UT 2003 Demo Review
Developer: Digital Extremes and Epic Games
Publisher: Atari Friday the 13th, September 2002. As dusk falls on the eastern United States, a chill goes through the air. Is it? Could it be? Yes, it is! TEH UT 2003 DEMO is coming tonight! And a memorable night it was! File mirroring, server installing (what's that new port? what's the command line to run a dedicated Linux server? Why is DM-Curse listed in the DemoMaps list, but not included in the demo?) Then, the all-important gameplay - was all of this work worth it? Is the demo a precursor to a whole new level of FPS gaming, or is it an overhyped, late piece of patchware? The following are our impressions:InstallationInstallation was pretty straight-forward on both the Windows and Linux versions. The Linux version, in particular, was impressive, utilizing Loki's GPL'd installer and updater code. This, along with the use of Open AL and Ogg Vorbis for sound and music, shows how well Open Source can work when people put their mind to it.The biggest problems with installation are related to having the latest system components installed. Windows users really must have DirectX 8.1b installed. Radeon owners are kidding themselves without the 0.23 Catalyst drivers. nVidia card owners need to be up-to-date as well. UT 2003 is a game that pushes your system to it's limits, and if you want acceptable game play, or even a successful installation, you absolutely need to have updated drivers and system components.