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Unreal Tournament 2004

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Unreal Tournament 2004
Developer(s)Epic Games
Digital Extremes
Publisher(s)Atari (Windows)
MacSoft (Mac OS X)
Epic Games (Steam)
Producer(s)Jeff Morris
Designer(s)Cliff Bleszinski
Programmer(s)Steve Polge
Composer(s)Kevin Riepl
Starsky Partridge
Will Nevins
SeriesUnreal
EngineUnreal Engine 2.5
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
ReleaseWindows, Linux
  • NA: March 16, 2004
  • EU: March 19, 2004
Mac OS X
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Unreal Tournament 2004 is a first-person arena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. Part of the Unreal franchise, it is the third game in the Unreal Tournament series and the updated version of Unreal Tournament 2003.

Among significant changes to gameplay mechanics and visual presentation, one of the major additions introduced by Unreal Tournament 2004 is the inclusion of vehicles and the Onslaught game type, allowing for large-scale battles.[2]

A sequel, Unreal Tournament 3, was released on November 19, 2007.[3]

In December 2022, the servers for all games in the series were closed. Currently, no games in the series, including UT2004, are available for purchase on any digital platforms and stores. Epic Games has not yet announced the reason for this decision.[4]

Plot

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The game is set in a universe where humans long before fought a war with the Skaarj, leaving their galactic empire in shambles. To assist in the rebuilding of the colonies by calming down enraged colonists, the Liandri Corporation came up with the idea of staging a gladiatorial tournament for the miners. The interest was so high that it grew into a sport, with sponsored teams battling in specially made arenas.

From the beginning, Xan Kriegor, a robot, reigned as champion in the Tournament, until Malcolm, then leading the team Thunder Crash, defeated him and proceeded to merge with the other popular team at the time – the Iron Guard, led by Brock. In last year's tournament, they were defeated by the Juggernauts, led by gene-boosted monster Gorge.

The game takes place as the Tournament enters its 10th year. Malcolm is back with his old team Thunder Crash and trying to reclaim his title as champion, Brock is back with the Iron Guard and trying for the glory of his own and Gorge and the Juggernauts are there to defend their title. Additionally, the Skaarj Empire has sent a team of their own to the tournament in search of honor and glory and ex-champion Xan Kriegor has had some modifications and is back to return the title where it belongs.

Gameplay

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Unreal Tournament 2004 is a first-person shooter representing a fast-paced extreme sport of the future. The game, designed primarily for multiplayer gameplay, offers multiple ways of movement including double-jumping, dodge-jumping, wall-dodging and shield-jumping.[5] UT2004 also features an extensive array of weapons, all of which come with a secondary fire. Some of them were designed specifically for use in vehicle-based game types, and typically appear only in those game types such as the Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher (AVRiL) and the Grenade Launcher. More than 100 maps are included in the game for all new and existing game types.[6]

Gametypes

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The available game types are:[7]

  • Assault: An objective-oriented game type in which one team attacks the objectives (usually one at a time in a specific order) while another defends. Often, attackers will be rewarded for completing an objective by being allowed to spawn closer to the next objective. If the attacking team completes the final objective within the allowed time, the teams switch roles and another round on the same map begins. If not, the original attackers lose. If a second round begins and the new attackers complete the final objective in less time than the first attackers, they win; if not, they lose.
  • Onslaught or ONS is a vehicle-based game mode in which the objective is to capture a series of power nodes connecting the player and their opponents' bases and destroy the power core located within their base. First team to destroy opponents' power core wins.
  • Bombing Run: Each level has a ball that starts in the middle of the playing field. The player's team scores by getting the ball through the enemy team's hoop. The player scores 7 points for jumping through the hoop while holding the ball and 3 points for tossing the ball through the hoop. The player holding the ball cannot use weapons but can pass the ball to teammates. The ball is dropped if the player is killed.
  • Capture the Flag: The player's team must score flag captures by taking the enemy flag from the enemy base and returning it to their own flag. If the flag carrier is killed, the flag drops to the ground for anyone to pick up. If the player's team's flag is taken, it must be returned (by touching it after it is dropped) before their team can score a flag capture.
  • Deathmatch or DM, is a game type, in which the point is to either reach a certain number of frags (or kills) or to the highest number of frags at the time limit for the match.
  • Team Deathmatch: Two teams duke it out in a quest for battlefield supremacy. The team with the most frags wins.
  • Invasion: It is a simple survival mode. The players are forced to work together to try and survive endless waves of monsters from Unreal that get increasingly difficult with each wave. Once a player dies they cannot respawn until the round is over. Rounds can either end after a time limit (victory) or when all players are dead (failure).
  • Double Domination: The player's team scores by capturing and holding both Control Points for ten seconds. Control Points are captured by touching them. After scoring, the Control Points are reset to neutral.
  • Last Man Standing: Each player starts with a limited number of lives. The last remaining player to still have lives wins the match.
  • Mutant: All players start in a deathmatch setting with all weapons, and the first player to kill becomes the "mutant". This player receives unlimited ammo, camouflage, Berserk (increases rate of fire and knockback) and super speed for an indefinite amount of time, but he slowly loses health and can't pick up any health items. When the mutant is killed, the mutant powers are passed to the killer.

