The original Unreal was a game that really moved the First Person Shooter genre on a notch or two; a violent action-packed game with wonderful settings, clever level design, atmospheric set pieces and some state of the art graphical flourishes. Developers Epic had crafted an exciting and sufficiently different universe and it immediately found its own niche in the genre. So what seems like a hundred years or so later, and after a few 'tournament' style games that you either loved or hated, Unreal's first proper, full-blown sequel is finally here, and it's called Unreal 2: The Awakening.

 The 'plot' (for want of a ruder word) sends you (a Space Ranger) on various missions to secure some mysterious artefacts that hold untold power, as a side story you also seem to have been drummed out of the Space Marine Corps and despite apparently having quite a cosy little private set-up (ship, crew etc.), for some unfathomable reason you want to get reinstated. The story is linked with cut scenes that use the game engine; they're poorly animated and have awful, muffled sound - this doesn't bode well for the game to come…

 So Unreal II sounds like a load of hackneyed old baloney? Well yes it does, and sadly the solo story mode plays like it too. Some impressively expansive and spacious levels can't hide the fact that the game looks old, with fuzzy textures and a level of detail that you'd expect the PS2 to be able to handle. Some of the environments are bigger than anything yet seen in an Xbox FPS, but they tend to be strangely empty, wide-open spaces that take forever to navigate because of your sluggish movement and the lack of any vehicles. The first thing that really hurts your eyes is the movement of the enemy; they're all so badly animated that despite the fact that there are some sizeable and (what should have been) scary creatures to fight, they look almost comical as they jerk unerringly towards you to get slaughtered. And there's the next problem - on its default (normal) difficulty setting, U2 is no more than a slaughter; you're just so tough and heavily armed that few enemy pose you any sort of problem at all, and their simplistic, totally aggressive AI never gives them a chance. It's a real shame, because although the game is graphically challenged, there are some really cool ideas and clever level designs. You can deploy laser barrier walls and automatic turrets that will keep out and fire on the enemy, and being able to order marines to patrol designated areas is a cool touch too.

 Although there are no split screen death match options, Unreal II gives you the chance to play through the story mode with a friend split screen, Halo-style, but after a few levels of jerky action I suspect that (like us) you'd rather be playing the older, much better game instead…

 But wait! - Unreal II: The Awakening is saved from mediocrity by its excellent XMP multiplayer mode. Playable via system link or Xbox Live, XMP is a team-based, glorified capture-the-flag style death match game with a few little extras. You and your team (although you can play one on one) must steal artefacts from the enemy base and return them to your own. You must hack regeneration points and doors to get them under your control. The power generators that keep all the weapons and vehicles running are vital to the game - you must keep your team's power level up or things start to go "tits up" fast. Did I mention the vehicles? - Strangely missing from the main game, an assault buggy, armoured truck and tank add some much needed speed, protection, firepower and fun to the XMP levels. Several of you can leap aboard and either drive or take control of the various on-board weapons, but beware, there are also remote-controlled cannons powerful enough to take out even the tanks in one shot - you rarely feel invulnerable in XMP for long.

 There are only four levels at the moment (Sunset Beach, Lowlands, Sirocco and Rampant) but more may become downloadable. You can play 1-8 players on a normal connection or 1-12 on a dedicated host - a bit of a shame, as most other Xbox Live FPS games seem to manage 16. XMP plays well and is a lot of fun, but doesn't seem to be overly popular as yet, despite the game having been out in the US for several months - not a good sign (or maybe it is). A nice feature is that you can host a game and go explore the levels on your own, so you don't need to 'learn the hard way' like in some other online games.

 So, a game of two distinct halves then; if you have Xbox Live or play system-linked games with mates regularly then U2 is an excellent addition to the collection - if you're hoping for a solo game to keep you going until Halo 2 arrives then you'd better keep looking. MS