User Reviews

Unreal's visuals were unmatched at the time. The music was insanely, umbelievably amazing and stunning visuals combined with the music, good sounds and well designed levels made for an amazing and highly atmospheric experience that is still unmatched today. The only thing is that the game was more of a tour through a very beautiful place rather than a tense, fluid and fast paced action game that it was supposed to be. It is thus nothing like Half-life, the Quake series or anything else if you want a real shoot em up. Unreal was comparatively primitive on the weapons and enemies front but it was a unique experience that could'nt be missed.

This is a great first person shooter, with good textures and one of the best maps ever made. This Unreal game had to fight against the Quake II game.

If i go back to 1998, when this title was released, i would give it a 8 out of 10. You can now play Unreal Tournament, and soon Unreal II.

Cappella..

When Quake 2 was released in 1997, it was the undisputed king of the FPS genre. That was until the release of Unreal in 1998, the first credible challenger to Quake's throne. For months debates raged amongst gamers on which was the only FPS worth playing. Eventually, neither of the 2 games could claim to be the clear winner of this debate, but with the benefit of hindsight is safe to say that while Unreal was technically superior to Quake 2, it wasn't quite the "Quake-killer" it was promised to be on release. The main reason was probably the high system requirements (for 1998) needed to run the game properly, without adding much to the existing FPS genre besides better graphics.

Yes, the best thing about Unreal is without a doubt its graphics, other reviewers on the site have described the graphics much more eloquently than I can, so I will suffice to say that quite a few times while playing the game I sat back and said to myself "Wow, this looks amazing! How did they do it??". The graphics have aged somewhat by today's standards, but I believe that along with Half-Life, Unreal's graphics set the benchmark for all FPS's at the end of the previous century. The other amazing thing about Unreal is it's AI. Enemies duck and dive out of harm's way, ambush you, run away if overwhelmed and even play dead. Rarely do one battle a Skaarj trooper or mercenary and leave the scene of the battle unscathed.

Unreal is unfortunately not without some frustrating aspects, one of the main complaints is the weak weapons available to the player. Quake's range of weapons complement each other, there is always intuitively a best weapon for any given situation. Unreal's developers could have done worse than simply copying the Quake arsenal into Unreal. In Unreal, enemies dodge your powerful weapon's projectiles with ease and require numerous hits from your weaker weapons to be killed. One or 2 of the supposedly advanced weapons are simply useless, and I completely ignored them. The bad weapons frustrated me throughout the game and probably made the AI appear cleverer than it really was.

The other disappointing aspect for me is that while Unreal ushered in a new era with regards to graphics and AI, this innovation was not carried over in the storyline. The storyline is simply the standard Doom/Quake formula of fighting your way through mazes filled with enemies searching for a way to open that darn locked door. The "story" is told by way of logs of fallen soldiers and books picked up along the way, resulting in a feeling of always being two steps behind the story's happenings and not actually being part of the story.

After the initial novelty of the good graphics had worn off, I quickly lost interest in the game and only bothered to finish it because I spent some good money importing it from USA (and some nice cheats really helps when you don't feel like running through the whole level again to look for that button that will open that pesky locked door). The FPS genre has moved on since the mid-nineties, and nowadays a game like Unreal is merely a novelty, but it's still obvious why it was such a hit back in 1998.

Your a prisoner on a transport ship heading to a prison moon. But the transport ship crashes on a unknown planet. The game starts out in a way that will leave you stunned. You wander the dark corridors of the Vortex Rikers. Suddenly, the door behind you slams shut, trapping you in the confined space. Great, you think to yourself...another cell. But then you realize the blast door is not completely closed; a small gap, maybe five inches, is visible between the door and the grimy metal floor. You crouch, and try in vain to peer into the darkened room. Then, suddenly, human voices cry out in panic and terror. An inhuman, almost animalistic growl meets their screams, and the next thing you hear are the sounds of a brutal life-or-death struggle between man and mystery. You can hear the gunshots and the cursing of the hapless crew members as they realize their lives are about to end; you can see the muzzle flashes of weapons being fired. Yet you have no idea what the hell is going on just a few feet away. Then, the door opens, and your eyes catch a shadowy green form -- tail? scales? -- skittering away from the horrific scene before you. Bodies, blood...everywhere. Welcome to your nightmare. Welcome to Unreal.

