Unreal (Jewel Case)

by Atari

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000DMAM
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: February 15, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,863 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Unreal stunned action gamers when it was released, thanks to its lush alien environments, scripted mission events, and over-the-top complement of weapons. It raised the bar for first-person shooters both in terms of technology and single-player gameplay, and now you can experience this futuristic action- adventure for less than 10 bucks.

Unreal may be old, but you would never know it by looking at the graphics. They still stand as some of the most stunning visuals ever put in an action game, and best those of many newer games we've played. Unreal's only real stumbling block is its uninspired gameplay, which relies too much on standard "find the key" puzzles. The game is challenging regardless--most of the enemies are smart--and we found ourselves pressing ahead just to see what sort of beautiful, strange new environment we would end up in next.

We also had a lot of fun playing deathmatch games against the computer-controlled "bots," which put up a heck of a fight. The artificial intelligence of the bots in the newer game Unreal Tournament is much better, but that game doesn't deliver the single-player story line that makes Unreal so compelling. Action fans with 3-D accelerator cards won't want to miss this technological showcase that also happens to be a very fun game. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Beautiful graphics and special effects
• Competing against computer-controlled "bots" is a blast
• Scripted events add much excitement to the single-player game

Cons:

• Online multiplayer component isn't so great
• Needs a 3-D accelerator card to strut its stuff

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best graphics, game play, and engine to date, April 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Unreal (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

Here is something I just don't understand. This game was released about 6 months after Quake II. A number of reviews I read were saying that Unreal was behind in the times and Quake II offered so much more.

LIKE WHAT? Quake II uses OpenGL, but the graphics are NOWHERE NEAR Unreal. The sky for one is 100x better in Unreal. The sound is better, the AI, the weapons, and so much more.

In fact, even though I see a 3dfx OpenGL option in Quake II, it just looks like Direct3D to me. I'm not saying Quake II sucks, but you can easily tell WAY more time was put into Unreal.

As for the requirements, you really do need a fast system to play it. The first one I started playing it on was a Pentium 233 MMX without an accelerator. It was decent, but not great. You can play it, but there was some chop. Last summer I bought a Voodoo2 card, and as soon as I plugged it in, the graphics were much better, the framerate doubled, and the game moved faster. Later I went to a Pentium II 266, then 450, but still, the Voodoo made a difference.

I DEFINITELY recommend an accelerator. The game is really good without one, but you will be amazed when you see the difference.

Reflections, lighting, water, the sky, and countless other additions. When I stepped outside the ship and saw the sky with 3dfx Glide for the first time, I serious stared at it for 15 minutes. It is UNREAL.

It is very hard to visualize the graphics without seeing them. Another thing that is difficult is to say the parts that are the best. If I said the trees, someone else might say the buildings, if I said the waterfalls, another might say the castles.

This game is very cheap now. Even if you do not have an accelerator, get the game.

There is no way to describe it, you just have to see it in action.

In my mind, it is FAR better than all the Quake games, Half-Life, Sin, Blood II, and so many others. The graphics were the main selling point, but it does offer much more than that.

Try and hit a Skaarj with a rocket! They constantly duck. You can't hit one from a distance, you have to get close to it, and they are FAST!

Some highlights:

- Waterfalls and water fountains - Underwater passages with great detail - Stand still and watch the screen; it moves a little - your breathing! - Trees and plants with amazing detail - There are twigs and such on the ground - An AMAZING multi-colored sky with 2 suns - Transparent water with plants - Detailed rocks - Very detailed indoor architecture - Candles and torches lighting rooms - Walk into a multi-colored room and look at your weapon, then turn to the sides -- the shading of the light reflects on your weapon! - In the ship, the same room where you get the armor has a mirrored floor, look down!

This game will probably take you a long time to solve. Some levels are small, some are HUGE. Just kick back and check out the scenery and listen to the sounds of the birds, water, and wind!

