Thursday, December 20, 2007

'Unreal Tournament 3' delivers thrills in a hurry

Unreal Tournament 3 for PlayStation 3
Having conquered the Xbox 360 with smash hit Gears of War, Epic Games attempts the same feat with the PlayStation 3 in Unreal Tournament 3, with frenetic results.

The Unreal series has garnered a strong following on the PC thanks to furious first-person action and unlimited levels of customization. Much of these ingredients are sprinkled within the latest chapter on PS3, creating an intense, fast-paced atmosphere.

Right off the bat, it's evident multiplayer is king. Every game mode is deeply rooted in the multiplayer experience. UT3 is incredibly fast. For a console shooter, it's easily one of the quickest available. Respawning after a kill is near immediate, and controls are very responsive.

UT3 looks pretty similar to Gears of War, with stout, muscular soldiers and detailed landscapes. Teammates and foes inject energy with constant chatter and even talk trash following a kill or key takeover on the battlefield.

The campaign focuses on Reaper, a soldier whose colony is decimated by the Necris. After recovering from a severe injury, Reaper begins work as a mercenary for Earth's Izanagi Corporation to get revenge on the Necris.

UT3's campaign is laid out in five chapters consisting of a series of multiplayer battles. Most missions fall into three battle types: Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and the debut of Warfare. The goal of Warfare is simple: Take out your foes' power core before they destroy yours. In order to render a core vulnerable, you must control a series of linked power cores.


The campaign feels repetitive at times, but a steady progression in difficulty and an impressive array of maps helps quell that slightly. A unique selection of weapons and vehicles helps as well, such as an ooze-emitting Bio Rifle and the highly entertaining Hoverboard.

Team play is crucial to advancing, and the artificial intelligence of your cohorts is impressive. As the campaign difficulty ramps up, enemy squads more often travel tactically, flanking your positions and overpowering individual players. UT3 is equipped with some simple squad-based commands that can be dispersed individually or as a group, and squadmates are effective at carrying them out.

UT3 online is the game's real draw. Between the rapid pace and speedy respawns, there's little down time, which is wonderful. As an added bonus, you can create and download customized UT3 maps from your PC to the PS3. The drawbackm however, is you'll need both versions of the game to take advantage.

Is UT3 on par with this year's powerful FPS lineup? Not exactly. The campaign feels more like an offline variation of multiplayer. However, PS3 owners in search of a quality shooter to call their own this season should be pleased.



Source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2007-12-19-unreal-tournament-3_N.htm

No comments:

Thursday, December 20, 2007

'Unreal Tournament 3' delivers thrills in a hurry

Unreal Tournament 3 for PlayStation 3
Having conquered the Xbox 360 with smash hit Gears of War, Epic Games attempts the same feat with the PlayStation 3 in Unreal Tournament 3, with frenetic results.

The Unreal series has garnered a strong following on the PC thanks to furious first-person action and unlimited levels of customization. Much of these ingredients are sprinkled within the latest chapter on PS3, creating an intense, fast-paced atmosphere.

Right off the bat, it's evident multiplayer is king. Every game mode is deeply rooted in the multiplayer experience. UT3 is incredibly fast. For a console shooter, it's easily one of the quickest available. Respawning after a kill is near immediate, and controls are very responsive.

UT3 looks pretty similar to Gears of War, with stout, muscular soldiers and detailed landscapes. Teammates and foes inject energy with constant chatter and even talk trash following a kill or key takeover on the battlefield.

The campaign focuses on Reaper, a soldier whose colony is decimated by the Necris. After recovering from a severe injury, Reaper begins work as a mercenary for Earth's Izanagi Corporation to get revenge on the Necris.

UT3's campaign is laid out in five chapters consisting of a series of multiplayer battles. Most missions fall into three battle types: Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and the debut of Warfare. The goal of Warfare is simple: Take out your foes' power core before they destroy yours. In order to render a core vulnerable, you must control a series of linked power cores.


The campaign feels repetitive at times, but a steady progression in difficulty and an impressive array of maps helps quell that slightly. A unique selection of weapons and vehicles helps as well, such as an ooze-emitting Bio Rifle and the highly entertaining Hoverboard.

Team play is crucial to advancing, and the artificial intelligence of your cohorts is impressive. As the campaign difficulty ramps up, enemy squads more often travel tactically, flanking your positions and overpowering individual players. UT3 is equipped with some simple squad-based commands that can be dispersed individually or as a group, and squadmates are effective at carrying them out.

UT3 online is the game's real draw. Between the rapid pace and speedy respawns, there's little down time, which is wonderful. As an added bonus, you can create and download customized UT3 maps from your PC to the PS3. The drawbackm however, is you'll need both versions of the game to take advantage.

Is UT3 on par with this year's powerful FPS lineup? Not exactly. The campaign feels more like an offline variation of multiplayer. However, PS3 owners in search of a quality shooter to call their own this season should be pleased.



Source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2007-12-19-unreal-tournament-3_N.htm

No comments: