Unreal Championship debuted in tandem with the XboxLive™ service, and it proved to be a marriage worthy of any gamer's attention, as the Unreal franchise had been providing PC gamers with fantastic online multiplayer for years, and by bringing its talents to bear on the Xbox®, it helped to crystallize consoles as a viable online market. If Unreal Championship was a taste of what we could expect, Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict is the feast we've been waiting for, and the dishes it serves could hardly be more suited to online gaming. Unreal Championship 2 is a bit of a strange bird, though; while most games put the priority on single-player first, this title chooses the opposite path. While the offline component is by no means an afterthought, the meat of the game is really with the competitive interaction between fellow gamers on XboxLive.
It packs a punch.
Astonishing Speed Getting all manner of different machines to perform close enough to one another to allow for a balanced and fair experience has always been a headache for developers. With Xbox, it's much easier as the hardware is the same for everyone, but we're not all using the same internet connection, so latency (lag) can be an issue. That's why a game like Unreal Championship 2, which provides such a briskly furious speed throughout the entire game experience, is so remarkable. The game runs so smoothly, and with so few hiccups, you can hardly believe that you're playing online. This is especially crucial, as Unreal Championship 2 is twitch gaming at its most pure. A bit of lag or a choppy frame rate could literally lose you a match. I'm not sure what the developers are putting in their network code, but other companies should follow suit.
A New Feature Shooters on Xbox Live are often defined by the amount of options available with which to customize your game types, and while Unreal Championship 2 certainly has these in droves, its best feature online may actually be its Match Purity test. It sounds weird, I know, but here's how it works.
Scrumptious character models.
When you use Optimatch to find a match, the game itself actually looks at the settings the match creator has used and checks it against its own database to determine how fun the match should be. Basically, through testing the game, the developer has decided that certain match types with certain rules assigned have proven time and time again to be exciting and fun. When it sees these parameters are satisfied, it designates the game to be "pure," so you, the player, know that the customization options chosen are not so radical as to eliminate the fun factor. All in all, there are three purity settings, and they are:
Pure: When you see this, you know the match type and options are fully endorsed by the game's developer. There's nothing fishy going on here.
Modified: When you see this you know that the game type is not standard, but should still be fun. Think of it as experimental, but still enjoyable.
Non-Standard: While these game types may be fun, they've not been vetted by the developer. Who knows, it could be a blast, but be prepared for a strange experience.
Rule Sets For those of you who love to invent new match types, or simply like to experiment and play all manner of varied experiences, you need not fret. The rule sets available for changing offer enough options for dozens of different variants, but not so many that you can break the game and create a miserable experience for all. Let's take a look at a few examples.
It's peaceful … for now.
Mutators: The name is a bit strange, but its function is apt. These rules change the way the game is played by their very nature. You can choose from any of the following:
Camp Fire: Here's my personal favorite. This rule is designed to eliminate campers, by having everyone run around with a bomb that kills you and anyone nearby when the time runs out. The only way to add time is to kill an opponent. You can't sit back and wait for the kills with this rule on; you need to get out there and hunt for them.
Melee Only: Pretty self-explanatory here. Look up "melee" in the dictionary if you don't understand. If you still don't get it, don't worry; I'm sure you'll flourish in a fine career in telemarketing.
Speed Match: No, they're not on amphetamines, but they might as well be. This option gives all players Adrenaline-enhanced speed throughout the match.
Wall Crawling: It's time to Spidey up, as every player has the wall-crawling ability all the time.
Require Ready: Without this option, the game starts when the first player enters the game. With this option turned on, everyone needs to press the Fire button upon loading for the game to start.
Bots: You can also place a number of bots (A.I.-controlled enemies) in the game, and even assign them a skill level (e.g. experienced, novice, masterful) to add that extra bit of mayhem to the game.
Standards: You'll also find a number of now-standard features such as adding Private Slots so your buddy has a guaranteed space, changing the minimum or maximum number of players per game, and changing the Frag Limit or Time Limit for the match.
There is no doubt that Unreal Championship 2 is at its finest online, and, with each passing match, there's no doubt that it will strongly vie for the attention of even the most casual shooter fan. It's blazing fast, well-balanced, and diverse enough in its options and gameplay to give you months and months worth of replay value.
