Unreal 2 cazziato su IGN e GameSpy !!!

[Xilema]

Premettendo che comunque 8,2 è un bel voto, e che IGN ha OSATO dare un 7,0 a 007 Nightfire (e da qui si può vedere il livello di qualità delle recensioni ), resta il fatto che 8,2 non era il voto che ci si aspettava per questo gioco.
Capirete però che le motivazioni addotte da IGN sono deboli e ridicole (personalmente parlando).
Riassumendo, a Unreal 2 viene imputato di essere poco originale.
E che cacchio, sappiamo tutti cosa vogliomo da U2 !!!
Mica cerchiamo una trama a livello di Deus Ex, mica chiediamo terrore ed angoscia come abbiamo chiestoa ad Aliens vs Predator 2, mica cerchiamo gioco stealth come in Ghost recon...
Cerchiamo uno sparatutto ambientato in un mondo fantascientifico, con una signora grafica, armi massicce e coreografiche, con una trama decente e tanti posti da esplorare...
Io davvero non capisco se certe volte la cente ci fa o ci è (italiano correggiuto).
Con i parametri di IGN, Doom 3 si beccherà sicuramente meno di 8,2 visto che le innovazioni saranno pressochè nulle...
Comunque sia, leggete e giudicate voi...

P.S. Devo copiare e incollare la rece, poichè non è accessibile a tutti, ma solo agli iscritti (cosa che non sono...), e un iscritto si è prodigato su un altro forum...





PAGE 1

It's not that traditions are a bad thing -- quite the opposite, really. Traditional approaches to game design become traditions simply because they work. Some studios are content just to distill these approaches, making small adjustments here, tweaking a feature or two there. Other studios prefer to take chances by making drastic (and often clumsily unsuccessful) steps in new directions. And that's the real issue -- refinement of standards has to go hand in hand with innovations.

We've just finished playing through Legend's game, Unreal II: The Awakening. It's the latest in Epic's premiere Unreal series and serves as the single player alternative to the recent Unreal Tournament 2003.

In many ways Unreal II is a good example of the advantages and disadvantages of taking a fairly conventional approach. While the title does make some significant breakthroughs these are largely confined to a technical realm and offer little in the way of new gameplay. But even if it is a bit predictable, the title maintains a high level of excitement and focus that more than makes it worth your attention. Why? I'm glad you asked...

One of the most developed (and least hyped) aspects of Unreal II is its story. Although there's a strong following for the original Unreal at this point, the franchise seems to be better defined through its largely story-less multiplayer matches. So it's great that the Legend team (known for putting a premium on such things) have managed to craft an intriguing tale within which to place the action.

The story itself unfolds through scenes on board your ship as you travel from location to location. In between (most) missions you'll have a chance to come back, rest up and learn a bit about the people serving with you. There aren't conversation trees per se. Instead of branching into new directions, the conversation options are all recycled Lazy Susan-style until you've exhausted your source's information. While I appreciate the freedom these sequences provide, I wonder if the story might have been communicated better through non-interactive cutscenes. At least you can walk away from most conversations if you find yourself losing interest.

But it's worth sticking around to hear the non-essential items simply because it starts to flesh out the characters and circumstances a bit more. When the game begins there are plenty of mysteries to clear up among the members of your crew, mysteries that you can only solve by listening to the characters talk about each other. It's apparent early on that the characters all have histories (some of which intersect) that, as they're revealed, actually make you care about the people on your ship.

Ultimately, while the character interactions are deep and sophisticated, the actual types are pretty standard. A group of ragtag, disgraced ex-military misfits who are tasked with tracking down mysterious artifacts of unspeakable power that can be combined to create a world-destroying weapon is pretty predictable sadly. A mysteriously awkward alien pilot, a gruff engineer and a busty and slightly hostile female aren't going to surprise anyone.

Likewise, the fact that you travel to an ice planet, a jungle planet, a lava planet, a mining camp, a research base and the whole buffet of sci-fi locales, makes the game seem more than just a bit artificial. At one point, Geiger-inspired levels could make me drool but I've seen far too many of them in games and movies for it to have an effect on me anymore.

