Unreal Championship: The Liandri Conflict Preview
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Aug 28, 2004 18:07
Check out the Unreal Championship 2 preview...I pasted this one for all to see...
Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict (Xbox)
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Epic Games
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: February 8, 2005
ESRB: TBA
More Info on this Game
By Will Tuttle | Aug. 27, 2004
Epic and Midway prove that if you want to get to the top, it pays to take a step back.
Spiffy Iffy
New perspective completely changes the gameplay; tons of big, beautiful levels; melee attacks are satisfyingly brutal. If the focus is squarely on the multiplayer, will there be much to the single player mode?
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I was a bit surprised when I heard that Epic' s Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict was going to be published by Midway. It' s not that I was surprised that Midway got the title, since they' ve been one of the best publishers of the year to date. I just didn' t understand why Microsoft, the company pinning many of its hopes on the Xbox Live service, would give up the rights to a title that was built from the ground up to be one of the most exciting, fast-paced online console games around. I was sure that gamers would flock to it, especially since the variety of gameplay always keeps it fresh. After playing it extensively at yesterday' s Midway Gamer' s Day event, I' m still sure.
So how did the team from Epic make a first-person shooter with so much variety? Well, the first thing they did was throw away all of their preconceived notions about what an online multiplayer game should be like. As the developers of some of the best PC shooters around, they obviously knew what pushed gamers' buttons, but things had to be changed for the console crowd. Console controllers just don' t offer the lightning response times or accurate control that' s needed to be successful at Epic' s frenetic and furious Unreal series. In an effort to make things a bit more manageable, they decide to put things in perspective. Third-person perspective, that is.
You now have the option to play the game in the standard, tried-and-true first-person view, which offers better control when aiming. However, if you want to acrobatically jump around, dodging enemies while you deal death, you can switch into third-person mode using the black button. Once you' re able to view your character from behind, a whole new world of gameplay options is opened up to you. Controlling your character and taking in your surroundings is easier than ever, since you' re able to see much of the area to the right and left of your avatar. Chimney jumps have never been simpler!
The real advantage to third-person mode, however, is the ability to perform melee attacks, in addition to blasts from your wide variety of weapons. While many FPSs allow you to do melee attacks with the butt of the firearm you' re carrying, hitting the B button puts away the guns and pulls out the blades for some up-close-and-personal time with your enemies. As Cliffy B famously put it, " We wanted to let you bring a knife to a gunfight." Sean Connery himself couldn' t have said it better himself (bonus points if you can name the movie).
When you' ve got your melee weapon of choice out (each character is equipped with a unique one), you can use the right trigger to perform a quick attack, or press the B button to strike with more power. This almost makes it a fighting game of sorts, as two (or more) combatants can duel each other, blocking each other with their shields (activated by holding both triggers), while quickly striking when given the opportunity. If you manage to hit your opponent a few times, they' ll either die outright or stand stunned as you finish them off (again, the B button will perform a heavy attack, blowing them into bloody chunks). If you want to be a little showy, you can perform a coup de grace, punching a combo of buttons to activate a brief, real-time cutscene as you finish them off, Mortal Kombat style.
Of course, you have to remember that while you' re battling one player with your melee weapon, there are plenty of others (up to 8 online) who won' t hesitate to blast you from all angles. If you' re starting to take some fire, you can either put up your shield to block the shots, or you can go Barry Bonds on their asses, knocking their blasts right back in their faces. All you have to do is hit the L trigger to deflect your foes' shots, but you must time your parries perfectly, or you' ll be the one on the receiving end of the rocket. Deflecting shots might be one of the most challenging aspects of the gameplay, but it' s also the most rewarding, as nothing sticks it to a foe than blowing them to chunks with their own blast.
You' ve got some other special moves at your disposal in melee mode, including an air dash that can be performed by jumping into the air and holding the attack button before blasting toward your foe. The most handy new element, by far, is the ability to lock-on to your nearest opponent by clicking right analog stick. Once you' re locked-on, you' ll be able to keep your foe in front of you at all times, making it easier to close in for the kill. Your enemy will probably lock-on to you, too, so you' ll end up circling each other like wild animals, just waiting for the chance to strike. You can also fire your ranged weapons when locked-on, but you' ll still need to do the fine aiming if you want to take them out fast.
It' s tough to say so far which view is going to suit most players. I was wary the first time I heard about the change but, after playing the game many times over the past few months, it' s rare for me to even go into first-person mode at all, unless I' m using the sniper rifle. The over-the-shoulder view opens up a lot of the screen, making it easier to spot and chance opponents, and it also allows you to be much more acrobatic. Wall jumping high into the air while firing at your ant-sized foes on the ground below looks and feels great, mostly due in part to the third-person perspective. The fact that you can quickly switch views on the fly is sure to keep everyone happy.
With the help of the game' s adrenaline system, you can chose to flip and float high into the air, simply by pushing the A button and choosing from 6 different special abilities. The powers are broken up into two each of offensive, defensive, and agility categories, and you can pick up adrenaline canisters to use them. Agility offers things like a speed boost and the crazy high-jumping, defensive will put up temporary shields or heal you, and offensive offer things to (surprise!) kill or stun nearby opponents. It' s a cool system, and using the powers is a good way to get the upper hand, or at least take you to a higher ground.
There' s a ton of mostly original content in the game, as well. A bunch of new characters and races will appear, joined by some old favorites from the franchise. Before each match, characters can choose an explosive weapon (like a grenade launcher or an updated Ripjack) and an energy weapon (plasma blaster or shock rifle to name a few) to bring into battle, in addition to their standard sidearm and melee weapon. There is an amazing number of multiplayer maps (over 40 at Epic' s last estimate), and each one that we' ve seen has been better than the last. The levels are all large, stunningly rendered and designed, and offer enough hidden goodies and varied areas to keep things interesting for a long time.
It looks like Midway has big plans for Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, and I couldn' t be happier. Microsoft just wasn' t giving it the TLC that it deserved but, thankfully, it found a home in the Windy City. It seems like everything that Midway has touched this year has turned to gold, and it' s looking like their run of successes will continue on into 2005.