We just received official word from Macsoft regarding the Unreal Tournament Game of the Year edition. The title considerably expands the original Unreal Tournament game, and, better yet, it has officially gone "Gold." This means it is on its way to reproduction. According to the companyis press release, the game is due to hit shelves for Mac gamers everywhere "next month." The Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition includes many new surprises that will expand and extend the playability of the original game. It includes the original game plus 3 map packs that will give players 20 additional maps to play online or on your own against the multitude of intelligent Bots the computer can throw at you. According to Macsoft:
One of the biggest Macintosh games ever introduced just got bigger as MacSoft, an Infogrames, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFGM) label, announced today that Unreal Tournament: Game Of The Year has gone gold and is shipping next month. Demonstrably expanded, the new edition features the original game, plus three map pack add-ons, giving UT players an additional 20 maps and three all new modes of play, also known as mods. Created to enhance the Unreal Tournament online experience, mods are episodic content that extend the game play experience of the original product.
"We are excited to bring such an acclaimed version of Unreal Tournament to the Macintosh platform," said Cindy Swanson, marketing manager for MacSoft. "By continuing to expand the property within the Macintosh community, we underscore Infogrames’ commitment in broadening awareness of the franchise into all areas of the mass-market."
"The Mac community has consistently embraced games in the Unreal series so we’re proud to offer them a version of Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year," said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. "With this version, Mac gamers will be able to sample a great deal of new maps, mods, skins, and power-ups that continue the great Unreal Tournament game experience."
Along with the full game of Unreal Tournament, the new edition includes the following Mods:
- Rocket Arena: One on one combat in a small space with nowhere to hide.
- Chaos UT: Offering a new unique twist on UT deathmatch play, this mod is a free-for-all frag-fest with four new maps and plenty of unique weaponry such as crossbows or auto-turrets that hunt down enemy players.
The Game Of The Year edition also includes three new map packs: the Epic Bonus Pack, the Innox Map Pack and the Digital Extremes Map Pack, made by the London, Ontario-based co-developer of Unreal and Unreal Tournament, and the company currently developing the game Dark Sector, a FPS (first person shooter) with completely deformable terrain (deformable terrain allows the player to blow holes in walls, for instance).
The Game of the Year Edition will become available sometime this month or next month. The PR we received had conflicting statements on the ship date, in the beginning saying it would be out "next month", and then it rounded up by saying "this month". Whichever date is correct, if you havenit bought the original and are thinking about it, this is the time to grab it.
We received the GM in the mail today from Macsoft, and will be bringing you a First Look shortly.