Vehicles

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There are many vehicles available in Unreal Tournament 2004. Most of them make an appearance in the Onslaught game type, while a few feature in Assault. The full set consists of aircraft types and vehicles. There are also two spacecraft which only officially feature in one Assault map and different types of gun turrets which players can take control of.

Development

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Screenshot of the Onslaught map ONS-Dria

Unreal Tournament 2004 was built with Unreal Engine 2.5 and the content of its predecessor, Unreal Tournament 2003. The game was developed by multiple studios, with Epic Games leading the project. Lead programmer Steve Polge described the role of each company involved:[8]

Epic Games
Enhancements to the Unreal Tournament 2003 game types, the new user interface, voice over IP and bot voice command support, engine enhancements and optimizations. They made an improved single-player game, and improved community and demo recording support, in addition to thirty-one new playable characters. A sniper rifle similar to the one included in the original Unreal Tournament was added. They created one Onslaught map, and developed AI support for Onslaught. 16 DM maps, five capture the flag maps, two Double Domination maps and one Bombing Run map were added. The Assault gametype design and implementation were also reintroduced from the original Unreal Tournament.
Digital Extremes
Three deathmatch maps, six capture the flag maps, two Bombing Run maps, and three Double Domination maps, two playable characters, a new HUD design; weapon models for the assault rifle, shock rifle, and link gun.
Psyonix
The Onslaught gametype design and implementation, with six vehicles, four weapons (grenade launcher, Spider Mine Layer, Anti-Vehicular Rocket Launcher (AVRiL), and the Phoenix Target Painter), and the energy turret. They created seven Onslaught maps, and collaborated with Streamline Studios on the popular map ONS-Torlan. They made the model for the Translocator, a portable teleporter.
Streamline Studios
The single-player introduction movie and ONS-Torlan in collaboration with Psyonix. Streamline Studios created the Assault map AS-Confexia as a test for ONS-Torlan, which they released for free.

Release

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A playable demo was released for multiple platforms in February 2004, including Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux on x86-32, and Linux on x86-64. An updated demo version, including all the bug fixes from official patches and some original content, was released on September 23 of the same year.

After being delayed from a late 2003 release,[9] Unreal Tournament 2004 was released in March 2004 in North America and Europe, for the PC (Linux x86-32/x86-64 and Windows). At release, the game could be purchased as a standard six-disc CD-ROM release or a special edition DVD-ROM release that included a Logitech microphone headset and a second DVD filled with video-tutorials on how to use the included UnrealEd. The European DVD release did not include the bonus extras. A DVD-ROM release without the microphone followed suit in the United States on April 13. All original PC versions of the game included a $10 mail-in rebate requiring that a short form be completed and sent to the publisher along with a copy of the manual cover for Unreal Tournament 2003, although in Europe the rebate required sending in the play CD for Unreal Tournament 2003 instead. Mac OS X version (DVD only) followed on March 31.

