The problem is original UT was one of a kind, at least for me. It had perfect balance of weapons, map design and overal game speed. Newer UTs were still pretty decent games, but felt very different to the original. Adding vehicles was fun for a while, but made the game totally different in its pace and everything. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia speaking for me, but I still feel the original was the best UT game by far.
As for Unreal itself, can’t comment much on that one as I’ve never really finished it. Somehow it just did not click with me.