Class Warfare

It took just less than a year for developer Tantalus and publisher Atari to retool their PC hit Unreal® II—The Awakening for Xbox (and Xbox Live) gamers. While the single-player story line is robust, exciting, and occasionally downright creepy—which might motivate you to bring along a friend for some cooperative split screen—Xbox Live and System Link gamers will find the heart and soul of Unreal II is the unique class-based multiplayer mode.

Rather than breaking multiplayer into distinct game types such as deathmatch or capture the flag, the game’s XMP (expanded multiplayer) game is part real-time strategy and part team-based tactical combat, with elements of capture the flag, king of the hill, and even the old PC hit Tribes blended seamlessly into an addictive, constantly evolving experience. Players can also choose which type of combatant they’re going to be: ranger, tech, or gunner. Every time you respawn, you can change your class, so each team’s dynamics will shift throughout a single match. Classes can employ different defensive and offensive moves and weaponry, acting as infiltrators, hackers, vehicle pilots, snipers, medics, and even walking ammo depots.

Don’t let your team down; get up close and personal with the classes of Unreal II XMP.

Use the D-pad and jump button to change deploy point and class type in Unreal II expanded multiplayer (XMP).

Rangers
The ranger class is the place for junior Sam Fishers who want to snipe, run, and have the agility and moves to dodge incoming fire. The ranger is the fastest unit in XMP, has the strongest jump jet-to-weight ratio (allowing him to reach and mantle on to positions other classes can’t), and gets exclusive XMP use of the high-powered .50 caliber sniper rifle and a secondary armament package aimed at concealment. Rangers are not only the Olympians of XMP, they’re also the field medics; by “using” another character, they can completely heal that character’s damage. This means the ranger has to stop moving briefly, so try to get to cover first. Rangers are also great pilots. They can’t hack into a vehicle as quickly as a tech, but they can reach the vehicle before anyone else and use the added protection of the vehicle’s armor to compensate for their own light personal protection.

Weapons
Sniper Rifle: Little clip, big, armor-piercing bullets.
Pistol: Highly accurate but not quite as powerful as Master Chief’s.
Smoke Grenade: The lightly-armored ranger can throw smoke to confuse more powerful enemies …
Frag Grenade: … and then follow up with a devastating explosive.
Shock Lance: This stolen alien weapon fires EMP energy that wreaks havoc with technology and is extra-useful against vehicles.

The ranger is a combination of medic, sniper, and speedster.

Techs
This class is well-balanced between ranger and gunner as far as weapons and armor. The tech can break into almost any computer system and do it much faster than other classes. They’re the walking equivalent of a bomb defusing kit from Counter-Strike™, if the BDK came equipped with grenades and an assault rifle. Techs can also repair an ally’s shields by using that ally—the technological equivalent of the ranger’s healing ability—but the same warning applies: Be sure to take cover first because you’ll have to stand still for a few seconds. Techs aren’t as speedy as rangers or well-protected as gunners, so they should use available vehicles to quickly reach generators, turrets, and deploy points and steal them for the home team.

Weapons
Assault Rifle: A lot like its Halo® counterpart—big clip, high refire rate, but average damage.
Shotgun: Boom! Up close, this gun is hard to beat.
EMP Grenade: If you can’t hack it, disable it and try to take some enemies down with it.
Toxic Grenade: Very damaging when you score a hit and does additional damage to anyone who wanders through the lingering green cloud.
Turrets: Techs can throw down auto-turrets to protect generators and deploy points they’ve hacked (or for added protection while hacking).
Field Generators: If turrets aren’t enough, block access to certain points with glowing electro-fences or corral a player who had to go get some potato chips. Techs are the practical jokers of Unreal II.

The tech class can hack a system faster than anyone and then deploy auto turrets to defend it.

Gunners
Walking tanks, gunners come to battle prepared, carrying the heaviest weapons and armor, but all that equipment makes them slow. They can also act as ammo supply stations: By using an ally, the gunner can resupply teammates with ammunition and other items as he carves their way through enemy lines. In short, look up “space marine” in the dictionary and you’ll see something like this guy.

Weapons
Rocket Launcher: Pretty self-explanatory—a simple point, click, and boom interface with an alt-fire mode that lets you personally target the missile.
Flamethrower: Fry hordes of enemies in close quarters combat, or use the alternate fire to throw up a burning defense.
Incendiary Grenade: Inflict burning area damage; try to avoid using this in tight spaces.
Concussion Grenade: Disorient enemies with a thudding concussion grenade or use one to flip an incoming tank.
Mine: Standard weight-triggered high-damage explosive.
Laser Tripmines: These are great for guarding a position when you can’t do it personally.

Gunners are walking tanks and can also resupply their teammates.

By Ben Barker