PC games get ported to consoles all the time now. What makes or breaks them is the developer's ability to modify the game to the fit the console's controller setup. Luckily for PlayStation 2 owners, Epic has done a pretty good job bringing Unreal Tournament to their system. It is not without flaws, but the overall experience is still an entertaining one. 

One thing Unreal Tournament has to its credit is presentation. Part of that is in the graphics. While the PlayStation 2 version is not of the quality of a PC, it still looks pretty good. While some of the levels may be hard to tell apart from others, that is more of a design issue. Most of the levels that look alike are in the deathmatch game. The levels in Capture the Flag, Assault, and Domination all have unique themes and appearances. There are also lots of colors used and there is frequent use of lighting effects. However, there are a couple of minor problems. 

First, there seems to be a blurriness to the entire game. I kept thinking of how much it reminded me of a N64 game. It's as if somebody smeared Vaseline on your eyeballs. It is not always evident, but at times you will definitely notice it. While that may not sound good, it does not seem to affect gameplay that much. The only problem that affects the gameplay is the framerate drop when action gets intense. This is most noticeable in 4 player split-screen games, or single player assault and capture the flag games. When all the players are near each other and there is a massive gunfight going on, the framerate takes a terrible dive. Because of the nature of the game, this doesn't last too long since players start dying or running away sooner or later. Because of that, it is not as much of a problem as it could be, but it is still enough to make gameplay slightly annoying at times. 

Another important part of presentation is how sound effects and music are used. Unreal Tournament does not have music that is especially interesting or memorable. There are a couple of tracks you may find yourself humming, but most people won't think twice about it. Unreal Tournament excels with its sound effects. The guns all sound great. They are just loud as you'd want them to be. You can hear gunfights in the next room as clear as a bell. What's even better is the voice of the announcer. When you start fragging several people in a row without dying, you get all sorts of praise. The announcer lets it become known to all that you are on a killing spree. It can be quite satisfying to hear him say, "UNSTOPPABLE!!!" or something to that effect after you've just cleared a room of players. Also, the characters have a habit of screaming when you blow them away. Combine that with the announcer and the loud blasting of the guns and you've got an audio assault from your speakers. 

All that aside, the multiplayer mode is what made Unreal Tournament such a hit on the PC. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 2 port only has two multiplayer modes. Capture the Flag and Deathmatch are available, but the more interesting Domination and Assault modes are single player only unless you bust out the FireWire. For most people, that won't make a difference at all. That said, the CTF and Deathmatch games work decently in multiplayer, but suffer the same framerate problems mentioned earlier.  It’s fair to say that the single player experience is stronger than the multiplayer one for the PlayStation 2 version. The CPU-controlled players are remarkably clever and there is much fun to be had with the two extra modes.  Still, most players will want Unreal Tournament for a great multiplayer game and it doesn't deliver as strongly as it should. 

Deserving of special mention is the outstanding job that was done with the control setup.  Unreal Tournament plays great with a Dual Shock 2 controller.  You can't instantly switch to a specific weapon, but you can still scroll through them all pretty quickly.  That’s the only complaint.  Everything else, from aiming, to strafe-jumping is all very easy to execute.  Without that, this game would be much less fun to play.  There are even a few different settings you can choose from.  For those who have played TimeSplitters, having the option to change control setups is really appreciated.  Unreal Tournament even has a control layout available that is identical to the TimeSplitters setup, and Unreal does it better.  You can buy a USB mouse and keyboard if you like but, since there is no way to play this game online, it is not worth the extra money. 

For those of you looking for a good FPS game, Unreal Tournament is one of the better games available for the PlayStation 2 and is worth checking out. The artificial intelligence of the CPU players strongly support the single-player game and the multiplayer modes are a good way to kill an afternoon with some friends.  It is not a flawless game, but there is much to enjoy.