You are John Dalton, an ex-Marine assigned to patrol the edge of human space as a Marshal for the Terran Colonial Authority. Unexpectedly, your monotonous life is shattered by a chilling distress signal, plunging you into an adventure beyond belief. Violent turmoil among the races has erupted on your watch. Thrust into a conflict that will determine the fate of the galaxy, you are humanity's only hope for salvation. Only you can prevent the Awakening. Not Your Average Mission - Command a team of marines defending a ravaged base. Infiltrate an enemy stronghold. Rescue the trapped survivor of an alien raid. With a demanding array of objectives, you have one overriding goal - survival. Be ready for anything. Unreal Graphics and Sound - Awe-inspiring graphics immerse you in a swarm of alien worlds full of breathtaking scenery and brutal action. 3D sound envelops you in hailstorms of bullets, mind-jarring explosions and the eerie chatter of alien tongues. From Your Mind to the Game - Use the included Unreal Editor software to create your own levels of Unreal play. Design your own game mods and challenge others to enter your personal Unreal Universe. 2003, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, and Unreal II are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere.
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The things I remember liking the most were: traveling and seeing new planets and aliens, being on my own little ship interacting with crew mates, getting a small briefing on the mission ahead on a hologram, the atmosphere of it all, the main character being pretty likable.
I guess this was kind of my Mass effect before Mass effect.
Unlike the groundbreaking predecessor, this might be one of the most generic, soulless, boring, empty, forgettable and just nothing FPS games I've played. Sure it looks okay for its time and has an all-star music composer staff, but I really don't get what does it have to do with the Unreal universe in ANY way (beside having Skaarj and the fictive corporations).
The combat is weak and choppy, has none of the trademark Unreal weapons, the cutscenes and dialogues are badly written and pace-braking and oh my god, why do I move soooo slowwwly??? And what the heck is with the atrocious loading times in 2023 on an NVMe SSD? (update: it's because v-sync, WTF?)
It's not offensively bad, and has some moderately cool moments, but it really is no wonder no one remembers this game. You'll lose literally nothing if you skip this game from the Unreal series.
The graphics feel very early 2000s-ish and haven't aged well IMO. Makes the game lose a lot of charm in a way.
The main character is incredibly slow. So slow that if you increase the speed through the console, you can save 2-3 hours of game time and a lot of frustration.
While it has a concrete story unlike the first game where it felt like you were wandering around the world, I actually think this hurts the game a lot. The story isn't gripping and there are too many cutscenes to sit through.
The level design IMO also felt pretty underwhelming.
I find it to be a bad game, but ultimately you should try it out and decide for yourself.