Unreal Tournament 2004 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It is part of the Unreal series, specifically the subseries started by the original Unreal Tournament. It is the sequel to Unreal Tournament 2003.
Unreal Tournament 2004 features most of the content of its predecessor. Among significant changes to gameplay mechanics and visual presentation, one of the major additions introduced by Unreal Tournament 2004 is the inclusion of vehicles and the Onslaught game type, allowing for large-scale battles.
The game is set in a universe where humans long before fought a war with the Skaarj, leaving their galactic empire in shambles. To assist in the rebuilding of the colonies by calming down enraged colonists, the Liandri Corporation came up with the idea of staging a gladiatorial tournament for the miners. The interest was so high that it grew into a sport, with sponsored teams battling in specially made arenas.
From the very beginning, Xan Kriegor, a robot, reigned as champion in the Tournament, until Malcolm, then leading the team Thunder Crash, defeated him and proceeded to merge with the other popular team at the time - the Iron Guard, led by Brock. In last year’s tournament, they were defeated by the Juggernauts, led by gene-boosted monster Gorge.
The game takes place as the Tournament enters its 12th year, Malcolm is back with his old team Thunder Crash and trying to reclaim his title as champion, Brock is back with the Iron Guard and trying for the glory of his own and Gorge and the Juggernauts are there to defend their title. Additionally, the Skaarj Empire has sent a team of their own to the tournament in search of honor and glory and ex-champion Xan Kriegor has had some modifications and is back to return the title where it belongs.