Unreal

1998 was a great year for video games. Revolutionary games like Half-life, The legend of zelda: OOC, Rainbow six, Metal gear solid, and Banjo-Kazooie were released. So its no surprise that many great games were overlooked. But one of the most overlooked was Unreal. Back in the day, its graphics were great. It was the Crysis of 1998. Many people had to get good rigs to play it, which might be why it was overlooked. But there was more to this game. The story is told similarly to half-life, where there are no cut scenes. It takes place in a sci-fi world, and you see the world through the eyes of an unnamed prisoner, who wakes up in a crashed prison vessel. You escape the vessel to find out you are on a planet called Na-pali. You discover an alien race called the Nali, who have been imprisoned by a race called the skaarj, and throughout the game you learn more about both races and ultimately defeat the skaarj. The gameplay is a lot like most old shooters, and you collect many weapons and defeat enemies, but all the weapons and enemies are very creative and unique. You'll find weapons like a gun that shoots crystals, one that shoots razorblades, and a bio-rifle that shoots goop. There are many types of enemies, and they all have superb A.I. and will often dodge your bullets and run away on low health. The sound and level design is also fantastic and makes for a memorable experience. There is a wonderful soundtrack, and the levels are all great. Some are fantasy, some are technological, all are memorable. However, its not for everyone. The game is very long, and there are a lot of difficult and downright absurd puzzles. You will be left pretty clueless in some places, and the game is pretty hard. Still, this game is a classic and pioneered many things into the gaming world, even though we don't know it. So in the end, if you're up to it, you should definitely pick this up or get the unreal anthology (great deal!). Its one of my all-time favorite shooters. Remember, it isn't real. Its unreal.