I've always been a UT fan. From the minute I picked the game back in 2002 with my lowly dialup, I was addicted.

Granted, I played only offline on DM-Deck16 with 8+ bots in a FFA, but it was fun. Eventually I escalated to online 1on1 play, but never on a competitive level. A few of my greatest memories come from doing so (but that's another story entirely.)

It was for this reason, also, that my favour for the shock-rifle came into play - the combo was the only weapon I didn't have to lead, due to it's wide spread. If it was aimed right, it would hit them regardless of lag.

Then came UT2003. I hated it - well, for a few weeks. Too 'quake-ish,' people said. Too buggy. Too unbalanced, too... not UT. I refrained from bitching with my fellow forum-whores, though. I knew that nothing could turn UT2003 into a UT with better graphics.

So I waited. And played. And waited more, and played more. To my surprise, my dislike turned to a state of timid indifference. And then, to mild gratification. But, only as a result of my gradual move to more competitive play - again, my "competitive play" consisted of nothing more than duels, as it was all I could bear with my dialup.

Then I got broadband... the day the UT2004 demo came out. Wow. I was fucking ecstatic.

UT2004 felt like a sublime combination of UT2003 and its most recent predecessor. With broadband, I moved to CTF as my primary teamgame - with TDM as an enjoyable side course, always mixed up with a few of the 1on1s that I so enjoy.

Now UT2007 is upon us, and I have just reinstalled Q3 after watching Virtuosity again.

I had tried Q3 before, and thought it was a good game... but never imagined it could hold a candle to my beloved UT. Now, with a more open mindset and the ability to see things with a competitive eye, I'm sorry I missed this jewel of a game.

But, enough of my nostalgic whining - here's why I'm writing this; I can make up my lack of Quake gaming with the upcoming installment of Q4.

However, if UT2007 is as good as UT2004 is (in my eyes, anyhow), it'll be damn hard to choose which I will play seriously. I've no idea how I would've chosen between Q3 and UT2004 if I hadn't grown up on UT.

And then there's Quake Wars, which is [seemingly] more similar to RTCW than Q4 or UT2007... but that's just as good, as I had a short but excessively enjoyable fling with RTCW during a slow period w/ UT2004.

In summary, this is the first time in a long time that I'm feeling the burn of having to choose between some very enticing games. And with a full-time job now, I can't choose both as I would have in my recently eclipsed high-school days.

Now that you're all done not reading this rant, you can go.