was watching over my shoulder pointed out how the eyes moved independently from the rest of the face while we were in conversation. The detail has not been lost on creatures either while they are alien; they also look like something that could exist. Their movements are fluid and it's almost a shame to have to blow them away. Almost.

Much has been said about U2 not having multiplayer support, most of it negative. If you want multiplayer, go get Unreal Championship. It's a lot of fun and has plenty of options to keep the multiplayer in all of us happy. Epic has wisely decided to devote their energies on making a solid, enthralling single player game and I applaud them for it. I look forward to finishing the game and giving you more details. In fact, I'm a little pissed at 2Lions right now for making me write this up (I'll have a treat for ya later, Mo - Ed). He's keeping me from playing!!! That's it, I'm going back in!!