Unreal II: The Awakening

Product description:

Unreal II: The Awakening is a sci-fi first-person shooter and a spiritual successor to the original Unreal. You play as John Dalton, a former marine who now works as a Marshal in a remote sector of the galaxy. When mysterious artifacts appear, containing immense powers, you are drawn back into the fray. With intense firefights, alien enemies, and spectacular weapons, Unreal II offers classic sci-fi action with a cinematic touch.

Three interesting facts:

1. Built with Unreal Engine 2
   The game ran on an early version of Unreal Engine 2 and was, at the time, a showcase for detailed environments, lighting effects, and fluid animations on the Xbox hardware.
2. Not just shooting — also defending
   In addition to linear missions, the game also includes defense sections where you have to place turrets and plan tactically to hold off waves of enemies — a surprising change of pace.
3. Co-op exclusive to console
   The Xbox version offered a split-screen co-op mode that was not available in the original PC version. This allowed you to play through the entire story with a friend, increasing replayability.

Rating: 10/10