User Reviews
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 Unbelievable, Uncontrollable, Unstopable. No it's just Unreal, baby |  4.7
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by  ShadowJ
from Derby, Derbyshire, UK | May 6, 2008 |
Unreal Tournament is back and better than ever. The fast paced, bullet biting, earth shattering, belly busting, gut annihilating game hits the shelves once more and it doesn't take any prisoners.
To begin the engine used for UT3 is a new and improved version of the older Unreal engines and ironically enough is widely licenced and used by other game companies, yet this doesn't stop Midway from bringing out the big guns and believe me, UT3 isn't shy when it comes to guns.
Before you get anywhere near the multiplayer side of things, I strongly advise you to play the single player campaign to just get the feel of UT3. Multiplayer can be ruthless and no tears are shed over the servers when you die, harsh but it wouldn't be Unreal if enemies took it easy on you. As a beginner it is fast paced, in fact when I played online I simply stood still to get the feel of things and began to slowly settle into the community. Though one thing for sure is, you can never stop moving within this game, even if you are against bots.
However the wonderful thing about this game is that even a novice can get the upper hand over someone. Could be you catch someone with low life or you find the wonderful life of Unreal powerups that boosts your advantage ten to one.
No matter what though, the first thing to strike you about this game is the graphics and UT3 is the game to show what the PS3 can really do within the graphics race. Speaking of PS3, UT3 is the first ever game to bring user made mods onto the PS3. It does require a USB memory stick or even an Ipod to transfer the mod from the PS3 browser or PC to the PS3 itself but it can be done.
Onto the gameplay itself, the single player campaign follows a team known as Ronin, with you controlling the team leader, Reaper. The story sets you fighting a war with an enemy known as the Necris whom set out to destroy other homeplanets. They chose yours and succeed with you and your team barely escaping. The campaign itself is simply a storyline set around the maps you fight on against the enemies you face, however to spice things up you have several game modes.
The first being the famous deathmatch, to which while in campaign mode you will never play since you are always in a team. The next is team deathmatch, then capture the flag, followed by vehicle CTF, Warfare and finally Duel.
Warfare is certainly different within these kind of games. Each team has a base node with 100 health, aim of the game is to destroy the base node through gaining controlling of "nodes" that are dotted around the map. If the enemy capture your prime node (the first node after your base node) then your base node is vulnerable to attacks. Depending on the map, you will find different nodes that will open up extra vehicles or weapons such as you can find tank nodes that will give your team a tank on your side or a "flood gate" that if held for sixty seconds, will damage your enemies' node directly.
The game itself can be won by any team, even if you aren't great at it. The right team and strategy or even obtaining control of the nodes that will help you will get you the win.
Unreal prides itself on its weapons and as always never fails to deliver. You have your best and worst, your slow and fast to even the downright murderous. Each weapon has a primary and secondary fire, some even have special fire modes if primary and seconday are combined, such as the rocket launcher, if used correctly you can fire three rockets that spiral tightly so all three impact upon the same target instead of three rockets hitting different targets.
A favourite of mine is the link gun. It is called the link gun because you can actually link an attack with a team mate using a link gun as well. The link gun is also a high firing plasma gun that also with its secondary fire mode allows you to repair vehicles and nodes that you capture at the expense of draining your ammo. A gun certainly worth carrying around and one that could turn a loss into a win.
Another thing that Unreal prides itself on are the vehicles. UT3 offers probably some of the most powerful beasts within a shooter I have ever seen. From a simple fast jeep to an alien walking destroying machine. There are two sets of vehicles within the game. Axon based and Necris based. Axon are the human vehicles, based similar to real life military vehicles while Necris vehicles are definitely out of this world yet fun to control. However you aren't always confined to a vehicle, when playing Vehicle CTF or Warfare, you are given a hoverboard to get to places. Along with this you are able to 'grab' onto the back of a team mate's vehicle that will transport you across the map. Unfortunately though if you are hit while on a hoverboard or crash into something at high speed then you are sent rolling and are vulnerable to attacks.
