We spoke with Epic's lead designer--and UT 2003 map-maker--Cliff Bleszinski about the upcoming fragfest.

NVIDIA: What is the new Unreal Engine like? What are some of its capabilities that will really get gamers excited?

Cliff: The new tech is a quantum leap above the previous tech. In UT 2003, there are more triangles in a door than there used to be in an entire scene. We're getting to the point in this industry where graphics are starting to get really, really cool.

NVIDIA: How will Unreal Tournament 2003 utilize the latest NVIDIA hardware?

Cliff: The game will really take advantage of all the latest cards--you'll want to get the latest GeForce card for all the effects. The game will run on previous cards, but to really experience the graphics, you'll want a high-end card.

NVIDIA: What's new in Bot-land?

Cliff: Our AI guru has really made the 'bots more human-like. It's not challenging to make a 'bot that will kill you every time, but it is difficult to make them play like other humans. There are tons of different things that our 'bots are really good at. They know which weapons to use in different situations. They can navigate maps quickly using the translocator, tossing the device in front of them like players do. And the AI plays all the game types well.

NVIDIA: Speaking of, what game types will be featured in UT 2003?

Cliff: There are the old traditional game types: free-for-all deathmatch and capture the flag. Then there's Double Domination with two neutral points that your team needs to hold for ten seconds. And Bombing Run--it's like football with guns. You rush to get the ball and get it through a goal, either by throwing it through or diving through. We see some very interesting plays developing. When you have the ball, you can only run, you can't use your weapons. So you can toss it into the enemy's hands, shoot them, and then grab the ball back.

NVIDIA: Excellent! So what new weapons can we use to bring them down? Are our old faves still around?

Cliff: Lots of the oldies but goodies will return. The Redeemer's back, of course. Everybody's favorite. Then there are new weapons like the Link Gun. It's a laser pulse gun. If you shoot your teammate with it, you'll link up and their shots will become twice as powerful. And you can link up more teammates as well. And the Tag Laser takes advantage of a satellite that floats around some of the maps. Use the Tag Laser to paint the target on the ground and this finger of God points down and lays waste to the whole area. There's also the Shield Gun, which works like the Impact Hammer with its primary fire. But the alternate fire creates this green shield that can be used to deflect shots. It's a really great defensive weapon.

NVIDIA: What kind of new moves have been incorporated into the game?

Cliff: There was a Matrix mod for UT that did a lot of things we were thinking about. We've implemented the Double Jump into UT 2003. It's one of the most exciting features--you can get extra height from jumping twice. The game really looks realistic thanks to next-generation NVIDIA hardware, but there are a lot of realistic, squad-combat games out there. We're doing some counter-programming. We thought that we might as well leverage some of the crazy elements of the game.

NVIDIA: Stuff like going Berserk on Adrenaline?

Cliff: Exactly. You can get Adrenaline by scoring in a match or fragging a lot of people or picking up these pills that are scattered throughout the map. Once you have 100 points, you can perform combat-style combo moves. For example, back, back, forward, forward makes you go Berserk and you can fire twice as fast. There's also invisibility, speed, and a defense combo. It's a way to give you an actual bonus from all the multi-kills and killing sprees.

NVIDIA: Can't wait to try it out. Closing thoughts?

Cliff: The game is what it says it is. It's Unreal Tournament for 2003. With 2003 graphics and 2003 gameplay and all the fantastic sound and effects and environments that go with that.