Many instances of this gritty atmosphere are evident throughout unreal. The whole story is told in a unique way through diaries that were left behind. Then there is the nali alien race which are the peaceful natives of the planet. Who are being slaughtered and subjugated by the brutal Skaarj aliens. Video game are know to trigger shock, fear and rage. All of which Unreal does throughout the game. But never have I experienced SADNESS. which is the only way I can describe my reaction to the brutal killing...murder..of a defenseless Nali by a psychotic Skaarj. The poor guy was just trying to show me a Dispersion Pistol power up. Did he have to die for it? Unreal was one of those games which had so much effort put into it and it shows. The Single player element of Unreal died however, with the release of Unreal Tournament. Which without a doubt the best multiplayer FPS ever. The original Unreal still has a strong fanbase going for it.

Go pick up unreal. It's only $9.99(Unreal Gold which also includes the expansion pack Return to Na Pali). It can be run now on almost any computer since it is quite old. It's graphics won't look as stunning as today's games do. But this awesome game came out in 1998! Unreal was no doubt one of the greatest games of all time.

Unreal an absolutely FANTASTIC game. I have never got bored of it!! I have completed Single Player twice and, at the moment, playing it for a third. The graphics aren't special, bit it is the game-play I enjoy.

The Botmatch is good, and so are the Multiplayer maps!!! LAN Play is good, but I tend to play SP more. The best Level, i think, has to be the "Sky Village" one. It is a real joy to play. Even if the game is eight years old. It is still one of the best games created!!! I guess the thing that keeps me playing Unreal is the amount of levels it holds. I still haven't been able to count all!!

Andy

Unreal is completely different from all the other fps's out there. There is a since of ongoing life on the huge, breathtakingly beautiful levels. Fish swim in the ponds, lakes and rivers. Bugs buzz about and birds fly around. Various kinds of animals can be found through most of the levels. There's plenty of action and challenge to be found in this epic undertaking. At the time of it's release, Unreal was the pinnacle of technology and still stand head and shoulders above most of the rest.

Despite numerous shortcomings, I maintain that Unreal is the most beautiful FPS ever made. By combining exotic locales with a mesmeric soundtrack, this game feels very much like a vacation rather than the frantic danger and shooting you see in all other FPSs. Yeah, you do have the usual bunch of monsters and weapons (which are kinda impotent and crappy in this game and that was a major shortcoming) but combat is really not that common or frantic and you'll find yourself saying OOh and AAAh at the environments and levels more often. It isn't just the graphics but also the very creative and intelligent level design that makes this game so good looking and hypnotic.

Unreal is my favorite First Person Shooter.Single player mode is a very long and exciting experience. It has a good storyline.The game takes place on Na Pali, a mysterious alien planet.You are(were) a prisoner aboard a spaceship that crash lands on the planet.The planet has been taken over by an alien race of powerful conquerors called Skaarj.The game opens with you in your jail cell, the ship already has crashed and the beam that kept you from getting out is broken.Your goal sounds simple enough, to get off of the planet, or die. The included Multiplayer gaming modes are also much fun.There are many different user-made mods available as well.

The sounds are intense.The music fits perfect. The video quality is better than many of today's games. The weapons are GREAT.The ASMD "combo" was quite unique. There are both alien and human weapons.

This game's character control is probably what makes it the best of it's kind, still to this day.

Although the sequels to this game are much more popular, "old Unreal" may be the best game of the franchise.

Announced way back in 1994, Unreal was promised to revolutionize first-person shooters with a memorable, story-driven single-player campaign and incredible graphics. But with the release date constantly being delayed, we didn't know if Unreal would ever come out, or if it would actually be a great game when it came out. Fortunately, Unreal proves that great things happen to those who wait.