Overall if you love these kind of games then Unreal Tournament III will certainly not let you down. If you feel lonely playing the campaign yourself then you can always go public and play a co-op game with someone else online. You don't even have to play campaign as there is an instant action section that allows you to play any game mode against a number of bots or even choose specific bots you wish to fight against.
In other words you can complete this game and still play it until the next game in the series is released and once you get that itch, no amount of scratching will get rid of it. |
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| King of the Arcade shooter. |  3.9
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by  PangTong_Blademaster
from oxford, , england | Apr 19, 2008 |
If you are into the steady shooters for the next gen consoles or prefer to hang back sniping your enemies from afar then you will have to look somewhere else. Unreal sets the number one precedent for full out hardcore action. From watching gameplay videos you may think Unreal looks tricky to get into but that's what one of the new features is for. The single player campaign is styled into a long tutorial which will give you a warm acquaintance with each mode and map and most of the weapons. In the single player campaign you take on the role of Reaper and his band of mercenaries who are at war with the powerful Necris. He is employed by "Thundercrash" Malcolm on various missions in hopes that he and his teams will face the Necris. The plot may not be the best of plots but it gets you straight into the groove of the game.
The graphics are flawless as it is run by the Unreal engine 3 and there are no choppy interuptions during gameplay on the console version. The variety of maps makes sure you are not always fighting the battle on board a alien space ship or in an oriental village which is a nice touch as in most FPS campaigns you seem to stick in the same area for at least a few hours.
The voice acting for the characters is quite good however some of the dialogue they say in the midst of battle can sound stupid and meaningless. The background music is what you would expect from a sci fi shooter and the guns sounds are even better.
Game modes include your average Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Duel (1vs.1) and the impressive Warfare mode. Warfare is a mode in which you capture nodes and in turn they link up and eventually lead you to the enemy core. Another mode is the vehicle Capture the Flag.
The weapons themselves are the best thing about Unreal 3 apart from its huge vehicles. The key to success in a battle is always the weapons you carry. You will find that online everyone will surely head for the best weapons. The best of these being considered as the rocket launcher which is equipped with triple shot and the annoting auto lock. Other weapons include the Flak cannon (Basically a huge scattergun) which is capable of killing an enemy with a single shot if the target is close enough. Most guns have secondary fire including the link which has a link charge as a secondary fire attack. Weapons are needed for all kinds of situation. The sniper rifles for long range, the Flak cannon for close by enemies, the Longbow Avril for taking out vehicles and the almost useless impact hammer (melee weapon).
The characters are quite beefy and suited up in inch thick armour. There are quite a few options for character design such as shoulder pads, goggles, masks and more. The four main races in UT3 are the Liandri, the Ronin, the Krall and the Iron Guard each one has its own type of design.
The vehicles play a major role in the game and you will find yourself using one regardless on whether you are online or off. Basic vehicles include the scorpion (fast buggy) with talon side blades and the Manta with is a hovering speeder. More advanced vehicles like Goliaths and Hellfire get introduced later in the campaign. The vehicles available all depends on the map type your host chooses but if you dont like lumbering around in a huge behemoth you can settle with the hoverboard, a versatile alternative for a vehicle but very vulnerable to attack.
Other little cool bits of the game are the upcoming mods for the PS3 title, the commentator, the awards, the feign death tactic and of course the mutators which allow you to quicken movement, slow movement, adjust weapons and even reduce gravity levels.
Overall Unreal Tournament III is a joy to play, the online might be off-putting at first but you will soon pick up a thing or two from the single player campaign. If your looking for a challenge this is it!
Graphics: 4.7/ 5.0
Sound: 4.5/ 5.0
Gameplay: 4.6/ 5.0
Layout: 4.5/ 5.0
Online: 4.8/ 5.0 |
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4.30/5.0