One benefit of this approach is that it lets the artists ride full rein over a wide variety of locales. The environments are all unique and wonderfully detailed. The architecture is remarkable and covers a really wide range of styles. Likewise, the mood and ambience of the levels really helps distinguish one from another.

From a standpoint of puzzles, Unreal II is mercifully light. Taking a more action-oriented approach, they've included just a few basic puzzles for the player to solve. There's not a lot of backtracking involved here and, when you do have to revisit an area, it's usually for a good reason and not some arbitrary whim of the level designer. I really like the fact that the developers have decided to switch up the action. No longer are you just interested in assaulting or infiltrating fortified positions. Occasionally the game asks (read: requires) you to hold back an enemy attack on your own position. At this point, the game's placeable weapons and defenses start to shine.

In terms of AI, Unreal II offers a satisfying challenge. A great many of the alien foes seem content to run right towards you with the odd sidestep here and there to dodge your rockets. The human opponents are a bit more sophisticated taking advantage of any available feature of the terrain to hide from fire and even circle around behind you. Unfortunately most of the levels tend to funnel the action into narrow hallways and corridors so that AI has fewer options



PAGE 2

Friendly AI is a treat. From time to time in your missions, you'll encounter the requisite skittish engineer alongside the self-important researcher. Their behaviors are quite lifelike and actually give you a bit more of an incentive to keep them alive. In the rare cases where they're fated to die regardless of your efforts, you may even beat yourself up a little that you couldn't do more.

The game occasionally offers you the chance to command other friendly forces on the ground. When a few extra marines drop by they'll look to you for leadership. To give them orders you simply have to step up and "use" them. This opens a few dialogue options that let you order them to a particular, pre-defined point on the map. It's an interesting system but it presents a slightly unrealistic flaw -- namely that you have to be standing next to someone to get them to do anything. Normally this isn't much of a problem but when an enemy attack comes from an unexpected direction you just won't have time to run out and redistribute the troops stationed at other positions. Perhaps in the future someone will come up with a method of wireless telephony.

Weapon-wise, Unreal II tries to do far too much. With 15 weapons, the team has taken on more than it needs to and offers more than one player could reasonably explore within the space of a single game. Things like machine guns and rocket launchers are too firmly ensconced in the FPS model to completely ignore and the versions in this game are superb. Some of the chancier, less useful weapons like the Shocklance or Aida's pistol either have too narrow a use or merely duplicate the effects of another weapon already in your inventory. And although it's pretty much essential for the game's balance, it seems stupid to me that the Marshal can carry a dozen weapons in to battle but can only find room in his pants for ten sniper rounds. Perhaps I could trade in some of the redundant weapons for an extra clip or two?

As predictable as many of the aspects of the game are, the graphics are still undeniably impressive. The weapon effects are top-notch. To date the standard for flamethrower effects has been Return to Castle Wolfenstein. As good as that effect is, the one in Unreal II is even better. I also like the wonderful smoke effects. Launching a smoke grenade into a crowded room and then blasting the smoke out of the way with a single concussion grenade is a truly transcendent experience.

The only downside is that you'll need a real bear of a machine to run the game properly. Even on a system that exceeds the recommended requirements, we experienced a fair bit of chug, stutter and chop. It's more distracting than crippling but, on machines below the recommended spec, it's a potential obstacle to your full enjoyment of the game.

One final note on performance: The game offers two unique features called "quick save" and "quick load." These are lies. Basically what you have here are two hotkeys that don't work any quicker than the regular save and load options accessed from the main menu. Normally this wouldn't even qualify as a gripe (even by my usually vinegary standards) but, given that the load times in this game seem a bit excessive already, the team is really just teasing us with this whole "quick load" concept.

Closing Comments
There's an expectation in the sink-or-swim arena of PC gaming that average titles just don't cut it. With so much competition, a title really has to perform better than average to be counted as a success. This is particularly true of titles in the action genre, which has seen an unusually high number of breakthrough titles this past year.
As a gamer, you have to ask yourself if you'd rather contend with polish and predictability or take a more adventurous route and risk getting burned. Those who are weary of the standard fragfest approach will undoubtedly find much to enjoy in this game -- the graphics and story alone are enough to make the title stand out. But those who have tasted the fruits of last year's development projects may find that Unreal II plays out a bit too predictably.