In summer 2004, Epic and Atari, in collaboration, released an XP Levels downloadable map pack, which included two Onslaught maps, ONS-Ascendancy and ONS-Aridoom.[10] The pack is free for download and use on any system capable of running the game.

In September 2004, Atari released in stores the "Editor's Choice Edition" of Unreal Tournament 2004 which adds three vehicles, four Onslaught maps, and six character skins to the original game, and contains several mods developed by the community as selected by Epic Games. This extension (excluding mods) was released as a Bonus Pack by Atari on September 23, and is available for free download.

The version for Windows x86-64 was released as a downloadable patch on October 1, 2005.

In December 2005, the Mega Bonus Pack was released online by Epic Games, which included several new maps, along with the latest patch and the Editor's Choice Edition content.

In June 2006, Midway Games acquired the publishing rights to the Unreal back catalog from Infogrames and Atari.[11] That November, Midway released Unreal Anthology, a bundle that includes Unreal Gold, Unreal II: The Awakening, Unreal Tournament (Game of the Year edition), and Unreal Tournament 2004.

In March 2008, Epic Games released the game on Valve's digital distribution service Steam, and was also included as part of the Unreal Deal Pack, followed later in the year by the "Editor's Choice Edition"[12] on GOG.com.

Subsequent Midway edition of Unreal Tournament 2004 omits Linux installer from DVD game content.

Music

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The soundtrack for Unreal Tournament 2004 was composed by Kevin Riepl, Starsky Partridge, and Will Nevins.[13] It contains grand orchestral scores, hard rock, and minimalistic electronic songs. The game also includes almost all tracks from Unreal Tournament 2003.

Modification

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Unreal Tournament 2004 includes extensive modification support which allows users to easily create maps, models, game modes as well as various other additions to the game. The game features a flexible modification system which seamlessly blends custom content with the original, as well as allowing for easy tweaking of the game with the "mutator" system.

In 2004, Epic Games held the "Make Something Unreal Contest", which rewarded the creators of the best-submitted modifications with prizes in cash, computer hardware, and, ultimately, a license for commercial use of Unreal Engine 2 and 3.[14] Red Orchestra, a total conversion modification based on the Eastern Front of World War II and focused on realism-oriented gameplay, was the winner of the contest and is currently available as a retail title on Steam.[15][16]

Alien Swarm was the winner of Phase 4 of the Make Something Unreal Contest for best non-first-person shooter modification. In 2010, the game was released as a standalone game for free, based on the Source engine instead of the Unreal Engine.

Killing Floor was originally a total conversion mod for the game Unreal Tournament 2004, first released in 2005.[17][18] The retail release followed on May 14, 2009. Its sequel, Killing Floor 2, was released in 2016.

The developers of the acclaimed 2003 game modification Deathball[19] were awarded grant money from Epic to develop Supraball in 2014.[20]

The game served as a platform for the Computer game bot Turing Test competition, also known as BotPrize.[21]

Reception

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Upon release, Unreal Tournament 2004 was met with universal acclaim. Several critics praised the unique, fast-paced, fun and challenging nature of the game as its main selling points, while fans touted the post-release support and extensive modding capabilities. The game holds a score of 94% on GameRankings and a score of 93/100 on Metacritic.[23]

GameSpot named Unreal Tournament 2004 the best computer game of March 2004.[36] It received runner-up placements in GameSpot's 2004 "Best Shooter" and "Best Multiplayer Game" award categories across all platforms, losing to Half-Life 2 and Halo 2, respectively.[37] It was a runner-up for Computer Games Magazine's list of 2004's top 10 computer games, but it won the magazine's "Best Multiplayer" award.[38]

During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Unreal Tournament 2004 received nominations for "Computer First-Person Action Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay".[39]

In March 2014, GamesRadar ranked Unreal Tournament 2004 as the 70th best game on their "Top 100 Best Video Games of All Time" list.[40]

Awards

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List of awards
Publication Category Result Ref.
Computer Gaming World Shooter (Multiplayer) of the Year Won [41]
IGN Best Multiplayer Game Won [42]
GameSpy Best Multiplayer Game Won [43]
Apple Design Awards Best Mac OS X Entertainment Product Won [44]

