Unreal Tournament 3 (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 08.07.2008

Unreal Tournament 3 hit the PC and PS3 a few months ago, with the Xbox 360 release not hitting shelves until recently. 411mania's Rod Oracheski takes a look at the Xbox 360 release - was it worth the wait?

Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) bucks the next-gen trend of game releases, appearing last on the Xbox 360. The release sports a few improvements over the PC and PS3 versions, but was it worth the wait?

Gameplay:

UT3 offers up a single-player campaign that, though little more than a series of multiplayer matches, is strung together decently enough by a series of cutscenes that advance the storyline's key moments.

It's actually a little amusing to see them try to explain Capture The Flag battles - apparently you're capturing a Field LAttice Generator... Still, goofy explanations aside, the story behind UT3 is decent, though it doesn't stray from the 'FPS formula' much.

The basics of the gameplay are simple - run through the environment collecting weapons to kill the opponents with and achieve the ultimate goal for the round - whether that's capturing flags or bases, or simply killing the opponents until they stop coming back.

There's a good mix of modes to play here: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Vehicle CTF, Warfare, and Duel. Most of the match types will be familiar to shooter fans, with the possible exception of Warfare. In this mode, you travel the map capturing nodes and working your way towards the enemy base to destroy their power core and win the match.

You'll find a large variety of weapons to use in your war against the opposition, each sporting a unique secondary fire mode. If you're familiar with the series, the weapons will be a familiar lot. You'll even get the shock rifle's secondary shot - a ball that can be exploded with the primary fire, a longtime favourite.

Depending on the map, you may even find a variety of vehicles to commandeer, from ground-based tanks and jeeps all the way to alien walkers that look like something out of War of the Worlds. There are also aerial vehicles, and mastery of them can make some modes far easier to win.

The game offers the ability to play in split-screen, a first for the series. Gamers can even take that second screen online with a guest account - they'll appear as GAMERTAG(1) in multiplayer games.

It's also worth mentioning the game's AI bots. Known for their top-notch AI in the past, Epic proved that their bots havent lost a step in the next-gen of consoles. You can choose a variety of settings for your AI opponents, though the upper levels of difficulty may prove to be too much for many gamers. At the highest levels, you'll find enemies that are unerring shots, and will occasionally outwit you while moving - taking advantage of jump boots to clear obstacles and flank you, for example.

Graphics

Few games look better than UT3, and none achieve this level of polish with this kind of speed. From weapons to characters to environment - the level of detail is amazing. It's not like you're running through corridor after corridor in a small space either - there are levels that are extremely large in size, and wide-open to boot.

The framerate is solid, even in split-screen mode. The only real knock against the game's visuals is the occasional texture loading before a match (gone before the game actually starts) and very rare screen tearing when there are a lot of explosions going on at once.

Sound:

The sound package for Unreal Tournament games has always been a bit on the 'enthusiastic' side of things, big on weapon effects and even bigger on explosions - and UT3 is no exception. Weapons are given a nice variety of sounds, and the good surround sound use means you'll rarely be caught unawares by someone who's trigger happy.

Sound also plays into the gameplay side of things when it comes to weapon spawns. Running a bridge above some health vials, you'll hear the sound of them popping back in during their spawn - if you're paying attention. It's a small thing, but it helps those that aren't good at timing spawns.

Lasting Appeal:

For offline gamers, the single-player campaign is given enough attention to be worth a look, and the Instant Action against the incredibly well-made bots will keep you playing once that is done. The ability to play in local multiplayer via splitscreen is a welcome touch - something not many games do anymore.

If you're playing online, you still get the campaign, along with co-op abilities and all the online multiplayer you could ask for. With a slew of maps to play on and a good variety of gameplay modes to choose from, this is a title that won't get boring any time soon. If it starts to get boring, you can always check out the Mutator list...

Fun Factor:

Few games offer more instant gratification than UT3. The fast-paced action, combined with over-the-top weaponry and a bombastic announcer really kick the adrenaline into overdrive. It's nice that they offer a variety of bot difficulty levels, allowing offline gamers to keep the competition at a challenging, but not overly so, level.

The 411:

As a big fan of shooters with more strategy to them, it was tempting to mark UT3 down a bit for doing the same old 'run-and-gun' stuff. In the end, however, the game does what it does extremely well and deserves the credit. It also helps that my wife has become a fan of the game, and constantly hounds me to play some split-screen with her. If you like the 'run-and-gun' style of game, then you should be all over this one.

It's worth noting that the PC and PS3 versions of the game, which came out some time earlier, support user-made mods like maps or character models - though the creative community never really materialized like it did in past Unreal games. The 360 version doesn't support custom content, but has a few exclusive characters and maps the other versions didn't get.

Graphics	9.5	Great texturing on the weapons, characters, and environments, along with a rock-solid framerate.
Gameplay	8.5	Vehicles add a bit to the classic 'run-and-gun' style, but it's a formula that's been around forever.
Sound	8.5	Great weapon and explosions. The announcer is cheesy, but fits in. Cutscene dialogue is a bit heavy on the cheese.
Lasting Appeal	9.0	Great replay value for offline or online gamers. The ability to take a guest online is nice, as is split-screen play.
Fun Factor	9.0	Mindless and simple, but it's still as fun as it gets. Instantly gratifying.
Overall	8.5   [ Very Good ]

Screenshots
All 10 Unreal Tournament 3 Screenshots