Wrapped in an impressive gaming engine, Unreal 2 The Awakening has arrived amidst much hype and anticipation. The game is the sequel to the genre-defining Unreal that set the standard for cutting edge graphics and a.i. The game not only spawned an add on pack, but the games Unreal Tournament and Unreal Tournament 2003 as well as a host of games powered by the game’s engine.
Unreal 2 sets players as John Dalton, a former Marine who now patrols the outer regions of space keeping the peace. The dreary routine for John and his 3-person crew is disrupted by a distress call to investigate a disturbance at a mining station.
At this point a promising setup is lost, as Unreal 2 becomes a series of missions designed to collect pieces of an alien artifact while battling foes over some graphically impressive landscapes.
Sadly I was disappointed, as once I got past the amazing graphics, the brief storyline, the standard plot became tiresome. The ship scenes were at first exciting but I soon found offered little to the game aside from a distraction from the combat, as the game has a very linear storyline hampering replay options. Unreal 2 also shipped without any multi-play options, and this combined with an average 12 hours or less of playing time makes it hard to recommend the game. The high system requirements as well as a $49.99, price at most retailers makes it hard to recommend. Lets hope that there will be patches with online play and more maps to help this game reach its amazing potential, as in its current state, it fails to live up to its hype.
3 out of 5
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