I am one of UT's biggest fans having played the whole series going back to the 1999 original. I have been salivating over UT3 for so long, sucked in by the hype and the beautiful trailers put out over the last 18 months.
Yes its the same old UT style of gameplay - I didn't expect anything else - its what we all know and love, intense, fast paced arcade action. Indeed, UT no longer has any rivals given that Id soft took a different direction with the Quake series to make it a Battlefield clone. Simply there is no other First Person Shooter like Unreal Tournament.
Unfortunately UT3 is somewhat of a let down and here's why ....
The graphics are pretty good, but nowhere near the standard that was put out in the trailers, similar to what happened with the recent Crysis. These companies hype games up so much over a long period of time, it is unsurprising that when they are released, gamers feel let down. What's confusing me about UT3 is that the graphics don't appear to be as good as Rainbow six vegas or Medal of Honour Airborne, both of which were built on the Unreal engine.
I am also unimpressed by the character models. It feels like there's something distinctly lack lustre about them.
Whilst the graphics are high end, this game runs flawlessly with everything maxed out, with nice frame rates.
The game comes with several game modes, the flagship being the new Warfare mode which is based on UT04's Onslaught mode. Warfare is overly complicated which detracts from the run and gun fun of the game. Onslaught in its old form was sheer genius, and Epic should have stuck by the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The major let-downs of UT3 however relates to the maps. Yes while the graphics are good, the maps are overly busy with decoration. Many of the maps are similar and its hard to tell them apart. There is a lack of variety, with the maps mostly taking a Neo-gothic industrial theme. Another puzzling feature is that this is supposed to be a futuristic sci-fi shooter so query why there are 2 ,maps which involve running around ancient Japanese architecture.
The most glaring omission from UT3 however appears to be revamps of UT04's best maps, namely Facing Worlds / Face Classic, Primeval, Citadel and Dawn, although they did see fit to put a Deck map in.
In addition to the missing classic maps, are the missing game modes. For heavens sake where is the hugely popular Assault Mode, which many developers have since copied in other games ? Also, although it never really seemed to take off in UT04, I absolutely loved Bombing Run Mode.
The weapons in my view are a huge improvement over previous UT games which is instantly noticeable, however its a shame to see the awful bio-gun is still included. Also given that this game harks back to the first game in the series i would have liked to see the inclusion of The Ripper.
Surprisingly, in what has previously be a solely online game, a single player campaign has been included, although it is pretty poor consisting of a number of bot death matches linked together by cut-screens.
The sound in UT3 is probably its best feature - nothing new but it is still as great as ever. I love the status announcers and there's something rather tongue in cheek with the sexy female voice in Warfare telling you to "Grab your orbs".
Overall, I feel disappointed by what has been released, but I am not too concerned because in the past, Epic have had the best support of any game developer out there. We can expect regular updates, maps and bonus packs free of charge and I suspect that it won't be too long before the missing maps and game modes cited above are released in a free update. If not, UT has always been infinitely customisable, and with a rabid modding community behind it, they will take care of and gaps left by Epic.
To be honest, it is with great disappointment that I have to say that UT04 is far superior to UT3. This reinforces the fact that UT04 is one of the classic games of all time, and goes to prove that great graphics don't make a good game.
Although this is a fairly critical review, you must understand I am a UT fan-boy. If you have never played UT before this is a must buy. For now however I will be going back to UT04 and will be checking back when the bonus packs and mods come out. Nevertheless, this is still a great game.
Graphics 9
Sound 10
Stability 10
Gameplay 8
Value 10
Overall 8.5
Yes its the same old UT style of gameplay - I didn't expect anything else - its what we all know and love, intense, fast paced arcade action. Indeed, UT no longer has any rivals given that Id soft took a different direction with the Quake series to make it a Battlefield clone. Simply there is no other First Person Shooter like Unreal Tournament.
Unfortunately UT3 is somewhat of a let down and here's why ....
The graphics are pretty good, but nowhere near the standard that was put out in the trailers, similar to what happened with the recent Crysis. These companies hype games up so much over a long period of time, it is unsurprising that when they are released, gamers feel let down. What's confusing me about UT3 is that the graphics don't appear to be as good as Rainbow six vegas or Medal of Honour Airborne, both of which were built on the Unreal engine.
I am also unimpressed by the character models. It feels like there's something distinctly lack lustre about them.
Whilst the graphics are high end, this game runs flawlessly with everything maxed out, with nice frame rates.
The game comes with several game modes, the flagship being the new Warfare mode which is based on UT04's Onslaught mode. Warfare is overly complicated which detracts from the run and gun fun of the game. Onslaught in its old form was sheer genius, and Epic should have stuck by the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The major let-downs of UT3 however relates to the maps. Yes while the graphics are good, the maps are overly busy with decoration. Many of the maps are similar and its hard to tell them apart. There is a lack of variety, with the maps mostly taking a Neo-gothic industrial theme. Another puzzling feature is that this is supposed to be a futuristic sci-fi shooter so query why there are 2 ,maps which involve running around ancient Japanese architecture.
The most glaring omission from UT3 however appears to be revamps of UT04's best maps, namely Facing Worlds / Face Classic, Primeval, Citadel and Dawn, although they did see fit to put a Deck map in.
In addition to the missing classic maps, are the missing game modes. For heavens sake where is the hugely popular Assault Mode, which many developers have since copied in other games ? Also, although it never really seemed to take off in UT04, I absolutely loved Bombing Run Mode.
The weapons in my view are a huge improvement over previous UT games which is instantly noticeable, however its a shame to see the awful bio-gun is still included. Also given that this game harks back to the first game in the series i would have liked to see the inclusion of The Ripper.
Surprisingly, in what has previously be a solely online game, a single player campaign has been included, although it is pretty poor consisting of a number of bot death matches linked together by cut-screens.
The sound in UT3 is probably its best feature - nothing new but it is still as great as ever. I love the status announcers and there's something rather tongue in cheek with the sexy female voice in Warfare telling you to "Grab your orbs".
Overall, I feel disappointed by what has been released, but I am not too concerned because in the past, Epic have had the best support of any game developer out there. We can expect regular updates, maps and bonus packs free of charge and I suspect that it won't be too long before the missing maps and game modes cited above are released in a free update. If not, UT has always been infinitely customisable, and with a rabid modding community behind it, they will take care of and gaps left by Epic.
To be honest, it is with great disappointment that I have to say that UT04 is far superior to UT3. This reinforces the fact that UT04 is one of the classic games of all time, and goes to prove that great graphics don't make a good game.
Although this is a fairly critical review, you must understand I am a UT fan-boy. If you have never played UT before this is a must buy. For now however I will be going back to UT04 and will be checking back when the bonus packs and mods come out. Nevertheless, this is still a great game.
Graphics 9
Sound 10
Stability 10
Gameplay 8
Value 10
Overall 8.5
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