Since its inception, the Unreal engine has kept Epic and id Software in a constant state of competition. Through various iterations of both Quake and Unreal, the two companies have fought it out amongst both gamers and developers in order to be seen as THE dominant FPS engine. Valve's upcoming release of Half-Life 2 promises to throw a decent sized wrench into the mix, but for now, they remain the top dogs.

  While the upcoming release of Unreal Tournament 2004 won't feature any radical new engine modifications, it will sport some new gameplay features - the most notable of which is the addition of vehicles to the main game. Instead of battling it out on foot, players will now be able to take control of both space ships and ground vehicles. One of the first levels we saw demoed involved flying a space ship into an enemy base, maneuvering around enemy gun turrets and the blowing the hell out of your target.

On the battlefield, vehicles can be put to excellent use as attack platforms, with players hopping into them at will and lighting up the area with gunfire. A good team will also use the available vehicles as troop transports. When your base spawn point is a distance from the hot zone, you can save quite a bit of time by piling troops into a transport and taking everyone to the front lines.

 Getting your team organized enough to use transports may have been difficult task with 2003, but 2004 adds voice chat as a standard feature to the game. Anyone who has experienced the wonder of voice-over-IP knows that it makes co-ordination leagues easier than trying to work everything out over a keyboard or chat macros, and having it integrated means no more fooling around with third-party applications. The voice support also extends to the bots when in team play mode, so you can issue key orders when necessary!

The popular assault mode from the original Unreal Tournament, which was noticeably absent from 2003, returns this year. Assault is a competitive mode that pits two teams against each other, one trying to complete an objective, the other trying to prevent it. Once a winner's been decided, the teams switch roles and try to beat the other's time.

We saw assault demoed on a train map that featured a number of long and narrow passages. Shortcuts could be made along exterior catwalks, but a single misstep would find players falling to their bloody deaths rather quickly. In order to keep the action fast-paced, the level had a series of spawn points that could be captured by the attacking team. Every new spawn point acquired was closer to the goal and it helped keep the pressure on the defenders.

Onslaught is another new mode in 2004. Sort of a cross between CTF and assault, the levels in onslaught are large, open and meant to be played with a high number of players. Vehicles abound on the onslaught maps, so it is easy to move from point A to point B. Pulling inspiration from SOE's PlanetSide, the bases in onslaught are all linked by a number of power nodes. The ultimate goal is to capture your enemy's main power node, but you can only capture a node that is currently linked to one of yours. This game mechanic forces players to the front lines and creates an ever shifting, but intense battle.

  Some of the new weapons making an appearance in 2004 include the spider parasite mine, a dual assault rifle and the AVRiL - an anti-vehicular rocket launcher that just happens to be named after a certain singer. The spider parasite mines are incredibly cool in action because they constantly run after any enemy in range. Seeing a mass of spider mines running after a hapless opponent is highly satisfying.

Gameplay in 2004 is still fast and furious, with a strong emphasis on speed and destruction. After playing a few rounds of 2004, going back to something like Halo feels positively lethargic. Bot AI has been tweaked and, in deathmatch at least, they are intelligent enough to pass as human players. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the bot AI are the mistakes they also make. Ah, to be human. Complementing the rough-and-tumble feel of the game is the new announcer. Sounding a lot meaner than his 2003 incarnation, the commentary provided is laced with just the right touch of sarcasm.

 Because Epic didn't want to leave modders in the dust, it ensured that 2004 will be fully compatible with the file formats used in 2003. This means any custom maps or add-on packs that you may have downloaded (or created) should still work in the new game. The Unreal editor will also make a return, giving modders access to the newest official tools.

The single-player game still remains a bit of a mystery, but from what we have seen of the multiplayer modes, Unreal Tournament 2004 promises to set the standard for high-caliber online FPS competition. Packed with many new features and game modes, along with everything that was in 2003, the new game should have everything a twitch player could want.