Date: 2008-11-02 11:52:02 Created: null
Ah, there's nothing quite like good old UT when the mood is right! And you have to remember that it's me saying this, who rarely plays against human opponents even in a multiplayer game like this.
When I started hearing about UT I only had some nice memories of Unreal multiplayer to relate to. Sure, it had been a little fun but not anywhere near the single player game, especially not once a patch made the bot skill stick at the highest ... Anyway, talk was very positive, and they said botmatch was almost as much fun as real human opposition, so I got hold of the demo (on a cover CD, this was before I got ADSL).
Wow! This was what first person action was meant to be like! With adjustable bot settings and all deathmatch rocked! And if that didn't sell the game to you, then Assault mode on the Overlord map did. Assault has players (and bots) split in two teams, alternating as attackers and defenders. The attackers have to reach certain objectives with the defenders trying to stop them. Sides are then switched and the previous defenders try to beat the attacker's time. The Overlord map has the attackers rushing out of landing craft, storming a beach and a tunnel system to reach and destroy a huge cannon inside a large cave. The first times you try it, running against the bunkers with intelligent-acting bot teammates by your side, trying to evade artillery bombing and defenders posted in bunkers and guard towers, you just can't believe how cool it is.
So when I found the game at a clearance sale not long after the release I didn't feel I needed to think too much :-) ... Soon I was a happy owner of a multiplayer game without the connection speed or real desire to play against human opponents. Who needs humans when you've got bots like these?
Actually I find playing against humans and bots a bit different. With humans you can put up with and enjoy really good opponents in a whole different way. With bots set too far above your own skill it just gets tiring after a while. I used to play against pretty skilled bots, thinking it'd improve my skills and be more challenging and so on. I'm sure it was, but when I for one reason or the other reinstalled the game and the skill settings went back to the default (lower) the feel of gameplay changed.
It's fun to dominate, short and simple! When you feel like 10 minutes of mindless first person shooting you don't want the bots to kick your ass all around the screen, you want to frag! And the fact that the bots just don't stand there and look stupid, but rather seem to act like less experienced players (missing, stopping to turn and aim and so on) helps you feel even more godlike :-) ... And if you get too confident you can always raise their skill level a few notches and you'll get back to earth very fast :-) ...
Yeah, I think I'll raise the difficulty a bit over time, a challenge is also nice every now and then. But I won't forget to lower it when I feel like it either.