Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

The Unreal franchise has given birth to some great games. The king of online, insane deathmatching with big honkin' futuristic weapons has been a huge hit with gamers worldwide. After Unreal's debut as a hot Live launch title, Xbox owners have been waiting for a new game (we'll just pretend The Awakening doesn't exist, mmkay?). Looks like it's on the way with Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict. Your Unreal papa's got a brand new bagЕ

While the Unreal games have always been first person shooters, it's of great interest to note that The Liandri Conflict will play from a third person, as well as a first person perspective. The reason for the change is the inclusion of melee combat in Unreal 2. Yes, you read that rightЕ.melee combat. Not only that, but characters will now have a whole new move set, so acrobatic jumps, flipping off of walls, and cart wheeling above your opponent's head will all be par for the course.

All of this is finely tuned, and designed to open up a whole new style of play. Of course you can still run around like a maniac, blasting anything that moves with a rocket launcher, flak cannon or machine gun, but you now have the option of attacking your opponents hand-to-hand. Each character class will have specific melee weapons (staffs, swords, and other hand armaments) and the ability to not only assault adversaries directly, but actually smack rockets and other projectiles out of the air (and if you're really good, you can deflect the shot right back at the source. Sweet!!). Sources indicate that all of these moves are easily accessible due to Unreal 2's excellent control system.

You'll move with the left thumbstick and aim with the right, and fire your weapon's primary and secondary attacks using the right and left triggers (there's a surpriseЕnot). Hitting the B button will instantly switch between 1^st and 3^rd person view, and you'll use the A button to jump (tap twice for the double jump). In addition, you can press both triggers at the same time to bring up a shield, which will obviously be a huge counter-move when a melee player faces one with a rocket launcher. You can track targets, as well as use the environment to pull off super jumps, which will have your character flying through the maps like Spider-Man -- well, kind ofЕ

You'll still see Unreal staples like the adrenaline boost, as well as the insane, futuristic weapons the series has come to be noted for. These include Grenade Launchers, the Bio Rifle, Shock Rifle, Disc Gun and a Sniper Rifle. You'll also have access to explosives like mines, as well as the aforementioned melee weapons.

The developers have included around 40 new maps, all designed to accommodate the melee combat system. Lots of staircases, shafts and multi-tiered floors, so the jumping should factor in greatly, as much of the battles will be vertical this time out. Levels will feature the requisite power ups, scattered strategically through out the areas.

Graphically, Unreal 2 is shaping up to be one of the better-looking Xbox games released so far. Character models are highly detailed, and the environments look simply stunning. Weapons fire and particle effects look smashing as well. While most of the emphasis in Unreal 2 is on the multiplayer (which will have a player count of 8 total over Live) there is a fully fleshed out single player experience as well. Players compete in tournaments sponsored by the Liandri Corporation (hence the title) and of course, madness ensues. Since Midway has taken over publishing chores, expect a familiar face or two from the Mortal Combat series to make an appearance in UC2.