Most times when a game is repackaged and shipped again with extra content it means that the developers obviously missed the boat somewhere along the line with the first release and didn't present the product as well as it could have.. Store shelves are filled with titles like “Some Crappy Shooter Gold,” or “So So Game Deluxe Edition,” which really means the game wasn't quite as good as it should/could have been and now the developer/publisher are giving it another shot and possibly even trying to recoup a few dollars more.
Well for every rule there is an exception and in this case, Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition is so much more than just a repackaging of an over-hyped, under-achieving game. In fact, “Game of the Year Edition” pretty much says it all – except that this was already the game of the year when it came out at the end of last year, but titles don't mean much when a game is this good. Of course there may be some debate as to what was the definitive shooter, Quake III Arena or Unreal Tournament, but gamers at large can agree that UT wasn't really in need of any major work which begs the question: why do an add-on? Obviously gamers want more and even those who may have been wooed by UT a mere few months ago may be seeking more.
The second rule is that usually a Gold, Elite, Deluxe or Platinum edition does vastly improve on the original game and adds something to the mix that was initially missing. This time around, UT does play by the rules and GOTYE does build on the original game, although most will probably agree it was hard to improve upon near perfection.
The third rule for releasing a deluxe title says that owners of the original game are entitled to a rebate or can enjoy these new improvements via a downloadable patch. Unfortunately this is one rule that the GOTYE breaks and this is probably the most disappointing aspect of the new edition of the game, which is retailing at $29.99 and is actually being aimed at the more casual gamer who isn't quite as tech savvy and is unlikely to play the numerous UT mods that are to be found online.