-- Steve Butts


Presentation
The game relies too heavily on stock situations, characters and environments, but there are a few surprises to be found in the story. 8.0
Graphics
It's all so beautiful, particularly the fire and smoke effects, but the game stutters a bit too much even on the medium settings. 9.0
Sound
The sound and environmental effects are good but take a back seat to the wonderful voice acting and sound effects. 8.0
Gameplay
While the execution and engine are above average for the genre, the gameplay is a bit conventional. 8.0
Lasting Appeal
You'll likely be done with this one in a couple of days. You can get a bit more out of the story the second time around. 7.0
OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 8.2

[Psiche]

Io aspetto quella di Game Spot...

[Maury]

Io aspetto la mia

[varenne]

Io aspetto quella di psiche

[Xilema]

Originally posted by "Psiche"

Io aspetto quella di Game Spot...

Anch' io...

[Xilema]

Originally posted by "Maury"

Io aspetto la mia

Si, hai ragione.
Alla fine le proprie impressioni sono l' unica cosa che conta !

[Grem]

Io aspetto il 6 febbraio!

[slipknot2002]

Io aspetto la mia recensione

[JENA PLISSKEN]

Io aspetto oggi pomeriggio ............o no???

[redbaron]

Penso che dopo tante lodi, per emergere dalla marea di recensioni, bisognava per forza dare un voto piu' basso di quello che tutti si aspettavano. Personalmente non condivido la politica degli abbonamenti di ign e quasi mai sono d'accordo con le loro recensioni superficiali.
Non resta che verificare di persona, comprando il gioco, sicuramente non me ne pentiro'.

[Grem]

Originally posted by "redbaron"

bisognava per forza dare un voto piu' basso di quello che tutti si aspettavano.

E già, è questo il punto: ciò che tutti si aspettano.

Oramai c'è tanta aspettativa per U2 che l'entusiasmo, oramai salito alle stelle, potrebbe crollare prestissimo, appena il gioco sarà uscito.
Spero che non ne derivi una sorta di delusione di massa.

[Maury]

Una cosa la dico però, avrei preferivo un ambientazione stile gotico o medievale

[Jaguar64bit]

Originally posted by "Maury"

Una cosa la dico però, avrei preferivo un ambientazione stile gotico o medievale

Anche io....

[JENA PLISSKEN]

Originally posted by "Maury"

Una cosa la dico però, avrei preferivo un ambientazione stile gotico o medievale

Io avrei preferito DOOM 3..........ma mi accontento!! ig: ig:

Cmq skerzi a parte....io sinceramente dopo la (MIA!!!) delusione con UT 2k3 tanto aspettato e desiderato.....questo U2 NN lo attendo affatto con ansia.......così, se ci sarà qualcosa di buono .....BENE, finalmente!!!
Se sarà un mezza botta.......beh...ekkissene

[Jaguar64bit]

Ma DOOM III quando esce ? che palle aspettare.....

[JENA PLISSKEN]

Originally posted by "Jaguar64bit"

Ma DOOM III quando esce ? che palle aspettare.....

NN me ne parlare.........

[Dragon2002]

Originally posted by "Maury"

Una cosa la dico però, avrei preferivo un ambientazione stile gotico o medievale

Gia anche perchè sia il motore di ut che di ut2003 secondo me danno il massimo con ambientazioni di questo tipo,mentre nn convincono in pieno quando vengono usati su ambientazioni futuristiche.

[Maury]

Originally posted by "Dragon2002"


Gia anche perchè sia il motore di ut che di ut2003 secondo me danno il massimo con ambientazioni di questo tipo,mentre nn convincono in pieno quando vengono usati su ambientazioni futuristiche.

Pienamente daccordo, proviamo a pensare alla potenza grafica di Wheel Of Time, dai è assurdo, la piu' bella mai vista IMHO.

Francamente l'Unreal Engine non mi convince se applicato ad ambientazioni High Tech, gli ultimi video non mi hanno gasato poi tanto

Lo devo provare subito!!

[devis]

Phobos2 non mi pare male, anzi..

[Maury]