For People new to Unreal Tournament - Where to Start? UT99 or UT2004?

[IAmSoUnReal]

GOG has both of these on sale currently.  If you've already played Unreal Gold, would it better to get both games or just one of them to get a good feel for Unreal Tournament in general? How different is the game play between them?

[Neon_Knight]

The main rule to enjoy any Unreal game is to realize that every game in the series is different from the other. Some people will tell you that you should only play the game they like and that everything else is trash. This couldn't be further from the truth.

So my suggestion is to install both and see for yourself rather than rely on other people's opinions.

[Hellkeeper]

How different is the game play between them?

Very different. Follow Neon_Knight's advice, he's right, especially on this point:

Some people will tell you that you should only play the game they like and that everything else is trash. This couldn't be further from the truth.

[IAmSoUnReal]

How different is the game play between them?

Very different. Follow Neon_Knight's advice, he's right, especially on this point:

Some people will tell you that you should only play the game they like and that everything else is trash. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Different in what ways?

[Neon_Knight]

Physics, movement, weaponry, itemry, map-to-player size ratio, and 2004 even has dedicated gamemodes with vehicles (though the 2004 version of Assault has both maps with and without vehicles). And that's just the laconic version.

[wfank30]

Played them both, both were awesome. UT 2004 is more realistic graphics and has lots more feature than UT 1999, but UT 1999 is where I started and is more challenging, the awesome different locations and all, it was fantastic. All the different game modes Death match, Assault, Domination, Capture The Flag, Last Man Standing and the cool weapons.... I don't want to be a spoiler. All I say is start with UT 1999 you would love it and then go for UT 2004 and you would love both games.

[Buster]

Playing them in the order of their release is the best way to go. You'll also get to see how the engine developed and changed over time. The first thing I noticed was the speed of the game play. The DM etc found in Unreal Classic/Gold feels like it's the fastest. You move and fire just slightly quicker than UT99. In the world of the Tournaments the game play speed of UT99 seems faster, and a bit more responsive than the later versions. With 2003/2004 you appear to run no quicker than most of the other first person shooters released at that time. UT3 smooths a few things out, and it looks fantastic, but the game play speed is the same as 2004. It just looks fancier.

This is coming from somebody that isn't a very skilled player anymore. My finger don't work the same at over 50 years old as they did in my 30s. LOL I sound old. Damn. LOL

When UT99 was first released, for the average person playing online was pretty much a level field. The average computer ran the game at a blistering 20 FPS, and a lot of players had only dial-up ISP. Very high pings.

And we still spent hours and hours having a really great time. Enough so that a few of us pulled out our wallets and financed gaming clans, websites and forums, dedicated gaming servers, etc. Epic Games didn't put up the cash. We did.

All the maps etc available for UT99, the overall variety from so many different mappers, is far greater than the later versions. The dedication of the Unreal OGs (original gamers) made the difference.

A lot of the sense of community has been lost, but the game engines coming out today are incredible. That's the price of progress.

[gopostal]

Jesus Buster, that's such a good post. Well said brother.

[Hook]

Jesus Buster, that's such a good post. Well said brother.

Yes, I agree.
Well posted above Buster!
That said, I believe UT99 is still the most active and the best version to play also!

[Hellkeeper]

Judging by ease of finding players and still active support, UT99 is the best of the bunch. Which is sad because UT4 has sunk lower in such a short amount of time.

[Hook]

Yeah that is too bad about UT4.
I had high hopes for UT4. :-/

[Hellkeeper]

I had none and even I found myself disappointed.

[Fem_Pacifier]

I played UT99, 2003, 2004 (basically what 2003 should've been) and then UT3. I gave the CDs away, except for UT99 because the other games lost their luster rather quickly. Many years later I came back to the original UT which is the only game that still holds my interest, and now I want to get better at it. There's just something about the feel of UT99 that has never been replicated anywhere else. Watch the original Star Wars trilogy and then compare it to the newer films, and that's how I feel about UT99. The Last Jedi is shiny and crisp but leaves me cold, and The Empire Strikes Back grabs me every time.