Which Engine?

Having never used a game engine before (asides from Flash) I am terrified at the prospect of having to self teach myself an engine. Because of this, I've decided to start researching the engine asap to avoid putting the subject/project off out of fear.

Reading Material: http://blog.digitaltutors.com/unity-udk-cryengine-game-engine-choose/

Notes on article:

Unity

• Best for cross-platform integration (games can be quickly/easily ported onto Android, IOS, Windows Phone 8, Blackberry.) 
• Can also develop for consoles (if new developer there is a lot more that goes into console development as it requires access to console SDK's). New developers are unlikely to require access.
• Supports assets from most 3D applications. (3DS Max, Maya, Softimage, CINEMA 4D and Blender for example.) (I'm assuming also Z Brush)? - I could look into this but  I dont plan on using 3D at all in my project so this isn't a priority.
• With release of Unity 4.3 it has native 2D capabilities (supporting sprites and 2D physics) so good for developing 2D games.
• Large asset library but no internal 3D creation software.
• Unity 5 has Global Illumination, Physically based shading and HDR Reflection Probes so strongly contends with UE4 and CryENGINE.

UE4: Unreal Engine 4

• Dynamic lighting and new particle system.
• Games can be released on PC, Mac iOS, Android Xbone and Ps4.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Digital Tutors article I read was a bit vague in regards to Unreal, especially in comparison to the information it gave about Unity so I thought I'd do a bit more research into what it did mention about Unreal before I made a decision about the engine I'll use for the project.

The blueprint system looks familiar to Maya's node system used for texturing at first glance, or Flash CS5's code snippets system,  although, I'm not sure if the sort of code it's talking about is more complex than I will need for my project? This is because the article mentions that it makes stuff previously only doable by programmers more accessible to everybody else.

Another Article I read: https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Blueprints/index.html

_________________________________________________________________________

From what I'm getting, Unity might be a better choice for a 2D game as UE4 seems to be a better engine for photorealistic 3D graphics?
As I understand, -If it's about learning the engine, learn them both.

•  If it's going to be a complicated 2D game, a game that runs on low-end hardware or phones. Go with Unity.
•  If you are just creating a project to learn the system, it doesn't matter.
• Has something called the Blueprint system? That's replacing something called Kismet?

Unreal, in it's current state, seems to be unsuited for complicated 2D games or low-end hardware. Unity, in it's current state, is missing allot of functionality that Unreal has.

For a simple 2D game (which is really what I'm aiming for here, having no experience in scripting or game engines, it seems that for just delving into app development and figuring out design/marketplace Unity seems a better choice. If I wanted to learn more about game designs and engines, Unreal seems the better option.

• Also, I am needing to learn Unity for Professional Project as that is the engine we are working with and I will need to know how to import/implement my own assets. It seems to make more sense the, to use Unity and get familiar with one engine over the next two weeks rather than split my time learning two different engines. Especially so as I am more interested in the art and narrative of the game/environment than the technicalities of the actual engine.
• I also don't want to use Unreal in the hope that it's a cop out option, and that i'll be able to do all my scripting through nodes and not have to learn anything.
• In general also after a bit of looking, I can find a lot more 2D tutorials for Unity than I can for Unreal which will be a lot more help when I need to start learning the engine.
• I think if I start with Unity I can get a grasp of that and then maybe progress onto unity later in life/after the project has ended. By doing this as further study I can learn more about game engines but at the most focus on the engine that will be the most help with not only this project but also my Professional Project module.