Unreal 2 the awakening follows the story from the first game which some of you may not be familiar with. However as a stand alone story this wont affect your enjoyment of the game. You take control of ex marine and space patrol commander John Dalton. Having been refused re assignment into the marines Dalton is called to jump into action following a distress call from a nearby planet. John and his crew of misfits fly to their destination where John is sent planetside single handedly to find out what has happened all in first person glory. Playing as John Dalton is simple and although the clunky movement seems hindering at first will take most players little time to get used to. Each mission is introduced with a cut scene on board your orbiting craft. Some of these are quite lengthy yet informative about your crew and your own character. Those of you who are impatient will be able to skip these. Unreal 2 also Uses the standard fps control method which means players will feel right at home here as they start their first investigation.

Gameplay:
Unreal is a very typical first person shooter which uses its own namesake the Unreal engine to create the fluid, vast landscapes and areas players will be visiting. These are nicely varied and offer indoor and outdoor sections. Gameplay consists of a number of joined set pieces throughout the levels which offer a heap of mindless blasting fun.The enemies encountered vary from planet to planet and offer little to no challenge on the default difficulty. John has a shield and health bar making him a pretty tough contender regardless of the odds against him. I would even go as far as saying its possible most players will beat the story on normal mode without dying within a day or two. As the game progresses the player is introduced to a number of sub scenarios such as ambushes. Where the player is given the option to order the placement of some additional troops and set up turrets and laser fencing to defend against an attack. I found these sections the most compelling and engaging part of the entire game. Personally I felt that these moments should have been more frequent and perhaps the main part of the game as the tactics employed offered some tense gameplay moments which stood out from the typical rest of the game. However as things are the story is very playable and enjoyable overall albiet a little short lived and unchallenging at times.My suggestion is to to play from the offset on hard so as to enjoy the game properly. Unreal 2 also supports a two player co-op mode whereby 2 players can tackle the story mode together.

Graphics:
Graphically Unreal 2 looks above average with some nicely detailed indoor and outdoor sections. However the character models look very dated and dull. Some of the animation is a little suspect as well and overall the presentation lacks any polish especially for Xbox. The weapons effects are good and what you would expect from an unreal game yet nothing to make you go wow.

Sound:
Sound is also very average overall with every sound effect being as you would expect. The music is a little more electronic than most story based fps but works well here and fits in with the whole feel of the unreal games. Gunfire, explosions, enemy cries of death and some standard voice acting is all here for you to ignore and get on with killing.

Longevity:
Unreal 2 the awakening is not a long story to work through and can be completed quite quickly depending on your skills. With a co-op mode to play through the story with a friend added and a system link option for multiplayer there is not much else to do here. Although favouring those who have Xbox Live there is a new online game called XMP available. This is another team battle type game which includes all the features from CTF and Domination rolled into one game. The arenas are quite large and due to the maximum being 6 vs 6 makes games seem empty. Players are also able to drive vehicles in this mode yet not in the story mode. Although fun and a worthy distraction from the story I wasn't inspired enough to spend too much time here. With no other multiplayer modes available or stats one could almost argue that this section was added on at the last minute to make up for the short story mode.Good but not that good.

Round Up:
Unreal 2 the Awakening is a good game to get into if you are looking for another first person fix. Unreal basically does what it says on the box and nothing more or less. I doubt that people will talk of it as a classic in years to come but it still offers some mindless shooting action with a little touch of tactics thrown in. Lets hope for the next game they incorporate the vehicles and more of the tactical play into the story.Another weekend rental unless the XMP is your thing.

Pros:

• ease of play
  
• varied locations
  
• good weapons
  
• co-op mode
  
• Xbox live
  
  

  Cons:
  

  • too short
    
  • dull character models
    
  • poor AI
    
  • no real multiplayer options