Unreal Tournament 2004 Space Combat Compared to WC (April 6, 2004)

[ChrisReid]

One of the biggest multiplayer shooters to grace the PC in the last year is Unreal Tournament 2004. Although it is well known as a great first person shooter, the 2004 interation includes varied gametypes including a space borne assault. A larger starship is attacked by fighters, and then the ship's crew ends up defending against boarding parties in a more traditional Unreal setting. Quite a few reviewers have picked up on this mode's similarities to Wing Commander.

GameSpy:
Starting in the cold vacuum of outer space, the map comes complete with controllable spaceships offering Descent-style freedom of movement and some Wing Commander-type dogfighting.

IGN: Even more impressive, another map starts with both teams piloting spacecraft for a Wing Commander-style dogfight, the attacking team attempting to board a giant Skaarj mothership. Once the ship is boarded, the action switches on-foot.

IGN:
The combination of initial Wing Commander-like dogfights with more traditional troop assault worked very well, and apart from a few control and targeting niggles, it's a smooth transition from flying to running.

ActionTrip:
There's a space-based Assault map called Mothership, which thrusts you off into orbit and allows you to challenge other players in classic Wing Commander-style dogfights.

PalmBiscotte:
Chars, jeeps, camions, speeders, chasseurs, bombardiers, chasseurs spatiaux pour les bases dans l'espace (et là on dirait du Wing Commander en plus beau), il y a le choix. Ce mode est génial,

It seems like there's at least a little Wing Commander nostalgia on the part of the gaming journalism community. If you're both an FPS and space combat fan, this one is a great match. With the associated mod tools already available, Unreal looks ripe for a good Wing Commander mod if you ask me. Here's a few example shots for good measure.

​

Sorry dial-up Wing Commander fans, I know we've been picture heavy this week. There's been lots of pretty stuff in the news.

--
Original update published on April 6, 2004

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Unreal looks ripe for a good Wing Commander mod if you ask me.

Heh heh heh.

 

[LeHah]

I was thinking about that at work - how hard would it be to mod that space station assault level into the WCM Pegasus Base attack? Those fighters are a shit and a shake from the Dralthi.