I have been a big fan of the Unreal Tournament franchise since the first release in 1998. So how does this latest outing of the series, now under the control of Midway/Epic, measure up?

In many ways I really like this latest game. It looks awesome, and it feels a lot like the original. Deathmatch and CTF matches are all really great, and I even like some of the vehicles in this one.

I'm not a big fan of the Onslaught mode, where you have to use vehicles and capture nodes, though I do actually like using the vehicles. I really felt that assault mode was missing after its triumphant return in UT2004.

Guns are a bit OTT. I think that they are two large and complex, and risk distracting the player from the action.

The big let-down for me is the single player mode. I cannot fathom why it has nothing to do with the tournament, and instead is an apparently random series of battles, with little snippets of disjointed dialogue between them. And the rather poor attempts to justify Tournament Tech being used in battles... particularly the "FLaG" generator, instead of it just being a flag.

I loved the single-player mode that developed in UT2003/04, where the player had to prove themselves, enter the tournament, build up a team and take on Malcolm, Lauren, Brock, Xan etc. Being able to choose the type of match you wanted to play next was a very absent feature!

My main criticism: If you are going to make a story-based game set in the Unreal world, make Unreal 3, if you are going to make an Unreal Tournament game, set it in the friggin' Tournament!

Technical Rating: 8/10

Fun Rating: 6/10

Pros: Instant Action/Multiplayer, particulary DM and CTF, are great fun - looks good and plays good.

Cons: Poor Single-Player mode - Its supposed to be set in the Tournament Dammit!