I just finished playing through each map a few times and got a feel of the game; overall I quite liked it. The gameplay is fairly similar to the original UT, but that is not exactly a bad thing.
My computer is not exactly state-of-the-art, but it ran very well on 800x600x32 with all the graphics turned to max, staying above 50fps at almost all times.
The graphics were pretty good; not exactly all that ultra-revolutionary as the hype would have one believe, but still at the top today. Lots of special effects - the bright glows look quite nice - and the polygon count on the levels is much higher than in most games today. The detail textures that have always been a hallmark of the Unreal engine were present everywhere, and reflections were used much more prominently. (e.g. the floating metal spheres on that CTF map) However, I still noticed the lens flare problem that has been there since the original Unreal; the lens flares seem to remain the same size if you move closer or farther from the light source. It is much less noticeable now due to all the other effects but it is a simple issue that should have been addressed. Also, since there are so many effects this time around, it can be difficult to tell when you are hitting someone. (the blood splashes are hard to see admist all the other effects)
The bots are a slightly upgraded version of the original UT bots; this time, they use the translocator and jump around a lot more. Good at close-up confrontations and deathmatch games, but they are not very responsive in CTF. (if you attack a godlike-level bot carrying a flag, he sometimes doesn't turn to face you or fire but just keeps walking in a straight line up to his base)
The internet play was pretty smooth and remniscent of the first game for the most part - there are already a thousand or so servers up there - except with different weapons and maps. (actually, the weapons are for the most part functionally the same as the UT ones but with new names and effects, and the balancing seems to be a bit better)
I only really had two problems with the game:
The textures on the weapon models need to be changed. One thing I liked about the original UT is that every weapon had its own distinctive appearance (not the projectiles/shots; the weapon itself), but in this most of the weapons look more or less the same. (the models are fine; it is the textures that are redundant) However, the ammo and other pickups look pretty good.
The other problem I had was that I could not easily distinguish my team members from those of the opposing team; everyone looks pretty much the same. (the players did have some colors on them but one cannot tell at a glance) At the beginning I kept dying simply because I could not tell who was my teammate and who was an enemy.
Also, what are you supposed to do in that bombing run thing? I just ran around blowing stuff up and my team won, but I had no clue what all that stuff about the "ball" was.
Anyway, I will probably be buying this, but I will of course wait for a few reviews first. Has this game already come out or is it still unreleased?
