Unreal II: The Awakening
World Press Preview Event: November 7, 2002
Chantilly, Virginia, USARandom Gameplay NotesDue to the compressed nature of the event, I didn't even attempt to get the name of every planet, NPC, mission, etc. - I played the missions to get an accurate feel for the game. Some of my impressions, in free-form:

  • The game has great flow. Absolutely great!
  • Very story-intensive.
  • Take it one mission at a time. It's easier in the beginning, harder as you progress through.
  • I bet a real serious gamer could do the whole game in about 10 hours, regular people maybe about 20
  • Some of the missions have big replay value.
  • Types of damage from various weapons: Impact, Explosive, EMP, Toxic, Fire, and Biological
  • In some missions, you have to control your team via commands. Very complete, responsive AI. Small spiders almost appear to have a 'pack' mentality at times.
  • You can assemble energy barriers. Very useful for defensive purposes. You can walk through your own barrier.
  • HUD is very good. Clean, simple, useful.
  • Building turrets rocks. Rocket turrets are uber-effective.
  • Cut scene stuff isn't too annoying, and is very professionally and beautifully done.
  • It was an intense gameplay experience.
  • I found myself (and others) rocking on our computer chairs as we avoided shots, etc.
  • Very cool weapon sounds, death sounds, etc.
  • Music is great, like a movie soundtrack, very professional, very well done. Sets the whole tone and mood for the missions.
  • It's very polished at this point.
  • There are a few bugs yet, both gameplay, graphical and some audio issues, but they know about them.
  • Also working on some gameplay issues.
  • They currently precache prior to starting missions/scenes. This takes awhile, and while it's a welcome break from the action for some, Legend is not sure it's going to remain in the final build
  • All cutscenes are engine-rendered, too.
  • Outdoor levels were my favorites.
  • Skyboxes, in particular, are the best I've ever seen.
  • It ran smooth, but we were on fast-bitch machines. I wonder how it'll do on a machine half as fast (1.2 ghz) and a low end GF3...
  • Framerates on this computer range from a little less than 20 to well over 100, depending on the situation. Still, there weren't many spots where the game was difficult to play. Few dropouts. Wonder how it's going to do with full detail textures added.
  • Voice acting and storyline are excellent. Really professional and compelling stuff.
  • The animation is great. Golem animation system allows game physics to affect the player models. Very, very cool - try a concussion grenade and watch the characters closely.
  • There are some really tough boss-types to defeat in the game.
  • Plenty of problem-solving to do along the way too.
  • Nothing's TOO hard, though. They designed it to be finished by an average player.
  • There are significant challenges, even in the early missions.
  • Your crewmates are important to your success.
  • Isaac makes weapons for you, sometimes out of stuff you bring back to the mothership.
  • Aida helps you in a number of ways. She's quite tart at times, but a helluva 'Gal Friday'
  • I anticipate Fan Fiction stuff making it to this game via mods.
  • You take the shuttle ship down to planets/moons for your missions.
  • Opponents take advantage of cover very well, especially humans.
  • Rocket launcher has some great features. You can tag multiple opponents, then fire a salvo up in the air, they track to the enemies. DEATH FROM ABOVE!
  • Arachnid gun is cool, shoots spiders or a spider pod. When an opponent comes near the spider pod, the spider(s) hatch and fight for you against them.
  • Flamethrower alt-fire lays down a napalm-like substance you can ignite with a shot.
  • No melee weapons, sadly.
  • Dispersion pistol still sucks (alt-fire is a little cooler). Thankfully, you get a regular sidearm later in the game, much better, much more effective than your standard pea-shooter. Very accurate, higher damage than you might presume.
  • Six types of grenades, including a terrific concussive grenade. Knocks a whole circle of enemies on their asses.
  • There is a TON of originality in this game.
  • Weapons are very cool, overall. Lots of imagination here, and they fit this universe very, very well. Well thought-out.