Unreal Championship 2 isn’t your typical Unreal title and its not your typical action game either. Those looking for a straightforward sequel to the previous games will be in for a big surprise. Whether their eyes will fill with tears of joy or sorrow is another matter. This new edition manages to blur the lines between a first person shooter and a fighting game more than any other arena style game ever has. Considering the publisher of the game is Midway, it’s no surprise that the game feels like a no holds barred Mortal Kombat. It’s clear from the start that Unreal Championship 2 is a highly unique game. The one stigma that comes with being "unique" is that the game ends up being an aqquired taste. Some Unreal fans will be amazed by the new game direction, while others may simply feel confused. One thing is for sure, when playing the game; “Adrenaline Full” takes on many new meanings.

Something new that the developers tried out with Championship 2 is a full on story campaign. Lets be frank, don’t buy the game expecting some rousing epic saga along the lines of Half-Life, because you won’t get it. What you do get is a quick and candid little peak into the world of the tournament. The star of the show is Anubis, who is trying to pull his former flame Selket aside and have a nice one on one chat. Unfortunately for him, Selket wants absolutely nothing to do with him, and does everything in her power to knock him out of the tournament (which holds the prize of emperor). The game plays basically like the ladder tourneys from the other Unreal games but has story snippets in between each match and a few “get from point A to point B” detours. As you can see from the description, the story isn’t exactly something you have been dying to see, but looking beyond the plot shows a bit more of how the whole tournament works out.



Being a hybrid action game isn’t an easy job. Being able to switch from first person and third person is something that could easily be a frustrating and irritating experience, but somehow, Epic Games pulled it off. The controls are set up like your typical first person shooter except that when you use your melee weapons, the camera shifts behind the back and you are given a wider range of view. You can also use the third person perspective with your normal weapons, and honestly, its highly recommended. Using first person in the game isn’t a good idea online because melee is what people cling to. If you aren’t careful, you will be in the ground almost instantly. This doesn’t make the other weapons useless though, because they are excellent support weapons for when you want to pick your opponents off from behind, or hit them hard up close. The game includes the fan favorites like the rocket launcher, flak cannon, shock rifle, sniper rifle, stinger (mini-gun), Ripjack (remember the Ripsaw from the original UT?) and those trusty dual enforcers. You will eventually find a purpose for each weapon and exploiting their strengths and weaknesses is key to survival.

Another key element of the game that’s emphasized a bit more in this new Championship is maneuvering. Not only do you have a double jump at your disposal, but when you have your melee weapon equipped, you can charge up in the air and dash towards an enemy or another part of the map. This feature makes hunting down your opponents a heart thumping treat and it makes for some fast and furious fighting. Using your melee techniques is the best and most entertaining way to play the game. The basic attacks become fairly repetitive over time, but how, when and where you perform them will always make the difference. You have the ability to freeze certain enemies in place and after doing so you can perform a “fatality” type attack that requires the quick pressing of a button combination. If it sounds cheap, its really not, because more often than not, you will flub and have your ass handed to you by someone waiting behind you. When you finally do happen to pull one off, you will get progressively better at it and use it more efficiently each match.



In previous Unreal games, the adrenaline meter was used for very little. Aside from some quick and limited speed bursts, it really didn’t do much to help your progress. In Championship 2, the adrenaline system has been retooled to give your characters “powers”. Depending on the state of your meter you can pull off character specific abilities like flash (causing your opponent to lose vision for a few seconds), ethereal (making your opponent see a carbon copy of yourself) and even heal which . Considering the short life spans you will be enduring, they don’t do much for the long term, but they can help with getting that extra kill, and they can help eventually turn the tide of battle. Along with all of that, the classic U-Damage powerup is available to turn you (or your opponent) into a (practically) unstoppable killing machine for a short time. Of course, what would Unreal be without the typical invisibility powerup as well?

