August 16, 2004 - Garnering Editor's Choice awards from several publications, including IGN, Unreal Tournament: Editor's Choice Edition is certainly aptly named. Given Epic's dedication to quality over the years, we weren't really shocked at how good Unreal Tournament 2004 turned out, but we were kind of surprised when Epic announced they would be re-releasing Unreal Tournament 2004 with a few new additions in a special Editor's Choice pack. We recently sat down with Epic Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski, who took us on a tour of the upcoming game and let us take the controls and try out some of the new enhancements for ourselves.
Don't expect any gameplay changes in the new pack. If you've played Unreal Tournament 2004, you'll feel right at home with the Editor's Choice Edition, and you'll be able to jump right in and start playing with no trouble. While the core of the Editor's Choice Edition will be exactly what was found in the original Unreal Tournament 2004, the highlight of the re-release is a number of added extras that enhance the already solid gameplay.
The most notable are three all-new vehicles for Onslaught. Vehicles were a new addition to the Unreal Tournament universe in the 2004 edition, and as you probably already know, the team at Epic did a great job at incorporating them into the game. They just felt right, and kept the action fast and furious without bogging it down or unbalancing the game.
The three new vehicles in the Editor's Choice Edition include:
Cicada
A two-man flying vehicle where one person can pilot while the other mans a belly turret. Primary fire for the pilot shoots rockets, while alt fire stores up rockets and launches a multi-rocket volley that can lock onto targets. The turret's primary fire shoots lasers, while the secondary fire releases chaffs to throw off those nasty missile locks.
Paladin
The Paladin is a new heavy tank that has both offensive and defensive capabilities. Primary fire launches a traditional explosive shell, similar to the tank from the original. Secondary fire creates an energy shield around the Paladin that absorbs damage. Tapping the primary fire button while holding down the alt fire will send out a pulse of energy in a circle around the Paladin, slightly damaging everything that is within range, and pushing them back slightly as well.
Self-Propelled Mobile Artillery (SPMA)
Also known as the Hank (for Hellbender meets Tank), the SPMA can be the most powerful vehicle in the game if used correctly. Primary fire launches a highly explosive shell which does damage in a large area. Secondary fire sends a spotter camera up over the battlefield and gives you a bird's eye view of the action. From this view you can more accurately plot where you want your shells to land. It's kind of like having a scout in Battlefield 1942 spot a target for you, but you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself.
http://pc.ign.com/articles/539/539054p1.html
CliffyB on UT2004 ECE
by RaptoR at 9:28 PM EDT (Future Unreal Titles) [ 4 Comments ] #6628
GameSpot( http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/ut200 ... 04933.html ) is hosting a short video featuring some of the new content and vehicles that will be released in Unreal Tournament 2004 Editor's Choice Edition.
UT2004 ECE will be released this fall, with original UT2004 owners being able to download this extra content for free.