References

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  1. ^ Dinsdale, Jean-Luc (March 30, 2004). "MacSoft Ships Unreal Tournament 2004". Inside Mac Games. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  2. ^ "Unreal Tournament UT2004 official website - Features section". Archived from the original on 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  3. ^ "Unreal Tournament 3 official website". Archived from the original on 2007-09-15. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  4. ^ Plunkett, Luke (June 5, 2023) "Looks Like Epic Very Quietly Cancelled An Unreal Tournament Release". Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  5. ^ Radcliffe, Doug (6 April 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Walkthrough". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
  6. ^ a b Fahey, Rob (29 March 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  7. ^ Adams, David (11 March 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
  8. ^ Polge, Steve (24 March 2004). "Developer contributions to UT2004". Epic Games Forums. Epic Games. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  9. ^ Adams, David (October 30, 2003). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Now Slated For 2004". IGN. Archived from the original on December 27, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  10. ^ "Unreal Tournament UT2004 official website - XP Levels mappack". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  11. ^ "Midway acquires rights to Epic back catalogue". 11 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Unreal Tournament 2004 ECE". Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
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  14. ^ "Unreal Tournament 2004 official website - Make Something Unreal contest". Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  15. ^ Winegarner, Beth (24 January 2005). "Unreal mods take top honors". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  16. ^ "Steam powered.com - Red Orchestra store page". Archived from the original on 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  17. ^ de Matos, Xav (22 March 2009). "Killing Floor mod gets standalone Steam release". engadget. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  18. ^ Grubb, Jeff (March 26, 2018). "The 2000s-era mod scene prepared Killing Floor dev for living games". venturebeat. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  19. ^ Birnbaum, Ian (5 May 2014). "Supraball: first person shooter mayhem on a soccer field". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Epic Games award Unreal Dev Grants to Deathball remake, Bears Can't Drift, and a slew of others". 18 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  21. ^ Kushner, David (September 10, 2009). "A Turing Test for Computer Game Bots". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  22. ^ "Unreal Tournament 2004". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  23. ^ a b "Unreal Tournament 2004". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  24. ^ "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". 1UP.com. March 19, 2004. Archived from the original on April 1, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  25. ^ Gladstone, Darren. "Unreal Tournament Review" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. June 2004. p. 78. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  26. ^ PC Zone Staff (13 January 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". Computer and Video Games. Future plc. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  27. ^ Biessener, Adam (2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review. The Champion Returns". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  28. ^ Sid, Vicious (25 March 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". GamePro. International Data Group. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  29. ^ Sanders, Shawn (June 5, 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". Archived from the original on October 26, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  30. ^ Parker, Sam (2004-03-16). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  31. ^ Accardo, Sal (11 March 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review, the popular multiplayer franchise makes a stellar comeback with a game that has a little something for everyone". GameSpy. Glu Mobile. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  32. ^ Edge_ (15 February 2006). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". GamesRadar. Future plc. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  33. ^ Adams, David (2004-03-12). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2021-09-01. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  34. ^ Osborn, Chuck (3 August 2004). "Unreal Tournament 2004 Review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  35. ^ Bemis, Greg (28 April 2004). "'Unreal Tournament 2004' (PC) Review". X-Play. G4 Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 29 April 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  36. ^ Staff (April 2, 2004). "GameSpot's Month in Review for March 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 4, 2004.
  37. ^ The GameSpot Editors (January 5, 2005). "Best and Worst of 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  38. ^ Staff (March 2005). "The Best of 2004; The 14th Annual Computer Games Awards". Computer Games Magazine (172): 48–56.
  39. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Unreal Tournament 2004". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  40. ^ "GamesRadar - Top 100". Archived from the original on 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  41. ^ CGW (March 2005). "Computer Gaming World — Issue #249" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  42. ^ IGN Staff (2004). "IGN PC Best of 2004 Awards". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  43. ^ "GameSpy — PC Genre Awards". GameSpy. 2004. Archived from the original on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  44. ^ Apple Design Awards (2004). "2004 Apple Design Awards Winners". Apple Developer. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 3 July 2004. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
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