The name says it all: UNREAL.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the Breakthrough Epic Games Hoped It Would Be, January 7, 2000

By 

The-Bus (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unreal (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

First of, let's just say Unreal could've been one of the best games released in the 90's if it wasn't for a few flaws.

First, the networking code for multiplayer gaming was disastrous. Eventhough it was somewhat fixed about 6 months later, it hurt the multiplayer community of Unreal enough that it could never really compete with the established community of iD's software's Quake and Quake II. Now, however, the network code of Unreal (thanks to recent patches) is rock solid, and the community, although small, still exists, which is more than you can say about some releases of 1998 (like SiN or Shogo).

Second, it was too much game for the hardware of the time. The game code was a bit bogged down, Unreal was said to be a resource hog, and it brought even brand-new systems to its knees at the time. When it was originally released in early summer 1998, no Riva's TNT video cards or Pentium-III chipsets had been released. The most consumers could hope for (as far as power was concerned) were 3dfx's Voodoo2 cards in Scan-line Interleave (SLI) configuration so they could keep up with the graphical demands of Unreal, which ran choppy and slow on older systems. And this particular configuration ran at well over $400 at the time, a bit much for the casual gamer. Now, of course, new "gaming" computers ship with Voodoo3's, TNT2's, or GeForce256's standard alongside a Pentium-III or an Athlon, which is more than enough power to run this game. Now everyone, even those buying $1500 PC's can enjoy stunning graphics and captivating imagery without slowdown. Hardware is not a problem. If you bought a new computer since the summer of this year, you can run Unreal, and you can run it quite well.

What about the game content itself? I will be perfectly honest when I say that Unreal, at it's time, had some of the most amazing graphics I had ever seen on a computer... ever. The first hour of the game I was mesmerized by what you encounter... Shiny floors that reflect your image, halos of light appear around spotlights, you creep through a system of vents that's completely clouded by a green fog. Then when you step outside you are in a natural utopia. You can hear the wind howl as you are in a canyon stepping out of a crashed spaceship. There's wildlife (both friendly and un-), and beautiful, rippling pools of water. Further in the game, there's more emotional encounters. In a deserted battle arena at nightime, you face down with the first boss, a creature the size of a house that you pulls up rocks from the earth and throws them at you. Throughout the game, you travel through occupied spaceships, medieval castles, ancient Aztec-themed pyramids, a village in the sky, a crater in the middle of a volcano where a demon lives, underground rivers that must be navigated by raft, and plenty of challenging, but not too-challenging puzzles to give you rest from the action.

When you are done playing the single-player mode, you can play online against other opponents, or use Unreal's unique feature of 'bots', artificially intelligent opponents controlled by the computer that fight you on multiplayer levels and act many times as a real player would.

Included with the game is the actual map editing package that Epic Games, makers of Unreal and Unreal Tournament, used to design the whole game! This means not only can you design your own deathmatch arena (complete with any props or effects you saw in the game), but that there's also hundreds of user-made maps that you can play once the game gets a bit stale.

Overall, this game is an absolute STEAL for this price (at time of review about fifteen dollars). It's fun for both the beginning and experienced gamer, and there's an option to cut-out the amount of blood shown so it's also kid friendly.

Highly recommended for gaming software under $20.00

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Days of nonstop action, February 10, 2000

By 

Alex 'Dark Angel of Death' (Glenview, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unreal (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

This game is one of the best I have ever seen. Although many will argue that Half-Life may be a better game, I find it annoying. There is too much story and too many things to do. Unreal, meanwhile, is a simple "shoot now, never ask questions" kind of slaughter house. But it does have a collosal story line which is revealed as the game progresses. The AI will make you sweat as you try to outmaneuver and outshoot (not to mention outrun) a horde of enemies as you fight for your life. The weapons are unique, and somewhat strange, but they suit their purpose. The enemies are many and visious. Also, note that it may take you at least a solid week to beat the game even on easy (that's assuming you are really good! ). Enjoy!