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3DNow!™ Unreal Review

Developer/Publisher Epic Megagames/GT Interactive	Est. Street Price $39.95 (US)
Minimum System Requirements 166 MHz Pentium class computer 16MB of RAM 2MB video card Windows 95/98 or NT4 w/SP3	Recommended System Requirements P2 or K6-2 266MHz or higher 64MB of RAM 3dfx Voodoo/Voodoo2 3D accelerator Windows 95/98 or NT4 w/SP3

Graphics & Animation

What else can you say about Unreal's graphics except amazing, phenomenal, stupendous! This is without a doubt the most gorgeous looking game I have ever seen. If all you have seen are screen shots of Unreal, then you still haven't seen how beautiful the graphics really are. Unreal makes wonderful use of colored lighting, multiple textures, transparent water effects, reflective surfaces, and advanced fogging effects to bring this game to life. However, while the graphics may be outstanding, the animations and models in the game are not. Don't get me wrong, they are far from horrible, but they are no where near the complexity and realism of the enemies in games like Quake2. Aliens seem to float around in space. The barrel roll of the Skaarj-Warrior moves at the same rate as its' side-step, which gives the movement a real mechanical feel. When most enemies die they seem to grab at their chest like they just received a singular bullet wound after being leveled with a grenade launcher. The models themselves are rather boring too. Almost every creature I've encountered thus far has two legs, two arms, and a head. I wish there could have been some bizarre monsters, which would be more alien to us. Although the models and animation could've been better, it certainly doesn't ruin the Unreal experience.

Sound & Music

The sounds in Unreal are horrible! I swear the Stinger shoots spaghetti from the way it sounds. It is a known fact among Unreal fans that the sound effects in Unreal are very weak. Weapons do not have the sense of mass destruction at all. Monsters do growl, but seldom seem to roar sending shivers down your spine. The music in Unreal is an entirely different story. The digital music in its neo-symphony/techno style is awesome. Sometimes while I'm playing the game, I'll stop fighting long enough just to sit back and enjoy the melodic scores. The music also shifts during the game to relfect the current action going on. This is a nice feature that really immerses you into the passion of this game. Unreal's music is definitely a high point of the game, and while the sounds are far from exceptional, you'll tolerate them soon enough.

Gameplay & Immersion

Getting into Unreal is an easy thing to do. If the eye-candy isn't enough to convince you to at least tour the levels for more indulgement, then the action will. Monsters are placed very well throughout the game. The hide in areas you wouldn't always suspect, and drop down through crevices to surprise you from behind. The use of NPCs, called the Nali, in the game adds a good diversion from the "kill everything that moves" motif. The Nali provide better interaction compared to other games with NPCs. For instance, if you save them from being harmed, then they'll show you ways and unlock doors to special items. Unreal seems to touch on a story line about how the Nali were invaded and eventually conquered by the "beasts from the sky", but unfortunately I didn't feel enough focus was placed on this plot to make me aware of this predicament while playing the game. Unreal may not have the sophistication that games like SiN and Duke Nukem Forever will, but it will still hold you interest an bring you into another world.

3DNow!™ Support

The 3DNow!™ support in Unreal is just plain awful. Nobody should use Unreal to judge the power and potential of AMD's 3DNow!™ instruction set. With the latest patch for Unreal, Public BETA 2.17, optimizations for 3DNow!™ are used for rendering Unreal's models and volumetric lighting and fogging. However, these optimizations only give you an extra 2fps on average with a Voodoo2 3D accelerator. At this time AMD is still working with Epic to better implement the use of 3DNow!™ in the Unreal-Engine. Unreal Benchmarks w/o 3DNow!™ Software 8.46 fps 6.17 fps     Voodoo2 12MB 24.96 fps 21.67 fps     640x480     800x600 Notice - Benchmarks were performed in Unreal BETA 2.17 with all default options except for the following: 3D Audio Hardware was On, Low Quality Sound was On, and 3Dfx Glide Refresh Rate was set at 60Hz. The 2.17 Public BETA patch did not include optimizations for use of the Voodoo2's 2 TMU chips. Unreal Benchmarks w/ 3DNow!™ Software 8.68 fps 6.27 fps     Voodoo2 12MB 26.68 fps 22.56 fps     640x480     800x600 Notice - Benchmarks were performed in Unreal BETA 2.17 with all default options except for the following: 3D Audio Hardware was On, Low Quality Sound was On, and 3Dfx Glide Refresh Rate was set at 60Hz. The 2.17 Public BETA patch did not include optimizations for use of the Voodoo2's 2 TMU chips. Click here to read the specifications of the test system.

Overall

Unreal is a fantastic accomplishment. For the $30 I paid for the game, it was well worth it for the graphic experience alone. Unreal is far from perfect, but its flaws do not seriously hinder the gameplay or immersion. While the 3DNow!™ support in Unreal is a far cry from that found in Quake2, AMD and Epic are on the case and hopefully 3DNow!™ equipped processor owners will be able to relish in the splendor of Pentium II like frame rates soon.