Unreal Tournament (PS2) - 3. CTF Ladder

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Louis B

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Published on September 20, 2021 11:00:18 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2FEoqj43KM

Game:

Unreal Tournament (1999)

Duration: 2:27:04

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Unreal Tournament was an arena shooter that will forever be remembered for its reputation as a PC game. Not only did Epic and Digital Extremes push the boundaries of computing hardware, with the advanced visuals of the day, but Unreal Tournament also did it by being at the forefront of net-based multiplayer experiences. Unreal Tournament was the first time, for many, where we could go against each other across the world, over the internet, and share new content, like maps and mods, between each other. Online multiplayer is often taken for granted in the year 2021 but, in late 1999, there were few like it. Naturally, a game engine as complex as Unreal could never run on the limited Mips powered PlayStation or the cartridge based Nintendo 64 either, both of which struggled to keep up at the turn of the millennium.

So fast-forward to the Sixth generation of console hardware: Sony’s PlayStation 2 launches with impressive new technology, and the promise to take gaming into the new age. Alas, it did not turn out this way. The obvious elephant in the room would be that Unreal Tournament featured no online multiplayer, admittedly a fault of the PlayStation 2 hardware itself, given broadband adaptors for internet connectivity were adopted as late as 2003 in territories like Europe. Not only did Unreal Tournament lack worldwide competitive play but it similarly had no system link support (atleast in PAL variants of the game), which actually was a supported feature on PlayStation 2 through its proprietary i.Link setup.

Ofcourse the faults did not end here either, performance of Unreal Tournament was dire. In the heat of the action, with lots of projectiles and body parts flying across the screen, performance could dip into the single digits. As such, the controls felt pretty unresponsive, often exacerbated by the excruciatingly slow turning and generally poor camera movement of the analogue controls on PlayStation 2. Lining up shots was difficult and the auto-aim simply was not fast (or reliable) enough to ease the amount of work needed to hit your targets. Fortunately Unreal Tournament did feature plug-and-play mouse and keyboard support, thanks to native USB support, however even support for this was spotty and naturally lacked the same level of customisability found on PC.

The lack of support for custom content whether that be new maps or new mods, would also be a massive kicker in the genuine longevity of Unreal Tournament on PS2. Because, with a lack of online multiplayer or additional content made by the fans, Unreal Tournament became entirely dependent on the single player campaign of which only gives players a taste of what the game had to offer.

Unreal Tournament’s approach to single player progressed in a ladder format, with every game type gradually building up in challenge as you continued to win and prove your mettle. There was no specific story related to this, that said, the PS2 version played unique in adding some of the expansion pack levels and characters into the fray (including Skaarj Hybrids). Sadly though, it was not enough. You could complete this experience in less than five hours and, while offering some solid challenge, it was never close to what had to be experienced against human players across the globe. The sad part is that the developers could have done more to make up for this. Certainly, the original Unreal had a solo experience which holds strong today, with great scope and atmosphere akin to its contemporaries in Quake and Half-Life.

As established, Unreal Tournament was an incredible game (still is) thanks in large part to how well it operated. The guns felt great, the maps were legendary, it had a soundtrack that got the adrenaline flowing. Unreal Tournament hit all the right beats for a classic game. Yet Unreal Tournament was also a colossal mess on PlayStation 2, quickly released to test the waters for Epic Megagames own technology on console hardware but, more importantly, to cash-in on the launch of arguably the most anticipated games console to release up until that point. Epic would eventually get it right on smaller machines, and that journey was long and arduous, however Gears of War, Infinity Blade and naturally Fortnite were all proof of the fruits of one’s labour. Even so, Unreal Tournament on sixth generation hardware remains fated to be an oddity until the end of days.

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A NECESSARY EVIL:
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Any copyrighted footage I use is covered under fair use laws, or more specifically those listed under Section 30(1) of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1989 and under section 107 of US Copyright Act 1976. This video exists purely for the purpose of research and criticism. I do not make a profit from any uploaded content, nor do I intend to. Thank you for watching.

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