While Unreal doesn't really do anything new to the genre, what makes it so special is its execution of familiar first-person shooter elements. For instance, you don't find secret areas by finding hidden cracks in the wall or whatever -- your allies will open up secret areas if you're smart enough to keep them alive. The level designs are straightforward but very interesting and well designed, which keeps the player immersed into the game without worrying about frustrating keycard hunts which were standard in first-person shooters at the time. The weapons are also awesome. You'll start out with a "dispersion pistol" that has a recharging ammo supply, finding other familiar weapons like a pistol, chaingun (the Stinger), shotgun (Flak Cannon), and plasma gun, as well as truly unique weapons like the ASMD Shock Rifle, Eightball Rocket Launcher (which charges up multiple rockets if you hold down the fire button), Biosludge Gun (which shoots out powerful green blobs at your enemies), and a sniper rifle. Most importantly, they all have primary and alt-fire attacks that are really satisfying to carry out. You can also use a translator to read alien messages that reveal parts of the storyline, which also keeps the game interesting throughout.

Of course, the gameplay won't be all that Unreal has to offer -- the graphics are simply the best for its time, with incredible environmental detail and relatively high-polygon graphics for the time. The audio is also great, with memorable sound effects that make for an immersive atmosphere, as well as catchy music.

All in all, Unreal shows its four years of development with a game that's arguably better than Doom and Quake ever were. Two thumbs way up!

In 1997 quake 2 was out, and half life debuted in 1998 (based on the quake 1 engine). Maps had bland colours, boring flat textures. Lots of concrete, more polygons.

Then entered Unreal. Huge variety of textures and lighting. Large outdoor areas. Detail textures that looked good up close! Great water/lava/fire animations. Amazing sound track that changed to suit the action. Fantastic ambient sounds. Smarter bad guys, huge variety of weapons with alternative fire modes. A story line. Everything came together seamlessly, which made it feel like you were really there.

It was basically a single player game. The multiplayer aspect was updated and re-released as Unreal Tournament in 1999 winning many awards.

This game is a piece of art.

The story simply isn't that good. In fact, there's nothing about this that really stands out. The music makes you want to fall asleep. They should have made this a scary, spooky game. They could have used some jump scares to improve it. It came close at that one point. This is way too easy. They give you flares for no reason. At least, I've never felt the need to use most of what this game offers. The hanging creatures are basically worthless enemies. I guess I could say to sum it up, this game lacks intelligence and thoughtfulness. It's extremely repetitive and lacks the puzzle element that made games like Doom great!

Unreal was an absolute masterpiece! I've always enjoyed LAN gaming, and this game ran so perfectly over the network. Going through each level in co-op mode with my twin sister was so fun that we did it twice! And that's saying something, because we get bored of stuff really quickly. Yes, the single-player levels were great, from quaint and peaceful to exciting and high-tech. Besides the gorgeous single player levels, the multi-player section of the game was so delightfully complete! Many levels, all with the option of bots, and team play. It was a pity there was only one "darkmatch" level. After single player was finished, endless death-matches kept us both busy for hours and hours! This was what made Unreal 2 so horribly disappointing - possibly the best aspect of Unreal - co-op and death match - were missing from its insipid sequel.

I just finished this game and it was a truly unreal experience! It's especially amazing considering that it came out '98.

The AI is very intelligent considering the age of the game, the enemies dodge your shots and are often hard to hit.

The 10 weapons you get are all very original and all have two different shooting modes. You also get several different items like jump boots, temporary invisibility, etc.

The story is simply great and the graphics are the most beautiful I have ever seen in a FPS game.

There are 38 levels in total. All well designed and very original.

This game gets my highest recommendations!

I'm not into games like Unreal. It's a mix between Mist, and Aliens Versus Predator, Mist not being a favorite of mine either (though I love AvP). However, if you like first person shooters (like me) and "puzzle" games (not real fun for me because I get bored of them after a while), then you'll enjoy Unreal.

John