In addition to the Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag game types, which have been first-person shooter staples for years, UT2K4 offers these unique multi-player modes:

• Onslaught: This never-before-seen mode pits two teams against each other in a game that’s part strategy and part frag-‘em-all. Each team starts with a home base, a fleet of vehicles, and weapons lockers that players can use to stock up. The vehicles remain locked until you use one, at which point an enemy player can steal it if you get out or get killed.

  Your team’s goal is to destroy the enemy’s Power Core, which can’t be damaged until your team links to it. Scattered throughout the map are Power Nodes that you can control and link together until you reach your opponents’ base, at which point you can attack their Power Core. The Power Nodes act as mini-bases, allowing players to respawn their after they die and supplying the team with fresh vehicles and weapons.
• Assault: This fan favorite from the original Unreal Tournament returns. It splits players into two teams, attackers and defenders. Attackers must complete certain objectives, such as gaining access to a base and destroying an important piece of hardware inside, while the defenders try to hold them at bay. The attackers win if they finish their tasks; the defenders win if they keep the attackers from doing so within the time limit. Assault also features useable vehicles and turrets.

• Bombing Run: Originally introduced in UT2K3, Bombing Run went through some changes for this version. “One of the drawbacks of the UT2K3 version was the ability for a skilled player to be a ‘one man army’ by throwing the ball and then immediately translocating behind it,” says Dave Ewing, lead level designer for Digital Extremes, which worked with the Epic team. “To solve this problem and promote more teamwork, the translocator now drains its charges after you throw the ball. We also improved the ball tracking when passing to further promote teamwork.”

  This game mode splits players into two teams, each with a hoop on their side of the playing area. The goal is to grab the ball that materializes in the middle of the arena and either shoot it through the other team’s hoop for 3 points or jump through while holding it for 7. You can’t use your weapons or your translocator while you have the ball, but you do regain health as long as you hold it.
• Double Domination: Each map features two domination points, which your team captures when a player runs over them. If your team holds both spots for 10 seconds, you earn a point. First team to a preset score wins.
• Last Man Standing: All players start the game with all the available weapons, but they can only die a certain number of times before they’re eliminated. Last player left on the battlefield is the winner. You can get back some health every time you frag another player, and there’s no sense hiding and trying to outlast your opponents: If you stand in one place for too long, everyone else is alerted to your whereabouts.
• Invasion: Band together with other players and defend your position against a horde of monsters. Each wave of monster attacks lasts between 90 seconds and 4 minutes, during which time you can’t respawn. As long as one player lasts until the end of the wave, however, everyone respawns for the next one. The monsters’ difficulty level is the same as the difficulty level you selected for the computer-controlled bots.

• Mutant: In this deathmatch variant, the first player who frags an opponent becomes the Mutant, who now becomes the target of everyone else, who can kill — and be killed by — the Mutant but who can’t kill each other, except the Bottom Feeder. The Mutant racks up points for every frag and gets all the weapons in the game, along with plenty of ammo and enhanced powers, but his health slowly drains until he replenishes it with kills. His position also appears on the other players’ heads-up displays (HUDs). When a player kills the Mutant, she takes his role.

  The Bottom Feeder is the player with the lowest score. He gets points for kills, allowing him to move up the scoreboard and create a new Bottom Feeder. The Mutant gets extra points for fragging the Bottom Feeder.

Assault. Attackers: secure the missiles from this train. Defenders: keep those attackers out.

Deathmatch. I spy with my little lightning gun…

Onslaught. Heading out to the next Power Node.

Bombing Run. You are the champion.

Vehicles appear at bases and active Power Nodes in Onslaught mode, as well as in certain spots on specific Assault maps. When a vehicle spawns for the first time, it’s locked until you or a team member gets in it, at which point an enemy can take it over if the driver dies or gets out.

Like players, vehicles have health that depletes as they take damage. If a vehicle explodes with players in it, they die too. They can also take damage independent of the vehicle and die even if it doesn’t get destroyed.

Not all vehicles can take on passengers; we’ve noted which ones can in the descriptions below. And don’t forget: a player on foot is no match for a vehicle headed straight toward him. Knock out an opponent while driving a vehicle and you’ll hear one of many reward voices that congratulate you on a job well done.

• Goliath: This tank has room for a driver, who controls it and operates its powerful cannon, and a passenger, who gets to use the twin .50-caliber machine guns. The Goliath’s turret turns independent of its chassis, allowing the driver to track enemies even when the tank is facing the other way.
• Hellbender: A cross between a pick-up truck and a Humvee, the Hellbender sports a heavily armored shell but is still capable of high speeds and strong maneuverability. The driver has no weapons, but one of its passenger-controlled turrets fires plasma blasts strong enough to inflict series damage to enemy vehicles and the other lets loose with EMP quanta projectiles, which have no problem taking out a group of players on foot.
• Manta: This one-person hovercraft was designed for warfare in marshes and swamps, but it’s useful on any terrain. It’s fast and agile, with the ability to extend its tri-blades and leap two stories, and its dual plasma weapons pack a solid punch against foot soldiers and light enemy vehicles. Hover over an opponent and use the Manta’s alternate attack to squash them.
• Raptor: This bird-like flying craft has room for only one player, which leaves it light enough for quick acceleration and great maneuverability. Its main guns fire plasma bursts while its secondary fire unleashes a homing missile that locks on to Mantas and other Raptors.
• Scorpion: Another single-player vehicle, the Scorpion is a light buggy that fires a ribbon projectile. Its secondary attack deploys a pair of blades that easily slice through any opponent careless enough to stand too close. It features the lightest armor of any vehicle, however, so don’t use it to take on a Goliath or even a foot solider holding heavy duty weaponry.

• Leviathan: A word of advice if you’re driving around in a Scorpion or running on foot when you see one of these monsters bearing down on you: Head the other way. Fast. The Leviathan holds five players, a driver who mans the rear-mounted rocket pack and four passengers who each have a turret at their disposal. When it’s time to bring out the serious weaponry, however, the driver locks the Leviathan in place and deploys a main gun whose shells annihilate everything in the blast radius when they hit their target. Park one of these by an opposing team’s Power Node and reduce it — and everyone around it — to smoldering ruins.
• Skaarj Spacefighter: These mysterious fighter craft haven’t been seen since they disappeared after the Seven Day Siege against the Skaarj ended over a century ago; the ones used in the tournament are replicas based on what little information is available. This single-player ship is light and agile, with lasers as its primary weapon and homing missiles as its secondary one.
• Human Spacefighter: Those who piloted these ships, dubbed “Eagles,” were the last to fight against Skaarj spacefighters. They’re an even match with their counterparts, sporting the same weapons and the same agility.
• Mystery vehicle: You’ll have to play the game to discover what this is. Sorry, no hints; we’d get a rude visit from Xan if we gave it away.