Unreal Tournament 2003 was something of a mixed bag as far as most Unreal Tournament fans were concerned; it definitely offered much improved graphics and a far more powerful game engine but the game itself was felt to be somewhat lacking in that undefined quality that made the original UT so good. Another often levelled argument was that UT2K3 was far too short and generally lacking in content from the single player point of view; even the core online gamers soon got tired of the same few maps being on rotation. The bonus packs did much to add content but it was felt that it was too little to late for the title. Now UT2K4 is here and it has the unfortunately hard job of convincing those that were put off by UT2K3 that there is life left in the licence.

To be honest I was impressed by the original UT to the point that it still remains a firm favourite of mine. I felt that UT2K3 was much underrated by the gaming public at large, as it proved that a very powerful game engine could be created and still run smoothly on an average spec computer, even if it was chock full of very sparkly visuals, complex physics and 16 players doing their best to kill everything in sight. I would also agree with the gaming populace at large when I say that UT2K3 was very short on content and that the bonus packs were only really a band-aid on a gaping wound. Still, it did pave the way for UT2K4 and for that we should all be very happy indeed, because UT2K4 is packed full of maps, game types, even better visuals, even better physics and a soundtrack that has to be played loud.

The game comes in two flavours; a single DVD-ROM version or a whopping six CD-ROM version. Either way the installation is the same 5.5 Gigabytes of your hard drive, so it's not something that you will just quickly load and uninstall every time you want to play it; some might say that this is a touch excessive.

The single player game is still here and back with a vengeance, with a new look to the tournament and the way in which it is fought. After picking your character you select your team, as in the previous game. At this point you will notice that your teammates are costing you money; you have to buy your team and you only have a limited amount of cash - to get more you need to win some games. However, you won't get access the better players that way alone. To get the better players you need to challenge the other teams that are competing in the tournament in head-to-head games where you play for each other's players and the winning team takes all. Beware though, as the other competing teams can and will challenge you for your teammates as they improve and as you increase your standing in the tournament.

The tournament itself is much the same as before and if you have played any of the previous UT titles then you will feel very much at home with this one. The only real difference is that the old favourite of assault from the first UT makes a welcome return and is possibly the best part of the single player game. The game types from the previous UT make up the remainder of the single player game with deathmatch doing a disappearing act in favour of Bombing Run, Capture the Flag and Double Domination. The final is a remake of the final level from the original UT and against the current champion Malcolm - and it is every bit as tough as the previous games. The AI for the bots during the single player game has much improved over UT2K3 but not to the point that you will find the game much beyond the usual challenge. They do however play more as a team, so if your team is a bit uncoordinated then expect to see them beat you soundly until you are able to regroup and rescue the situation.

Graphically this is the most polished I have seen the Unreal engine and the performance is almost unparalleled in the current batch of FPS games. There are many levels that I wanted to just wander around and look at for a moment before getting into the game, just to see the awesome number of special effects, fantastic architecture and great settings. The PC that was used to test this title was running an ATi Radeon 9800 XT with 256Mb of memory and the game was set to run everything at its absolute maximum at a resolution of 1280x1024, which ran flawlessly smooth from start to finish. This is maybe not surprising but the PC that ran it is aside from its graphics card is less than powerful by today's standards.

The soundtrack to this game should be made available to buy because it's literally that good. With an eclectic mix of riff heavy guitar rock, upbeat dance, ambient trance and some dramatic classical every track adds to the atmosphere of the game and the feeling that floods from the speakers. Take my advice and when playing this crank the volume up a little and play with a set of headphones on, it's the best way to get the most from the music, let alone the normal game effects, all of which are as wonderfully polished and solid as they were in UT2K3.

The gameplay is pretty much what you would expect from a UT title, so don't buy this if you are looking for a story rich with dialogue from experienced voice actors, because you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a simple straightforward blaster with many targets across varied and interesting levels then this is for you. It's fast, furious and lots of fun but only for those that enjoy this type of shooter, which isn't everyone. Once again the complaint of content could be levelled at the door of Epic Games and Digital Extremes, who developed UT2K4, but there is still plenty more here than there was in UT2K3. In fact, if you're a single player, then once you have moved away from the tournament game and into the instant action side of the title you will find there is much more for you to get your teeth into than first appears.

Multiplayer offers much more than previous titles with a number of new game types and new twists on the old formula. The largest of these are felt with the inclusion of player drivable vehicles. They feature in the single player game but not that heavily, whilst the multiplayer environment is set alive by these new inclusions, although it has spawned shouts from some quarters that this is yet another title trying to emulate the Battlefield format to regain success. From simple buggies to large tanks and with a couple of flying craft for good measure, there is plenty for you to get your hands on and there is nothing like dog fighting in Unreal Tournament. Servers are aplenty on the web now, so it's never hard to find a game or two with ample players to make for some chaotic gaming and there are plenty of game types online at any given time, so you should rarely find yourself without a server to cater for your tastes.

Naturally, UT2K4 is not perfect and it suffers from a complaint that the previous title fell victim to - namely lack of content. Yes, there are plenty of new maps and there are more than enough game types but there is not a real balance between the two. There are just too few maps for the more popular game types but this is something that hopefully will be rectified all too soon. The hard drive requirements are frankly staggering and I find it hard to believe that a full 5 and a half gig of my hard drive is really needed for the game to run. Once again, as with so many games of today's market, if you have anything less than a 512K broadband connection then think twice about online gaming, as it can become a very lag filled affair. If you are unfortunate enough to still be cursed with a 56K modem then truly forget everything about the online element of this game, as it's well out of your reach.

I have to say that I have been rather impressed with Unreal Tournament 2004, as I was expecting much less than I found. The game engine is very smooth and super stable, giving the best UT experience yet. The sound and visuals combine so well to create a decent amount of bang for the buck you have to spend to get it. I would happily recommend this to any and all that have a love of online arena shooters or are into friendly LAN play as it's the perfect gap filler when it comes to deathmatch or even something more substantial such as Double Domination, Capture the Flag, Assault or a really good new game type called Onslaught. Without doubt this is a welcome return to form for this much-loved series.

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).