Unreal II: The Awakening - Xbox

One of the benefits of the Xbox's PC-based architecture is that, of the three current consoles, it receives the greatest share of PC ports. We've had the recent Deus Ex: Invisible War, we are promised the mighty Doom III, and we are now blessed with one of the other top first-person shooters, Unreal II: The Awakening.

Set in the same universe as the 1998 original, but complete with a brand new story and cast of characters, the game thrusts you 300 years into the future, to the origins of mankind's expansion into space. You take on the role of John Dalton - ex-Marine and Marshal of the Terran Colonial Authority - who discovers a chilling distress signal during one of his regular patrols. Upon investigating, Dalton is subsequently plunged into harsh combat with terrifying enemies, and into a conflict that will determine the fate of the galaxy.

As you progress through the game you are presented with a wide array of intense combat missions, which, as you would expect, are all tied together by a host of detailed cut-scenes. Each of the missions features a different tactical situation - such as a hostage rescue, a civilian escort and an assault on an enemy base - and each takes place across a variety of different environments. Locales such as the jungles of a tropical planet, the barren ice of a frozen moon, and the active, living tunnels of an underground world are just a few of the settings in which you must fight for your life.

As is an absolute necessity within the FPS genre, a massive array of firepower is at your disposal, ranging from armour piercing handguns to weapons that tear apart the very fabric of space - now that's quite a serious bunch of toys we're talking about.

The Awakening is a more than worthy addition to the Xbox's increasing roster of shooters. If you've not yet experienced the world of Unreal, don't let the 'II' suffix put you off. You don't have to have played the sequel to appreciate what goes on here. It's explosive and sometimes scary stuff, and it's definitely worth a look. more