[Review] Unreal

[Lunix I]

Unreal is a 1990 video game released by Ubi Soft for the Amiga. The game, divided in 8 chapters, combined two different genres: In five levels, the player controls a pterodactyl-like creature in a pseudo-3D rail shooter environment. Three levels belong to the side-scrolling platform game genre where the player controls a barbarian fighting monsters and solving puzzles. Ports for MS-DOS and Atari ST were released in 1991.

A creator being called Sleeper, sent his servant Fragor to Unreal to create life with some life-giving eggs. Fragor was hit by a comet and fell on Unreal releasing chaotic forces on the planet. While the elements were separated or mixed in uncontrollable ways, the eggs formed life on the planet. Forces of evil dominated the elements while the evil Polymorphe, who has the form of a floating flaming head, became absolute master. Unknown to him, the civilization of the Barbares, created out of a single egg which fell in a secluded valley.

Two Barbares, Artaban and Isolde, befriend a dragon named Dracus who came from the sky. When Dracus did not show up for some time, Isolde was caught by Polymorphe's servants while calling for him. Imprisoned in a dungeon, she was ordered to marry him, or Polymorphe would kill all life in the valley. Dracus and Artaban prepare to go to her rescue, and a mysterious wizard equips Artaban with an ancient sword forged from Fragor's comet. The objective of the game is to guide Artaban (either on foot or riding Dracus on his back) to the Burning Sea where Polymorphe's Flying Castle is found.

The game combined two different gameplay genres. Both Galaxy Force and Rastan Saga were inspirations for the game. In five of the chapters, the player (as Artaban) guides Dracus as they fly over a natural landscape (forests, river canyons, glaciers or seas of lava). The gameplay of those levels are of a 3d scrolling shooters, the view being from behind Dracus. The player must avoid obstacles (like trees or spires of rock) and adversaries that come from the distance. Dracus fires fireballs that can destroy some of the monsters or parts of the scenery.

Dracus can fire more and stronger fireballs, when the player collects power-ups that appear on the ground. The player can attain 12 levels of firepower, but whenever the player crashes on the scenery, Dracus loses a level. Other bonuses include restoration of health and some limited invincibility. The other parts of the game are of the platform arcade-adventure genre. The player guides Artaban on foot traversing forests, swamps and castles. He encounters adversaries which can be killed with the sword. The sword gives some limited interaction with the environment: and can be "charged" by touching fire found at some points of the levels; there are also some kinds of spells that give Artaban the power to hurl water or fireballs with the sword. The sword also is used for some puzzles.

The difficulty in reviewing a game like Unreal is keeping in mind what has come before it while at the same time allowing the game to flesh out its own sense of style and gameplay. Unreal is not Quake. The look is different. The feel is different. And what gives Unreal an edge is how these differences, while not always positive, distinguish it from the legions of other 3D shooters.

In Unreal, you are a prisoner aboard a ship en route to a penal colony. The ship crashes on a mysterious planet where the mystical Nali race is being subjugated by the cruel and technologically advanced Skaarj. As you journey through the many environments on the planet, you must find a means of escape from the planet and help the Nali defeat their oppressors. Unreal intertwines the feel of the medieval Nali architecture and culture with the sci-fi design of the weapons and the Skaarj warriors to create an environment that's a step above other games of its ilk.

As far as the game itself, the graphics are incredible. Unreal has the best graphics of any first-person shooter - and possibly of any game - to date. The palette is bright and varied, while the textures are intricate and well defined. The quality of textures deserves high praise - they help create environments that really take hold of you. The levels are so detailed and distinct that it's easy to distinguish one level from all the others, and you won't confuse the prison spacecraft for the Nali village. In conjunction with the graphics, the level design is advanced and complex. The mix of wide-open spaces and cramped hallways is refreshing. As far as graphics go, you just can't beat Unreal's immersion factor.

Combining an alien world with weapons that seem alien themselves has produced some interesting results. As varied as the ten weapons are, there's also an alternate method of firing each of them (the 8-Ball Launcher, Unreal's equivalent of a rocket launcher, can also be used as a grenade launcher). This wide range of attack styles will undoubtedly produce higher degrees of strategy in deathmatch play. As for single-player, the weapon placement and location was spaced out evenly, and finding ammunition was not a daunting task.

One of Unreal's best features is the enemy AI. In other games, the logic of certain creature actions seems to be linear and undefined. In Unreal, each opponent attacks with its own style, using a combination of melee and ranged attacks. One of the most impressive experiences (if not the most aggravating) was seeing a well-placed rocket shot miss because a Skaarj dodged it at the last second. Another eye-catching sight was watching different enemies power up shields to protect themselves in the midst of battle.

As far as problems go, there are some, but they don't hurt gameplay enough to reduce the overall experience. The first is that there are too few enemy model types. Unreal has only six main enemy models, but the design team has done a pretty good job of using different skins to create a variety of opponents. In addition, there are other models for the random critters that you fight throughout your adventuring.

Another complaint deals with the pace of gameplay. Sometimes the pace of action seems too stretched out, and it feels as if each battle is just the same as the last. However, these gaps were few, and for the most part the game pacing and plot development were enjoyable. On the puzzle-solving side, there isn't much to be had; most of the game you simply push buttons to open a path leading to the next level. But your actions involving them are well integrated into the plot. There are few complex puzzles to solve; it's doubtful that Unreal would benefit from more in that area.

Lastly, the weapons are pretty cool, but there's no simplicity in design. Each gun takes some practice to understand its use and benefits, but in the end, you spend too much time learning. Rather than give you instinctual weapons (like a basic shotgun or machine gun), Unreal's unusual weaponry forces you to adjust the way you play, without much added benefit of weapon ferocity or visceral gratification.