Unreal Tournament 2003

Un article de Vev.

Modèle:Infobox VG Unreal Tournament 2003 or UT2003 is a first-person shooter video game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming although the game had a built in single-player mode that mimics multiplayer gaming by featuring AI-bots. The game is part of the Unreal franchise's series of games and is a sequel to 1999's Unreal Tournament (UT99). Unreal II: The Awakening was released as a sister product to the game, however, was developed for single-player only. Later, Unreal II would receive an add-on that would enable a multiplayer mode.

The game set a record for the number of downloads (1.2 million) when the demo was released, which is a reflection of the popularity of the original UT.<ref>ATARI’S UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2003 DEMO EXPLODES ONTO THE INTERNET, Atari Press Release, September 24, 2002.</ref> In addition, the game engine has been widely licensed for games such as the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series, Splinter Cell, and America's Army.

UT2003 has received mostly positive reviews, although it did not have the impact that its 1999 predecessor had. One reason was increased competition, with Halo: Combat Evolved, Operation Flashpoint, Tribes 2, and Battlefield 1942. These games had raised the bar for the multiplayer first-person shooter gaming by including vehicles and more complex team play. UT2003 also received a lukewarm reception from a numerous fans of its predecessor, who accused it of adversely altering the pace and gameplay. People also complained about changes to the weapons, such as the loss of the sniper rifle, the look of the player skins, and the server browser, which may have counted bots as human players. Fans of UT99's Assault and Domination games were also disappointed since Assault was omitted and Domination was changed.

UT2003 contains several Easter eggs (i.e. a hidden vehicle) to hint at future potential for the series. Unreal Tournament 2004, the similar but highly refined sequel with added game types, arrived in 2004 and completely replaced UT2003 on store shelves. UT2004 boxes sold in the United States include a voucher that, along with proof of having bought UT2003, gives a discount for UT2004.

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Gameplay

The available combat modes are:

Deathmatch — Frag other players as much as possible to gain the highest score.
Team Deathmatch — Two teams go head to head to be the best fragger.
Capture the flag: Players must invade the enemies' base, capture their flag and bring it back to his/her base in order to score.
Double Domination — In double domination two teams must control two points on the map. Holding both locations for a certain period of time gives points to a team. Which control point must match the same color has of the teams in order to win a score.
Bombing Run — Bombing run can best be described as Unreal-style football where the player gets the ball and has to take it into enemy territory and score in the enemy forces goal. Players can pass to other teammates. Getting killed causes the ball carrier to fumble the ball. The ball launcher is used to carry the ball, it isn't a weapon but helps the player heal when he/she is in low of health. 3 Points are awarded for field goals (shooting the ball through the goal), and 7 points are given for touchdowns (carrying the ball through the goal).
Last man standing — All players in this gametype spawn with a limited number of lives. The player to use up all his/her lives last wins.
Invasion — Is a co-op gametype where you play with all the players in the server in an attempt to kill the invading alien AI. If you're killed the player sits out until your team clears the map of aliens.
Mutant — Mutant is very similar to a "king of the hill" type of gameplay. The first person to make a kill becomes the mutant, which gives them unlimited ammo, camouflage, and super speed. The mutant then tries to get as many kills as he can until he's killed. The person who kills the mutant then becomes the mutant.

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Plot

Your character is entered into a tournament where the goal is to kill others, in order to move up in the tournament, and eventually defeat the last boss, Malcom.

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Weapons

UT2003 features 11 weapons:

Shield Gun
Assault Rifle
Bio Rifle
Shock Rifle
Link Gun
Minigun
Flak Cannon
Rocket Launcher
Lightning Gun
Ion Painter
Redeemer

In addition, UT2003 features the Translocator that allows your player to quickly teleport across the map by shooting a small disc where the player wants to go. If used properly, the Translocator can be used as a weapon. The ion painter does not appear in the demo version.

There are also alternate weapons/weapon sets which are available for download as 'mutators' (explained below). These will replace other weapons' places on maps in the game.

The disappointing absence of a sniper rifle and its replacement by the Lightning Gun which led some players to not play the game was acknowledged in the official future history of Unreal Tournament: "The aging Sniper Rifle (a relic of centuries past) is removed ... Many fans of the Tournament complain at these changes, with some combatants refusing to participate in the new format."<ref> UT Timeline

. Retrieved on 13 April 2007. </ref>

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Music

The UT2003 soundtrack, created by the Canadian producer Starsky Partridge and Kevin Riepl contains grand orchestral scores, hard rock and minimalistic electronic songs. Starsky Partridge was also responsible for the music for Unreal II, and Unreal Championship.

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Mutators

Mutators are addons to the game which 'mutate' the style of gameplay.

Big Head (increases the size of a player's head proportional to how well they are doing)
Floaty Cadavers (reduces the effect of gravity on dead players' 'corpses')
Quad Jump (allows people to string 4 jumps together instead of the normal 2)
InstaGib (all players are equipped with modified Shock Rifles with unlimited ammunition that reduce other players to gibs in a single hit)
Zoom InstaGib (gives all players modified Shock Rifles with sniper scopes. The rifles also have single-hit kill capabilities and the shots are red or blue, depending on which team the player is on)
Vampire (when a player shoots another, the victim's lost health is transferred to the aggressor)

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