UT 2004: Me the Champ!

This study leave has been pretty long. Though the study part can be safely eliminated. My time has been spent sleeping, reading (or both) and gaming. First, it was Farcry, then Diablo II and then Civilization III. But I grew tired after a while and stopped playing thse games. One day, I dusted out UT2004 and I started playing. I had started a single player campaign long time back and I continued that.
I really had a blast with the game. The graphics are awesome and the physics too. But the most significant thing is the gameplay. It simply rocks! You have a pretty decent qualification round and then you are to play four modes to unlock the championship. You have to do some management here by hiring and releasing your team members. As the game progresses you do gain access to some pretty good bots.
The four ladders are CTF (capture the flag), Double domination, Assault and Bombing run.
CTF was pretty easy though I lost one match owing to my carelessness.
Double Domination was a refreshing update to original UT’s domination. Here two control points are there and you have to capture and hold them both for 10 seconds, instead of capturing control points which would increase the point as in UT. This really increased the tension with some brilliant last minute saves.
Assault was cool as usual, but as usual there are not many maps. Some of them are way up there in the cool factor.
But the mode that blew me away was Bombing Run. It is your regular rugby with some twists. There is a ball in the Arena and you have to take it to the opponents post to score. Simple enough isn’t it? Nah. You can’t shoot while holding the ball and your mates have to protect. The stellar AI actually disappointed in this area though. The bots were really dumb. Anyway, I really enjoyed the mode.
There are some additional matches like challenges from other teams and bloodrites were your mate is challenged in an instagib match. If you lose you lose your mate. You can refuse though for a price. Instagib matches are really adrenaline pumping. One shot and you are dead. The score can really tilt in any situation.
I finally finished the ladders with 2 losses and unlocked the championship matches. I was anticipating a lightning deathmatch ladder as in UT but only two matches and you are the champ! The first is a team deathmatch and a real pushover. But the second is a one on one with Xan in the Hyperblast2 map. The match is a royal pain in the ass. The map is big and Xan is one hell of an S.O.B. I lost once and quit once but the next time I fragged his ass 4 times and was sitting pretty. But he came back slapped 4 on me. I was afraid and was hiding most of the time to bide time. We met for a final battle as the clock started the final countdown. I knew it was hopless. I had no armor and he had a lot. Amazingly, I could strafe-leap his rockets and fragged him with 2 seconds to spare!
I was disappointed with the ending cinematics though. UT had better ones.
I loved the game and it was a great ride. But my wrist needs some rest now as it is badly bruised. Can’t afford a comfy and expensive mouse!