Back in the days when Quake was the mother of all shooters, a little game called Unreal sprung up on the PC gaming scene and caused quite a ruckus. Boasting a beautiful proprietary graphics engine, expansive environments, a rich sci-fi story, and heated battles with fantastic creatures, Unrealturned into a gaming phenomenon. Years later, the series has grown tremendously, with several sequels and multiplayer offerings stretching across the PC and console formats.
At the helm of the latest installment of the Unrealfranchise is Epic Design Lead and Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict Producer Cliff Bleszinski, affectionately known to gamers and groupies alike as “Cliffy B.” Unreal Championship 2 seeks to expand the bounds of Xbox Live™-enabled shooters by introducing some radical new ideas into the well-established genre of first-person shooters. Read on to hear what this influential producer and designer has in store for Xbox.
Xbox.com: Hot on the heels of the phenomenal launch of Unreal Tournament 2004 for the PC, you’re already jumping headlong into Unreal Championship 2. What experiences from that project are influencing your design ofUC2?
Cliffy B: The two products do share some similarities, as far as the initial weapon loadouts go, but beyond that, they’re actually fairly different games. Whereas Unreal Tournament 2004 went for large-scale vehicular PC action,Unreal Championship 2 is more intimate. It blends fighting game staples with shooting game elements. Our motto for the game is, “Bring a knife to a gunfight!”
Bring a knife to the gunfight inUnreal Championship 2.
Xbox.com: The original Unreal Championship still enjoys healthy community support on Xbox Live. What features of the game do you think contribute to its ongoing popularity?
Cliffy B: By simply playing well on XboxLive, one can extend the longevity of a title’s popularity for years after it ships. We’re big fans of Xbox Live; there’s nothing more enjoyable than hearing the lamentations of your enemies as you smear them against the walls. In Unreal Championship 2, you’ll be able to perform melee finishing moves on them … to add insult to injury!
Xbox.com: Aside from the Unrealfranchise, are there any games that have been influential in creating Unreal Championship 2? What’s been your inspiration?
Cliffy B: We’re big fans of the Soul Calibur series. We’d always wondered: What would happen if you were to take a fighting game and blend it with a first-person shooter? If you introduced melee attacks, character-specific moves and weaponry, and optional first- and third-person modes, how would it play? And, that was the core of the idea for UC2.
