Unreal II: Awakenings & 1942 Expansion

[Fairweather Pure]

Unreal II: Awakenings

One of the best FPS storyline driven games I have ever played. Graphics and sound are top notch. It feels very much like an updated Half-Life, which should be taken as a compliment.

Weapons, models, environments, music, and sound effects all get 10 out of 10. This game is a joy to play.

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1942 Expansion: Road to Rome

I paid 20$ for this game and it only has 6 new maps. Actually I only paid $19.42 since Wal-Mart is so fucking clever. Anyway, the original game is such a blast, I justified the cost. Once installed, I was amazed with the best 4 maps I have ever seen for this game. The other 2 maps are an excercise in frustration to say the least. I guess maybe because they are more balanced and no one can gain a foothold anywhere no matter how many tanks, men, and aircraft you throw into the meatgrinder. There are a couple of new vehicles, as well as new armies to command, the Italian and French. Yes, I was dissappointed that the French did not have an automatic surrender option. I especially love the new field artiliery that are set up in several of the strongholds.

Overall, the 4 maps that I mentioned above are so freaking good, I easily give this a 8 out of 10. If you like 1942, you're missing out by not having this.

[Kwonryu DragonFist]

Kewl

[*~*stragi*~*]

I'm forced to disagree with Fairweather about Unreal II. Although I will give him that the storyline is nicely done, the graphics, gore, weapons, and general gameplay do not feel like Unreal at all. Personally I find this highly annoying for a game with the Unreal title. Of course this was made by different developers also so I suppose its expected... it's still an ok game but, IMO, not worthy of the Unreal title.

[Corona]

Thanks for the review on the Battlefield 1942 expansion. This is one of my all-time favorite games, and it's good to see they are continuing to expand on it. I almost bought it this weekend, but hadn't heard whether or not it was worth it - I'd bought the AvP2 expansion, and it sucked, so I didn't want to get burned again.

Unreal II looks good, but I'll probably hold off on that one until the price drops a bit more. I don't really doubt it's a good game, but being that it has no multi-player aspect, I'm less pressured to buy this game than other games that are currently on the market.

[Fairweather Pure]

Aye, 1942 is definately an awsome game. The best way to explain it to the those who have no clue what we're talking about is this:

It's a WWII online game with up to 32 people per map. Once you're in game and have chosen a side, you can do virtually anything you want. Climb in a tank, man the anti aircraft guns, fly a plane/bomber, use the costal guns, and so much more it has to be played to be appreciated. Hell, you can even captian an aircraft carrier if you want. You can jump on or leave any free vehicle at anytime, allie or enemy. The maps are pretty balanced and usually true teamwork pulls off a win. It's very, very well done.


Stragi--

Actually, I agree with you that it dosen't feel like the old Unreal. IMO, neither did Unreal Tournament 2003, which was much more Quake-like than Unreal-like. I do feel it is an improvement in both reguards, but I definately understand why a purist might feel slighted. Awakenings is a step forward for the Unreal games IMO, having even more polish than Unreal Tournament 2003. They borrowed OMGIAMRETARDEDCAUSEALOTISTWOWORDS from other successful FPS games and made an excellent hybrid instead of going the totally original route. I don't imagine too many people not enjoying this game. There are way too many "video game momments".

How far have you played into it? Just curious, I just got it last night and ended up playing 1942 to test the new maps. I'm only about 1 hour into Unreal, but am definately curious how long it will take me to beat. It's one of those games that I never want it to end.