Unreal Tournament 2003 changes the original into a lame game. There are all new guns, and worst of all... There are uninspired new maps. The new 2-fort is a sand like level that doesn't have the same feeling. The other maps just don't have anything to be talked about. The all new guns I mentioned? Crap. They all blow except the redeemer. The new sniper rifle(lighting gun!) is retarded. The new pistol is pretty stupid. There's also a gun now which instead of doing damage, it pushes the opponent. This is rather useless in pretty much any situation. If you are on the top of a tower it is good, but that is rare.

Get the original Unreal Tournament or Unreal Tournament 2004. They both rock, and this game can just be skipped.

"Very pretty, but uninteresting gameplay", The first thing you'll notice is that this game is gorgeous on an adequate system (even a two-year old midrange desktop). Continuing in the UT tradition, the levels are varied, artistic, detailed, and very open, with plenty of options for getting from point A to point B and possibly changing destinations to point C in a hurry when you see three enemies barring your way. The graphics are truly stunning, and the physics engine is amazingly detailed. Unfortunately, you'll probably be seeing a lot of that detail as you crumple amusingly to the ground. Playing against bots or humans, no matter what your skill, you will die frequently. This is not inherently a bad thing, but the reason for it is. UT does have very balanced weapons, as many have noted, but they aren't balanced by strengths and weaknesses so much as they are all nearly equivalent, which when coupled with the frenetic action and crazy pace of the game removes any semblance of strategy, even from modes such as CTF. Because most weapons have similar damage rates, accuracy, and range, and because actual cover is rare, gameplay consists of running wildly around the map, shooting everything that moves with whatever weapon is at hand and hoping to avoid the fate you are trying to inflict on everyone else. This happens also to be why the bots are so fantastically good on high levels - it is not that the AI is particularly smart, as demonstrated by the unvarying tactics it uses, but rather that the AI, being computer-controlled, has perfect reflexes, unfailing aim (not that it cannot be dodged, but it can shoot wherever it intends to even while dodging frantically itself, whereas you are limited to your own ability to follow and react to what you see on the screen), and perfect situational awareness. It is possible to acquire some skill at the game, but this skill is purely in reflexes.

That said, if you are looking for a simple frag-fest, a chance to blow up stuff while letting your brain relax, this is a great game for you. But if you want to play a good shooter that also has a modicum of tactical challenge, that lets you exploit your strengths and seek out an enemy's weaknesses, or a game with team play in which coordination, planning and cooperation actually count for something, look elsewhere. If, like so many FPS fans, you enjoyed these features of HALO (or CounterStrike, or Battlefield 1942, or . . .), you will find this game oddly lacking, even if you loved the original UT, as I did. (Although i find that I still like the old UT, albeit somewhat less than when i originally played it.)

"A Successor to Unreal Tournament, But a Worthy One?", When I purchased a computer system in November 2000 to upgrade my aging PC, a game title I had in mind was Unreal Tournament (UT). After spending just a short while with UT, I realized it was a winner. This game defined the cliché "thrill of victory and agony of defeat." I was almost afraid to play it because I hated to lose, but was it great to win! Playing Unreal Tournament set the stage for Unreal Tournament 2003 (UT2003), but progress does not always fulfill one's hopes.

UT2003 is a good shooter. It is a very good looking game with realistic effects like fire, swirling clouds, and rounded surfaces. It's rendering of shiny metal objects is perhaps the best I've seen in any game. The bots work well in single player, and the AI has been improved so much over UT that it's almost impossible to beat the bots in the tougher difficulty settings (at least I couldn't). The sound and music are good too.

The drawbacks of UT2003 include fairly high system requirements. I could run it on my Pentium III system, but the frame rates noticeably dropped when a lot of bots were on screen. Even on my 3 GHz Pentium IV system the game will sometimes slow down noticeably. Also, I thought that the weapons weren't as good as in UT. The sniper rifle, one of the best weapons I've seen in any game, was replaced by a "lightning gun." I hate this weapon! You've got to wait several seconds for it to recharge, and we all know what waiting results in when we are being attacked by bots or players intent on killing us.

UT2003 and Unreal II, just aren't what they could be, and they are a step down from their predecessors. I would love to see the developers of these Unreal games return to their roots. Give us the original greats like Unreal and Unreal Tournament with updated sound and graphics, and you'll have a lot of happy players. Epic Megagames, do you hear me?

"Unreal Tournament gets an unfair rap from average users...", Let me start this review by stating that I'm a fairly finicky gamer. I disliked Half Life: Counter Strike, immensely enjoyed the No One Lives Forever games, and was disappointed by Unreal 2 (though the game had its good merits). As much as I loved the first Unreal Tournament, after spending some quality time with UT2003, I can honestly say that this game is truly... better.

Some people disliked the game because it was too demanding of their systems. This is bull. The engine is refined. A GeForce 3 Ti card on a system with no bottlenecks will run this game smoothly with moderate visual settings, but a GeForce 3 coupled with a 1Ghz proc. is expectedly slow. Why? Because as textures are bump mapped, when volumetric fog is thrown about the maps like candy, and when the poly counts are through the bloody roof, the DEVELOPER EXPECTS PEOPLE WITH DECENT SPECS TO PICK UP THE GAME. Don't cry when your ancient rig can't hang with the new big boys. Get a 9800 Pro or something and see what you're truly missing.
Although it is easy to be disappointed with UT2003 when you find your favorite sniping rifle or map has been removed or modified, most players will begin to appreciate the near perfect balancing scheme Digital Extremes put into place. There are no overpowering weapons dominating the field. New game modes like the insanely intense Bombing Run replace the game mode stripped from the original. The addition of the double jump imposes players with addictive, arcade-feel action... causing firefights to last for minutes, not moments. Realism isn't the deal here. Fun is.

In conclusion, Unreal Tournament 2003 has an insane amount of content right out of the box. The Unreal platform is fast, beautiful, updated, hip, and stable. If you have the paltry fee required to purchase this game, then do so. I think you'll be happy.

"Good play but certain not Unreal play.", Unreal 2003 kicks butt. It's fun and looks fabulous and the online play is superb, however because of the framerate issue(s) I've got to knock this one back one star. If the video on this game was as solid like the classic game or like Quake III I'd have to give this one a five star rating.