History VideoGame / Unreal

The ''Unreal'' series fell into obscurity near the turn of TheNewTens due to the lack of a followup to ''Unreal Tournament 3'', helped along by a number of outside factors: the rise of team-based / "tactical" shooters (having started around the same time as ''Unreal'' with ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', but really reaching its peak concurrent with ''[=UT3=]'' with the ''VideoGame/{{Call of|Duty}} VideoGame/{{Modern|Warfare}} VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' glut), the rise of free arcadelike shooters (''World of Padman'', ''VideoGame/{{Nexuiz}}'', ''Alien Arena'', ''VideoGame/OpenArena''...) taking the place of commercial ones, the overwhelming popularity of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' (which combined the strategic elements of the former with Unreal's action-packed and over-the-top vibe), and Creator/EpicGames's shift in focus towards the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 with the ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' franchise. However, Epic president Mike Capps was quoted as saying that the franchise is due for a revival, and with ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament4'', they eventually delivered... at least until [[VideoGame/{{Fortnite}} a much bigger success]] caused them to shift focus.

Furthermore, the Unreal UsefulNotes/{{Game Engine}}s, one for each Tournament, have seen extremely widespread use throughout the gaming industry, with countless games in just about every genre released using Epic's code.

[[caption-width-right:300:Yes, they've named [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine their engines]] after this series.]]

%%(ZCE)* AlienBlood: Some creatures bled differently from humans.
%%(ZCE)* AlienSky: Considering the saga as a whole takes part in an universe...

%%(ZCE)* ArtificialBrilliance: Most of the franchise's [=AIs=] are a challenge even by today's standards.
%%(ZCE)* ArtificialLimbs: Some characters feature this.
%%(ZCE)* AwesomeButImpractical: At least one weapon per game falls into this.
%%(ZCE)* BlatantItemPlacement: Especially in the multiplayer games.
%%(ZCE)* BodyArmorAsHitPoints

%%(ZCE)* DifficultButAwesome: At least one weapon per game falls into this.

%%(ZCE)* EndingTropes: Normally of the [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] variant. Comes with a universe based on GreyAndGrayMorality.
%%(ZCE)* EnergyBall: What some of your guns fire.

%%(ZCE)* GangstaStyle: Mostly done with the starter weapon or a weaker one.
%%(ZCE)* GatlingGood: At least one weapon per game falls into this.

%%(ZCE)* LazyArtist: In spite of the newer engines' features, there is many old stuff taken from previous games.

%%(ZCE)* PainfullySlowProjectile: Some weapons fall into this, even in the multiplayer games.

%%(ZCE)* QuadDamage: One per game.

%%(ZCE)* SceneryPorn: Even the older games have breathtaking scenery in today's era.

%%(ZCE)* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters