Unreal Tournament 3 (PS3)

Unreal Tournament 3 marks the return of the world`s premiere first-person shooter debut on PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay, and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense battles with other human players online, or against Unreal artificial intelligence that sets the industry standard. With the most powerful futuristic weapons and vehicles available, this is FPS action at its best!

• Vast Arsenal of Weapons: Unreal Tournament has always been known for brutal weaponry, and now the arsenal is even bigger and badder. Detonate your opponent from a distance with the Shock Rifle or blast away at close range with the Flak Cannon.
• New Single Player Campaign: Unreal Tournament like you`ve never seen it before! The Necris invasion has begun, and your clan was one of the first to be slaughtered.
• New and Favorite Characters: Fight side-by-side with or compete against new and returning characters from the Unreal universe, all with enhanced abilities, extremely detailed designs, and distinct personalities.
• Enhanced Popular Game Types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and all-new Warfare mode and more.
• Online Innovations: Unreal Tournament 3 brings back all the award-winning online features of previous Unreal Tournament games, plus seamless loading on servers, improved matchmaking, and co-operative campaign play online.
  
   

Purposefully held over to take full advantage of next generation PC graphics cards and the new consoles, this latest sequel in the Unreal Tournament series is looking to set new standards for multiplayer first person shoot ‘em-ups. Considering developer Epic Games’ Unreal graphics technology is used by so many other companies you always know a new Unreal Tournament game is going to look good. There’s tons of new features beyond just eye candy here though, including a whole new game mode called Warfare, which works like a combination of the existing Assault and Onslaught modes, with more involved mission goals that make team play absolutely essential to success.

As you’d expect there’s a hanger full of new vehicles and weapons including some nifty hoverboards for when you’re just on-foot and a number of new robot mechs for you to drive; all with varying numbers of legs including tripods and four-legged walkers. The enormous Leviathan tank is particularly impressive, with four independently manned turrets and a giant energy weapon.

Considerable work has also gone into providing the game with a decent single player mode, never one of the series’ highlights, with newly improved artificial intelligence that allows you to simulate a multiplayer game properly even when you’re playing on your own. User created modifications (mods) will also continue to play a hugely important part in the game’s success with the game shipping with a new version of the Unreal Editor for both PCs and consoles. After a quiet 2006, it seems like 2007 is going to be the best year ever for PC gamers.
HARRISON DENT