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UT2004 Shows Upgrades, Spaceships, Onslaught
Thanks to GameSpy for their hands-on preview of Unreal Tournament 2004, checking out the PC FPS title that's due out this Xmas. This latest upgrade "...will ship with vehicles, new weapons, two new game modes, and more new maps than all the maps UT2003 shipped with", and a new space level has you "...piloting small Wing Commander-style space fighters [before] the action switches to more traditional-style combat." The novel 'onslaught' mode, in which competing teams use vehicles and special weapons to "...control a series of nodes connecting your base to theirs" was the "clear favorite of the day" for the author, and IGN PC has another hands-on report that suggests these new modes introduce a "surprisingly satisfying strategic layer" to the upgrade.
Because it's Epic's new business model. They keep the money coming by releasing yearly installments of the series, essentially shortening the release cycle, while continuing to integrate awesome new technology directly from the engine development team. This has been known since the release of UT2003.
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Personally, I think vehicles will be the next fad in FPS games. Meaning, all the latest releases will have them, but they won't improve gameplay significantly. They seem especially problematic in ground-based FPS games. Usually you can kill people by merely running over them or even just brushing them.
Several games have actually suffered from the inclusion of vehicles, such as Tribes 2. The vehicles ended up detracting from the gameplay and turning what could have been an exciting game into one where you often had to wait to get on a vehicle to get around. If I wanted to rely on other people to give me a ride somewhere I need to be I'd put myself back in high school.
Done right they can be fun, but they should be very careful that the vehicles add something unique to gameplay and don't become essential. The second they become decently powerful they become essential to survival, and then it becomes no fun when you have to board a vehicle to get somewhere.
I do agree that the current crop of FPS games is mostly very lacking in the gameplay area, but I don't see vehicles improving the picture much. Tribes 1 provides enough challenge for me to keep playing it to this day.
This is really an unfair comment. If you knew the community at all, you'd know that by making a single post pointing out a bug, or a requested feature, you'd sure as hell see it in the next patch. Epic are one of, if not the most responsive gaming company in regards to their customers.
UT2004 Adds significant gameplay additions, this isn't Secret Weapons of WW2, which everybody seems happy with paying full price for an expansion pack that mimmicks the freely distributed Desert Combat.
The new onslaught and assault modes could be sold as a new game entirely, And when you consider that Epic are planning nation wide discounts to previous owners of UT2003, You really do have no right to complain.
This is my impression of UT and UT2003 after playing both extensively:
UT2003 offered little in terms of gameplay over UT, and moved away from the science fiction-fantasy theme toward a more gothic, testosterone feel reminiscent of Quake. This gave existing UT players little reason to upgrade to UT2003. It simply wasn't worth the extra $50 for essentially the same thing with better graphics and slightly better AI. Those who like UT didn't get enough incentive, and those who were turned off by the move in UT2003 toward gothic, aggressive themes were even more upset.
I admit that UT2003 as it was first released was a disappointment. But things have gradually improved since then. Different announcer voices and other tweaks--among many things released through patches and bonus packs--have eliminated major sources of the obnoxiously aggressive feel of the original UT2003.
UT2004 looks to be just another step in the gradual transformation of UT2003 from an upgraded version of UT into something more distinct. I'm really looking forward to it, as it seems to introduce entirely new styles of gameplay and reintroduce others that were sadly forgotten.
In this regard, my complaint about UT2003-2004 isn't that it failed or isn't as good as the original UT. UT2003 is better than the original--better graphics, better gameplay, much better AI--and UT2004 looks to be even better. My complaint is that the progression has been so gradual. I guess they have to make money like everyone else, and releasing UT2004 in bits is a way to release something to the fans and make money while continuing development. The other alternative--to wait even longer to release a distinctly better game--would have evoked the opposite criticism from many--vaporware too long in development.