Unreal Tournament 3

[Adzie]

Unreal Tournament 3

Epic Game’ classic franchise is nearly ready for a third explosive outing and this time it's coming to the 360, with it already released on the PC, it’s about time for a review.

Unreal Tournament is a name that all FPS fans will know, it’s a classic from back in the day when PC gaming was where it was at, and the original was released some 9 years ago. Now with the rise of consoles Unreal Tournament 3 is being ported onto the Xbox 360, and it’s looking fantastic.

This review is based on the PC version, and therefore some details may differ from the finished 360 version, but as a first glimpse, it should wet your appetite.

Unreal Tournament is the 4th game in the Unreal Tournament series, but Epic Games have decided to name it in line with the game engine used, which in this case is the Unreal 3 engine. The last game in the series was Unreal Tournament 2004 and it has been a long wait for this latest addition to the franchise.

To start, let’s talk graphics, they are stunning, the Unreal Engine has never looked better! There are a vast amount of new maps, which to me give a Gears of War feel and look; there is a variety of lighting and amazing effects used.

The weapons have always been one of the selling points of the Unreal series, and although they have never really changed, they have never been bigger, sexier, or more powerful. You start, as always, with a single enforcer, but you never hold on to that for very long as each map is jam-packed full of weapons for you to pick up including the rocket launcher, shock rifle, flak cannon, and the dreaded redeemer.

Vehicles are also present in this game, from the quick and nimble to the simply massive. It is all at your command and all feature primary and secondary fires for you to master and use to your advantage. You also have a hover board to travel around on, should you get tired of walking, or have somewhere that you need to get to extra quick.

Game play has never been so smooth, with a good PC (and all 360’s) displaying amazing graphics and a high frame rate that will leave your jaw hanging. The vehicles are quick and the animation is seamless. All the game modes you love are included, such as Deathmatch and CTF, but there are new ones included, like Warzone.

Warzone requires you to fight over a series of nodes which link together, as long as you have nodes, your base is safe, but if another team can take over all the nodes linking to your base, then your energy core will be vulnerable to attack, and the destruction of it will result in your defeat.

There is a campaign for you to play through, with stunning cut scenes and challenging AI, it could take some time to be completed. All game modes are present and therefore a wide range of your skills will be tested.

Coming back to AI, it is fantastic, your team will constantly be in contact with you, telling you where they are, how much resistance they are encountering etc. They will also tell you the basic stuff such as when your flag gets captured or if they have captured an enemy flag.

The game comes with a funky soundtrack and lovers of the old games will recognise the main theme tune as the classic one from the original Unreal Tournament from 1999. Music throughout the game is pleasant and brings a new element to the game, and the speech is clear and easy to understand.

Issuing orders is now also easily done from the pause menu and all orders given are instantly recognised and carried out by your AI team mates.

It is honestly hard to find anything wrong with this game, the fact that you occasionally fall off your hover board and it takes 3 seconds to get up could be frustrating, but this is exactly what Unreal should be: fast paced, frantic FPS carnage, and as a gamer, I can’t wait to own it on 360!

All in all, a game which I believe deserves nothing less than a perfect rating, for all FPS fans, this is a game which is truly un-missable, and will certainly wet the appetite of any gamers awaiting Gears Of War 2.

10/10

[Kai193]

Very nice Adzie, another class review from you
Anticipating the release on the 360 but unsure if I will get it at this moment, not really played that much of the previous titles.
But your review makes it sound bloody amazing!
I'll definitely be looking into it.

[Orangecroc]

Unreal tournament has been nothing short of excellence since the original. If only GoW MP had been this good...

[Adzie]

Originally Posted by Orangecroc

Unreal tournament has been nothing short of excellence since the original. If only GoW MP had been this good...

Despite his credit history, this man speaks nothing but the truth.

[Kopite]

I couldn't stand this game after playing it for a half hour. how it could possibly get 10/10 bemuses me

[Adzie]

Originally Posted by Kopite

I couldn't stand this game after playing it for a half hour. how it could possibly get 10/10 bemuses me

Well it's only my opinion.. I believe that UT is a game you either love or hate.

[Potleg]

amazing on the PC and not half bad on the ps3 just needs a community around it and thats what the 360 has got plenty of, we will be definatly having a team for this

[BazzaH23]

Originally Posted by Potleg

amazing on the PC and not half bad on the ps3 just needs a community around it and thats what the 360 has got plenty of, we will be definatly having a team for this

just depends on lag, if there is no lag whatsoever on MP then this game will go far