Unreal has been the staple for fast paced frag action on the PC for years. It captured the minds and hearts of gamers and critics alike with its intense shooting action and gameplay. As the years have rolled by, the game has made its way onto Macs, Playstations and our beloved Xbox. Unreal Championship was essentially a port of Unreal Tournament 2003, and whilst it played well enough and looked great at the time, it still felt like a PC port.

For Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict (UC2 from here on in) rather than port Unreal Tournament 2004, the game was designed from the ground up to be played on Xbox – and it Midway and Epic have done a damn fine job in making this iteration of Unreal one of the best. Whilst the game is made for multiplayer mayhem, the single player side of things isn’t a mere add-on. The Ascension Rites single player story mode is a little clichéd and short, it does two important things – it demonstrates what has changed and prepares you for ownage.

Ascension Rites puts you in the role of Anubis, a member of the Nakhti race and shamed tournament player. He rejoins the tournament to prevent his ex-lover Selket from winning the throne and gaining dominance over the Nakhti. Anubis has to deal with the meddling Liandri Mining corporation as well, who seek to control the tournament for their own nefarious ends. Whilst not exactly a David or Goliath story – it’s clear from the start that Anubis can handle himself in battle – it is set up from the start that winning is something Anubis must do, or the world as he knows it is doomed.

Ascension Rites begins with a tutorial, where the new concepts set up in UC2 are introduced to the player. One of the most important differences in UC2 is that while you can play in first person view, you’re likely to play the whole game in third person view. Traditionalists may baulk at this idea, but there’s a good reason for it – melee combat. The bi-line of the game is “bring a knife to a gun fight”, but that understates the importance of the melee weapons. These aren’t just petty combat knives, these are melee weapons of such destruction that Saddam would be in trouble if Dubya found them in his possession. Just as a few rockets from the traditional RPG will send you to your maker, so too will a few good whacks from a melee weapon.

Some new moves have been added to make melee pleasurable. There’s the basic spinning attack, and continuing to hold the Right Trigger will turn you into a whirling dervish of destruction. The B button gives you a harder hit, but leaves you open at the end of your attack, so use it wisely. Jumping with the A button and pressing the Right Trigger does a devastating Matrix style Jump attack. Jumping and pressing the B button will tear your enemy a new a-hole, but likewise be wary of a counter attack or even a shield block.

Another new addition introduced to the UC2 gameplay is the “Freeze”. Hit an opponent with a melee weapon enough times, or using the alternative fire of the pistol, and you’ll freeze your opponent. In a nod to Mortal Kombat, if equipped with a melee weapon and locked on by clicking the left thumbstick, you’ll hear the familiar “Finish Him” and using a combination of button presses perform a “coup de grace” and splatter your foe across the level.

The melee weapons aren’t overpowered however. This isn’t like Halo2 where you’ll bolt at the sight of someone holding a sword. Although bullets and rockets can be deflected with melee weapons with a well-timed press of the L trigger, a well-placed rocket at their feet or sniper shot to the head can take out even the best melee combatant. Furthermore, a simple button press will change from melee to gun and back again, so often you’ll find yourself fighting in close, then jump away and switch to a projectile to do long range damage, then jump-attack to get up close again.

Adrenalin, which always seemed an afterthought for me playing on the original Unreal Championship (and probably the reason I was beat so often) is now at your command with a few simple button presses. Pressing X brings up an onscreen menu of the available Adrenalin moves available, and these are accessible with another button press. For example, “Nimble” which allows you to jump higher and control your movement better is X and A, whilst “Heal” is X + X + A. Each character has different moves, so it’s good to play each character and get a feel for what you like.

Throughout the single player campaign you’ll play through the different game modes available, and they haven’t changed too much from the Unreal staples. There’s the ol’ Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, as well as Capture The Flag and Survival. Two new additions are Nali Slaughter and Overdose. Nali Slaughter is just that – you run around a map and slaughter as many Nali – essentially non-combatant sheep people – as you can, aiming to beat your opponents total before the time runs out. Overdose is variation of Bombing Run, where you grab a ball and return it to a goal. The longer you hold a ball, the more irradiated you become, and when you score a goal when your radiation meter is full, and you get an overdose and gain extra benefits. Unfortunately Team Deathmatch and Capture The Flag are the only team modes available, and I was a left a little disappointed – I loved team Bombing Run and felt that more co-operative play would have been more fun.

The Ascension Rites campaign is quite short, but it’s not easy. Whereas some games have less than intelligent bots, the AI in UC2 can only be described as vicious. The AI has an uncanny ability to appear almost human in some respects. If equipped with a sniper rifle, the AI will often camp and attack you from afar, then switch location when you discover them, or switch to melee and bring the battle to you. They use the terrain and cover brilliantly, dodging and weaving through the levels. They’ll use power-ups to devastating effect, which can be irritating especially if you don’t know the maps.

After Ascension Rites there’s Challenge mode, whose completion is required to unlock a certain character with a stormy disposition. If you found the Ascension Rites campaign to be nasty, this is downright evil. You’ll start each round at a disadvantage, and need to catch up and overtake your opponents at whatever game you’re playing – for example you might be two to nothing at capture the flag, and be playing in a team of slow moving characters against a team of fast moving characters. You will have tantrums, you will throw the controller, and you will sweat and cuss more than a footballer on a losing team, but when you succeed the sweetness is palatable.

Multiplayer is where the real action is at, and split screen or on Live! it’s fast and furious fun. Although there was initial scepticism at the 8-person limit, any more people and I don’t think the game would be as well balanced as it is. The melee combat is blazingly fast, and more people would ruin the enjoyment. As the amount of team modes has been reduced, there is no need for many players on one team. The range of characters to unlock, mutators to play with and over 40 maps mean that there are hours upon hours of fine fragging entertainment on offer.

All the new moves and characters wouldn’t be worth jack if they didn’t look good, but each character is brilliantly realised with their individual acrobatic moves and attacks. You no longer think that you’re playing the same character in a different skin, each character feels quite extraordinary to play, and you will most likely develop a liking for one or two characters in particular, depending on your way of playing. The maps are very well conceived for the smaller limits of players, but occasionally they’ll seem a bit large as you run around trying to find campers when playing one or two other people. The background graphics, special effects, shadowing and so forth are up there with the best of the current slew of Xbox games, and the cut scenes are really impressive. Sound wise the game is equally remarkable, with Dolby in game sound on offer and with plenty of cussing and splatting to hear you’ll enjoy the audio as much as the visual aspects.

Conclusion:
UC2 is an incredibly fun game to play. It looks slick and plays well in both multiplayer and single player alike. The melee combat adds such a difference it almost feels like you’re playing a new genre of game. The enormous number of levels, playable characters and challenging gameplay mean that you’re not going to get bored of it too soon. Even if you don’t have Live! the AI Bots in single player are enough of a challenge to keep you coming back.

Pros:
Excellent blend of melee fighting and shooting.
Intelligent and challenging AI in single player mode.
Fantastic fast paced online action.
Wonderful graphics and audio.

Cons:
Cooperative team play has been cut back.
AI can be a little too tough at times.
Some maps can seem a little too big with only a few players.

91/100