Atari and Epic Games have announced 'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition', an expanded version of the smash hit and critically regarded third installment in the mega-selling 'Unreal Tournament' franchise, 'Unreal Tournament 2004', for Fall 2004. 'Unreal Tournament 2004', which released in March for the PC, has received a mountain of Editor's Choice Awards from video game magazines and Web sites and is the highest-rated PC game of the year, according to GameRankings.com.
'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition' will add new maps for the groundbreaking "Onslaught" mode, new vehicles, new characters and a wide selection of the best user-made game modifications (mods) hand-selected by the designers at Epic Games. 'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition' will also include all of the content from 'Unreal Tournament 2004'.
"We're making the biggest and best PC game of the year even bigger and even better," said Peter Wyse, executive producer, Atari. "By all measures, 'Unreal Tournament 2004' has been a smash success and is the most polished and highest regarded PC game of 2004. The new elements to be included in 'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition' raises the bar even higher. And by including several new mods by the best community developers, we're giving gamers a ton of new choices for how they play the best multiplayer game ever made."
'Unreal Tournament 2004' was developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Digital Extremes. The game built on the success of previous installments and took the franchise to the next level with the introduction of the hyper-charged "Onslaught" mode, the return of the fan-favorite "Assault" mode and the introduction of land, air, and space-based vehicles.
In 'Unreal Tournament 2004', players suit up as the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future, taking their fates into their own hands as they battle up to 32 other players in action-packed, frag-filled arenas. 'Unreal Tournament 2004' contains new maps for all established game modes, including Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Bombing Run and Double Domination, as well as all new arenas for the two additional styles of play - Onslaught and Assault. In addition, Unreal Tournament 2004 contains all of the maps, mutators and game types - such as Mutant, Last Man Standing and Invasion - from Unreal Tournament 2003 and the free downloadable bonus packs for that game.
Added content in 'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition' will include:
• New Maps for Onslaught Mode: Several new and never-before-seen environments for the new and mega-popular Onslaught mode, created by the masterminds at Epic Games, are being added. New maps will include never-before-seen areas as well as previously released maps created for Windows XP. Onslaught is an epic-in-scope team-based challenge that pits two teams in bitter warfare across massive terrain maps in a frag-filled battle to destroy, capture and hold key power nodes. Vehicles play a major role as war-hardened flying and driving machines transport combatants to the "front" and serve as mobile platforms to launch devastating attacks on the enemy.
• New Vehicles: Three new vehicles are being added for Onslaught mode to help gamers tear up the countryside and bring their enemies to their knees. New battle machinery includes the Cicada, a two seat air vehicle; the Paladin, a deadly new tank that includes a player-oriented directional shield; and the Self Propelled Mobile Artillery (SPMA), a long-range artillery vehicle with a deployable hovering spotter camera.
• New Characters: Six new characters crafted by Epic Games will join the bloodthirsty lineup of techno-gladiators for players to choose from and play as, including two MetalGuard mercenaries, two Mecha Skaarj and two Necris characters.
• The Best Community-Made Game Modifications: Unreal Tournament 2004 boasts one of the most robust player communities in all of video games, and, with the tools included game, this community is able to alter gameplay and in some cases, completely change the way Unreal Tournament 2004 is played. Epic Games' "Make Something Unreal" Contest has been challenging this community to bring their mods to a professional level and the community has answered the call. Epic has selected the best of the best, and those AAA community-made games will be included in Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition. With several new and unique ways to play Unreal Tournament 2004 fans of the series both new and old are in for a huge variety of gameplay experiences.
'Unreal Tournament 2004 - Editor's Choice Edition' will be available worldwide this Fall for the PC with an estimated retail price of $39.99. 'Unreal Tournament 2004' is now available in both a standard CD and a DVD Edition format. 'Unreal Tournament 2004 DVD Edition' is a double-DVD set - disk one includes all of the game content while disk two includes hours of Video Training Modules from 3D Buzz that teach fans and amateur mod makers how to use the Unreal Editor to create custom game content.