Unreal II: The Awakening XMP multiplayer demo

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET Staff

One of the major complaints against the popular first-person shooter Unreal II: The Awakening was the lack of multiplayer gameplay. Atari has finally remedied the error with a new multiplayer expansion (free to Unreal II owners) that adds three classes of characters, three new vehicles, and team-based gameplay with elements of both Capture the Flag and Domination. The result is a unique multiplayer concoction that will satisfy fans of the original game who were left wanting more.

The object of the game is to collect four artifacts and "register" them in your team's base. In addition to fighting for possession of the artifacts, your team will need to maintain its energy levels by "hacking" generators (standing in front of the generator and holding down the Use button). Energy is required to perform almost all of the team actions. Defensive turrets, spawning points, and doors can also be hacked and controlled. Each team is made up of three types of players. Rangers have light armor, move quickly, and have healing powers; Techs hack faster than other characters; and Gunners are loaded with firepower.

The demo features one level from the multiplayer expansion, all three classes, and two of the three new vehicles. Newbies who want to explore the level before entering the online fray can open the command line with the tilde key (`) and type open xmp-garden.

Publisher's description

From Atari :

This demo is a single level from Unreal II XMP (Expanded Multiplayer). The all-new XMP mode is a class-based multiplayer game wherein teams use vehicles, cooperation, and Unreal II: The Awakening's devastating weaponry to battle it out across large-scale terrain maps. Teams fight for control of energy sources to power their war machines; for deployment points to get to the front lines quickly; and ultimately for four artifacts that are required to win each match.

CNET Editor's Note: Owners of the retail version of Unreal II can dowload the full installation of XMP for free.

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