Unreal is a game where I don't quite know where to begin. It was one of those games that came out of no-where (no, not true actually, it gathered quite a bit of a hype around it prior to release), but it left a huge impact when it was released.

It was the year 1998, id Software had just released Quake II the year before and was dominating the FPS genre. Comes 1998, and 2 games were announced and released: Half-Life and Unreal. And both were praised for their impressive graphics and revolutionary gameplay (more so Half-Life with their heavy use of scripted scenes). But the hype and praise was just.

I remember first playing the game (Unreal) when it was released, in May 1998. And it blew me away. I was used to games like the aforementioned Quake II and Duke Nukem 3D, but Unreal literally was a new world...

Graphics: a solid 10/10 in 1998, but somewhat dated now, and I'd give it a 5/10 in 2008. So make that 7. That says a lot for a game 10 years old. But back in 1998 it was phenomenal. Huge outdoor scenes, claustrophobic indoors and smoothly animated NPCs and monsters. The graphics achieved to create a believable strange planet called Na Pali that was inhabited by the Nali, a primitive tribal race. They were enslaved by a fierce reptile-looking race called the Skaarj.

Sound: The music, in one word, was amazing. Never before had I heard such an atmospheric soundtrack in a computer game before - and I still listen to it. Big props to the 2 composers Alexander Brandon and Michiel Van Den Bos. Sound effects as well were great. Subtle, but very fitting. Most famous the sound of the wind blowing when you're flying by the castle in the opening sequence.

Controls: Not much to say, works as you want them to. And on top of it, every single button can be remapped; and you have the ability to create macros for any key if you edit the ini file manually. (This feature has since then been carried over to every Unreal game of the series.)

Story: Nothing fancy, really, but nothing more was required: You're a prisoner but your ship crash-lands on this strange planet. And you seem like the only survivor. The game starts here as you explore and try to escape from this planet. On your journey you discover journals of other (dead) humans and you learn a little bit of the background of the crash and this planet. Also, you learn about the suppressed indigenous race, the Nali, who think of you as their messiah who comes down from the skies to liberate them...

Fun: It was great fun to play from start to finish, even though some levels seemed more stretched than others. But to discover this strange planet was an awesome journey, and the journal entries carried the story along nicely and made the game atmospherically deep.

Replay: For a 10 year old game it still plays nicely today. There's many levels I know by heart; but at least once a year I have to start up the game again and dive into the story and enjoy a few of the roughly 40 levels.

Very recommended - but from today's point of view probably harder to get into because of the dated graphics.