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Well-Rounded Entertainment has recently posted their own E3 impressions of Unreal II, the much anticipated sequel currently in development by Legend Entertainment. Though Unreal II has been covered extensively by many different websites that attended E3, WRE manages to scrounge up some significant details that may have gone previously unnoticed.

First up, Mike Verdu of Legend firmly states that players will -not- need a GeForce3 in order to run the game. Due to the game's eye-popping visuals, many people began to speculate that top-of-the-line hardware would be needed to play this game. Thankfully, this will not be the case.

Throughout the game, there will be six different races of enemies encountered, including the Skaarj from the original Unreal as well as a new AI-driven robotic race of some kind. Multiple mercenary and military groups will be encountered throughout the game as well, some hireable and some hostile.

A total of fifteen weapons will be available for a player's fragging pleasure. WRE notes the flamethrower in particular as being extremely deadly. Another interesting aspect about weapons in Unreal II is the "unfamiliarity" factor. Simply put, just because you pick up an enemy's weapon doesn't mean you know how to use it. Players will have to bring scavenged weapons back to their ship and have them examined in order to determine how to use them.

The interactivity between the player and the ship crew is also very detailed. Depending on their mood, crew members will greet players with smiles, scowls, or cold shoulders. Players can interrupt conversations between crew members, though there is the potential risk of upsetting them. Players having conversations with crew members can also be interrupted by other members, which no doubt will also affect crew emotions depending on how the player responds.

The AI, already fearsome in Unreal Tournament, is being jacked up several more notches in Unreal II. Enemies will take cover when being fired upon, waiting for the pause that signifies a reload before mounting their own assault.

As of yet, no official Mac version has been announced, though the PC version itself is a long way off. As all the previous Unreals have hit the Mac, there are high hopes that a Mac version of Unreal II will be in the works sometime in the future.

Official Unreal II Site

Well-Rounded Entertainment - Unreal II Preview

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