So, we have established the fact that the game controls well. You can do nifty side jumps, wall hop, use adrenaline drugs to blind people and oh yes, shoot people. What fun would all of this be without the game modes and levels? None, that’s what. As with every Unreal game before it, Championship 2 features the typical Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag and Last Man Standing. With the inclusion of the melee, each of these modes feel very different, so don’t just pass them off as the same old fare. The new modes include Nali Slaughter and Overdose. Two modes which for the sake of the game, help mix things up. Nali Slaughter has you going up against opponenets trying to slaughter the most Nali that are scattered across the map. The mode is gimmicky, but it works nonetheless. Overdose is a ball game of sorts that has you searching for the specified ball color and placing it in the right goal. What makes the mode interesting is that even if you suck at finding the ball, you can score a few points by simply fragging. All of these modes are interspersed within almost fifty different levels and environments. While there are a few weak maps, almost all of them have their own merits and some you will even remember from past games. Along with the game modes, the UT standard Mutators are back. Basically, they are options that allow you to modify the rules of a match. They range from low grav, to the more interesting Melee only option. They help add a little life to the game after you have had your fill of the standard rules.

For those that don’t enjoy the Xbox Live features (shame on you), then you are lucky to have a team of fairly competent bots to compete with. They react well to their surroundings and put up a good fight, sometimes an impossible one, especially on the higher difficulties. You can unlock new bot characters and playable characters by completing tasks in the single player modes. Aside from the story mode, there is a tournament mode where you can play through a tourney as any of your playable characters. Playing through these raises your completion level, unlocks new mutators and also some characters. The final mode, challenges, is a set of seemingly impossibly missions that test your skill in matches that are definitely not in your favor. If you play well enough, you can look out for the Mortal Kombat character Raiden sneaking his way around.

The meat of the game and the reason most will end up picking it up is the Xbox Live portion. It features all of the game modes from single player and allows up to eight players in each server. Playing online is definitely where the fun is. Some lag will creep up in the high population servers, but its not a consistent issue. Most of the people you meet will be having loads of fun, but others will be complaining of some imbalances. Unreal Championship also has a neat stat tracking system that while not at the level of Halo 2, it does provide for some helpful information.

As stated above, some people are having mixed emotions on what is or isn’t a balance issue. I will be honest and say that there were several times in which I died suddenly with full health from an attack that didn’t provide a finishing blow when I performed it, but one will be quick to point out some reason for it. The single player campaign is excellent at preparing you for going online, but it cops out with a very annoying final battle that seems cheapened for effect. Lastly, this isn’t a problem, in fact its pretty much a compliment, one which some will like and others won’t. Unreal Championship 2 can be very hard at times, and online, some people will be doing things you didn’t even know you could. Its simply not as easy to master as a typical Unreal game and it will take some time to fully understand the extent of your unnatural acrobatic abilities. I found that whenever the game became challenging, that I liked it even more because it forced me to change my tactics, but it’s a preference. Some will like the curve, some won’t.

Visually, UC2 is a looker for sure. It is one of the best looking Xbox action games out there and with an engine built from the ground up for the Xbox, it shows what the system is really capable of. Stunning environments, detailed textures, fluid character animations and a consistently solid framerate show that this new Unreal engine is a perfect fit for the system. In a market saturated with conversions and ports, these graphics do little but shine their brightest. On the audio side, things are solid as well. The voice acting is campy and sometimes off key, but it does the job its simple story laid out. The sound effects are explosive and as always, up to the quality we expect from Unreal and the music provides an interesting mix of rock and Egyptian themed tunes to keep the battles going.

As a long time player of the Unreal series, Unreal Championship 2 had a lot to live up to. Its simply not the random first person shooter mayhem induced binge that it was on the PC and its previous Xbox version, but frankly that’s just fine. This is a tailor made experience that mixes up the traditions and shows off a unique and fresh combat experience. It looks good, it’s a lot of fun, it’s an acquired taste, but its one you won’t regret getting used to.