MaximumPC 2004 06

TECH TIPS

M

an, we’ve been stuck in the

mud cradling our authentic

bolt-action rifles for so long

we almost forgot how much fun

it was to dash around maps at full

speed, or how fulfilling it is to assail

a newbie with flak and taunts of,

“You play like a girl!” Reality-based

shooters are fine and all, but they

have dominated the online and

offline FPS scene for so long that

the arrival of the frenetically paced

and ridiculously over-the-top Unreal

Tournament 2004 is a huge breath of

fresh plasma.

As fanboys of the original UT , we

were none too pleased with last year’s

sequel, Unreal Tournament 2003. Most

of the weapons felt watered down

in terms of range and power, and

the new maps failed to excite us like

those in the original game.

Luckily, that has changed in this

year’s version,

because Epic

Games has gone

back to UT’s

roots. The weap-

ons have been

rebalanced,

and new arma-

ments like the

spider mines

and the anti-

vehicle rocket

launcher are fun

to wield. On top

of this, Epic has

revived our favor-

ite game mode

from the origi-

nal—Assault—and added an awe-

some new challenge called Onslaught

that consists of huge, wide-open

maps, all-new vehicular combat, and

node-oriented warfare that makes for

riveting back-and-forth battles. And,

because all the content from UT2K3

is included, you essentially get two

games in one.

UT2K4 features 10 different game

types, so it’s likely you’ll find a style

that appeals to you. The package

also includes several new one-on-one

deathmatch maps for the hardcore

crowd, six Assault maps, and nine

Onslaught maps.

In a move that adds a remark-

able layer of depth to a typically

simple genre, Epic makes UT2K4’s

single-player campaign feel like a

franchise-oriented sports title such as

EA Sports’ Madden series. You draft a

team of players and fight other teams

in a series of matches. After a match,

you pay money to treat your injured

players, sign free agents, and even

challenge other teams to “Bloodrites”

matches, where the winner gets to

poach one of the losing team’s star

players. As far as single-player experi-

ences go, it’s a dramatic departure

that feels less exciting than, say, Far

Cry , but is certainly unique. And it’s

commendable that Epic took the

time to add nuance and strategy to

what could have been a flat-feeling

string of bot matches.

UT2K4 is the best value we’ve seen

in a long time. Between the online

and offline play, and the myriad

game types, it’ll be a long time before

you get bored. But most importantly,

it’s F-U-N. Even Maximum PC editors

Gordon Mah Ung and Will Smith,

both avowed Battlefield fanatics, have

become converts. The bottom line is

this: If you buy this game and can’t

find something about it to love, you

need help.

—JOSH NOREM

Unreal Tournament 2004

Finally, some good old-fashioned ownage!

Reviews

MEGA KILL! After a disappointing sequel, UT makes a

comeback with all the subtlety of a nuclear explosion.

Tons of content, tons of fun.

OWNAGE

RENTAGE

Outdated graphics.

$40, http://www.unrealtournament.com

MAXIMUMPC VERDICT 9

Get the Most from UT2004

UT2K4 includes a built-in music play-

er, but it won’t play VBR MP3 files.

94 MAXIMUMPC JUNE 2004

UT2K4 is highly customizable. You can make

lots of tweaks and hacks to adjust perfor-

mance, graphics, and unlock secret effects. To

use these tech tips, go to C:\UT2004\System\

UT2004.ini and open the file in Notepad. You

should make a backup of this file as well, just

in case.

USE MORE OF YOUR SYSTEM

MEMORY: Find “CacheSizeMegs=32” and

change the number to whatever amount of

system memory you’d like the game to use. As a

general rule, set it to about 200MB less than

your total because you need some memory to

run your OS. The result will be faster level load-

ing times.

KEEP FRAMES UP: Locate “MinDesiredF

rameRate=35.000000” and input your minimum

desired frame rate. The game will automatically

toggle the visual eye candy to match the num-

ber you select.

INCREASE YOUR NET SPEED: The

default setting of “ConfiguredInternetSpeed=1

0,000” means you download info at 10kb/s, but

for LAN play, or if you have a T1 connection, set

the number to 20,000. Modem users should set it

to about 5,000.

PLAY YOUR OWN MUSIC: Hit F11 in-game

to open the included MP3 player. Select which

files you want to hear and commence rocking.

SELECT ALTERNATE HORN SOUNDS:

Every vehicle has a funny, alternate horn. To

enable it, press “~” to open the console and

type “set input X playvehicle horn 1” where X

can be any key. Once in a vehicle, press X to

hear the funny horn.