Unreal Tournament 2003

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (January 2008)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009)

Unreal Tournament 2003
Developer(s)	Epic Games Digital Extremes
Publisher(s)	Atari
Designer(s)	Cliff Bleszinski
Engine	Unreal Engine 2
Version	2225
Platform(s)	Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	NA October 1, 2002 AUS October 19, 2002 EU October 31, 2002
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: M PEGI: 16+
Media	CD
System requirements	Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, Pentium III or AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz processor, 128 MB RAM minimum (256 MB recommended), 3.5 GB free, 64 MB of video memory recommended Linux 2.2+ or Windows 98-XP, 733 MHz x86 CPU, 128 MB RAM, video card with 16 MB RAM, 3 GB HDD space, DirectX 8.1 or OpenGL 1.2 Mac OS X 10.2.6+, 700 MHz PowerPC G4 CPU, 256 MB RAM, GeForce 2 MX or Radeon with 32 MB RAM, 3 GB HDD space
Input methods	Keyboard and mouse

Unreal Tournament 2003 or UT2003 is a first-person shooter video game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming. The game is part of the Unreal franchise's series of games, and is a sequel to Unreal Tournament (UT99).

The game set a record for the number of downloads (1.2 million) when the demo was released, which is a reflection of the popularity of the original UT.^[1] In addition, the game engine has been widely licensed for games such as the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, Splinter Cell, and America's Army.

UT2003 has received mostly disappointing reviews, because it did not have the impact that its 1999 predecessor had. One reason was increased competition, with Halo: Combat Evolved, Tribes 2, and Battlefield 1942. These games had raised the bar for the multiplayer first-person shooter gaming by including vehicles and more complex teamplay.

UT2003 contains several Easter eggs (e.g. a hidden vehicle) to hint at future potential for the series. Unreal Tournament 2004, the similar but highly refined sequel with added game types, arrived in 2004 and completely replaced UT2003 on store shelves. UT2004 boxes sold in the United States include a voucher that, along with proof of having bought UT2003, gives a discount for UT2004.

Unreal II: The Awakening was released as a sister product to the game.

Gameplay

The available combat modes are:

• Deathmatch — Frag other players as much as possible to gain the highest score.
• Team Deathmatch — Two teams go head to head to be the best fragger.
• Capture the flag: Players must invade the enemies' base, capture their flag and bring it back to his/her base in order to score.
• Double Domination — In double domination two teams must control two points on the map. Holding both locations for a certain period of time gives points to a team. Which control point must match the same color has of the teams in order to win a score.
• Bombing Run — Bombing run can best be described as Unreal-style football where the player gets the ball and has to take it into enemy territory and score in the enemy forces goal. Players can pass to other teammates. Getting killed causes the ball carrier to fumble the ball. The ball launcher is used to carry the ball, it isn't a weapon but helps the player heal when he/she is in low of health. 3 Points are awarded for field goals (shooting the ball through the goal), and 7 points are given for touchdowns (carrying the ball through the goal), although the levels are often designed such that this kills the ball carrier.
• Last man standing — All players in this gametype spawn with a limited number of lives. The last remaining player to still have lives wins the match.
• Invasion — Is a co-op gametype where you play with all the players in the server in an attempt to kill the invading alien AI. If you are killed, you must sit out until your team clears the map of aliens.
• Mutant — Mutant is very similar to a "juggernaut" type of gameplay. The first person to make a kill becomes the mutant, which gives them unlimited ammo, camouflage, and super speed. The mutant then tries to get as many kills as he can until he's killed. The person who kills the mutant then becomes the mutant.

The game has single-player mode that mimics multiplayer gaming by featuring AI-bots.

Plot

In 2291, consensual murder is legalized, opening the way for a previously underground event. Smaller mining companies have been running smaller matches to channel aggression, but now the Liandri Mining Corporation established a professional league, which quickly proves to be an extremely lucrative way of public entertainment. Liandri entered into the Tournament, as it is officially called, sponsoring their own team, the Corrupt. The Corrupt's leader, Xan Kriegor, quickly achieved champion status and held it for two years. In 2293, a human named Malcolm dethroned him and became champion himself. A huge media figure, Malcolm is hailed as the biggest star in human history and is worshipped as a god. His success nets great rewards for his sponsoring corporation, attracting the attention of jealous rivals both in the arenas of the Tournament and in the corridors of power a galaxy away. Liandri attempted to win back the champion title with Xan MK2 but failed (unknown to the other contestants, each member of the Corrupt is purely robotic, including Xan).

Now it is 2302. The Tournament is undergoing a massive overhaul. The aging Sniper Rifle (a relic of centuries past) is removed from the Tournament as is "Assault" - a team-based event that forms a part of the competition. Many fans of the Tournament complain at these changes, with some combatants refusing to participate in the new format. Malcolm, shortly after his victory, hired two of his former opponents (Brock and Lauren, members of the former Iron Guard team) as teammates in his reformed Thunder Crash team. But the Axon Research Corporation, another of the four great corporations, entered the Tournament as well, sponsoring the geneboosted Juggernaut team, led by the brutal and savage Gorge.

Music

The UT2003 soundtrack, created by the Canadian producer Starsky Partridge and Kevin Riepl contains grand orchestral scores, hard rock and minimalistic electronic songs. Starsky Partridge was also responsible for the music for Unreal II, and Unreal Championship.

External links

• Unreal Tournament 2003 & 2004 official website

References