Unreal Tournament 3

A highly competitive PS3 debut, says Paul

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In the very different world since Unreal Tournament and Quake III faced-off for the lion's share of the PC gaming market, it seems somewhat appropriate that we now have in hand a PS3 copy of Unreal Tournament 3. Much has changed in the balance of power for first-person shooters, so does UT3 still have what it takes to get us to sit up and pay attention?

For those not in the loop (the young or infirm) Unreal Tournament 3 is the latest in a long running dynasty of first-person shooter video games. It originally emerged as Digital Extremes' and Epic Games' follow-up to Unreal in 1999, differing to that title in its multiplayer focus. Even though it was generally judged to have more modest graphics than Quake III Arena, it was highly praised for intelligent streamlined play and a widely adopted engine. What's more (and something particularly salient for console players) it had the best artificial intelligence (read: bot) technology of its day.

Other call signs of the series included an alternate-fire for the majority of weapons that greatly increased you attacking options. Additionally (again salient in these days of user generated content on consoles), was its rapid adoption by the modding community. These novice developers discovered that they could easily create and release mods that extended the basic experience provided out of the box. The final element of its holy trinity of killer features (in addition to bots and modding) was the longevity of clan communities that continue playing most versions of the game to this day.

On the PS3, this familiar fare is present and correct. After all, we have already had a trial run with the arrival of Unreal Tournament on the PlayStation 2. But unlike that paired down version, UT3 on the PS3 (try saying that with a few drinks in you) is the full meal-deal. Everything that players have enjoyed on the PC version is now available to console players. Cutting to the chase, what results is that timeless fast and frantic UT action that once again reminds us why this is a series we keep coming back to.

In addition to the titular arena tournaments of UT3, the game also provides a make-do campaign mode. Different to other first person campaigns, where you work your way through a series of semi-scripted events, UT3's campaign places you in arena matches that are loosely based around a story. Although not as cinematic as other first-person campaigns, there is enough here to get you started with the game.

Once you are back up to speed it's soon time to switch over to the proper arena matches. Although these can be played out against the AI, the real meat is to be found in the online matches. There is simply no substituting the adrenaline rush of battling other humanoids. Here, you can go head to head against up to 15 players. The usual array of modes are provided; traditional and team deathmatch; duel: a one-on-one deathmatch mode; and finally capture the flag and warfare modes where two teams try and destroy each others bases. We could go on if time and space didn't dictate otherwise. This cursory glance over the content can be fleshed out by back-reading any PC review. The bottom line is that the full PC experience is replicated here, and in some style on Sony's latest machine.

The benefit of running UT on the PS3 is of course that the developers (and players) know everyone is on the same hardware. No longer can the excuse ring in your ears 'he's on a better PC than me'. This has also enabled the team to tweak the engine to maximise the graphic performance squeezed out of that shiny domed box. Although there is still a long way to go with PS3 development, UT3 is easily amongst the best visuals we have seen so far on the system. The action was all pretty solid as well. When the screen was chock full of combatants we did notice a tad bit of slowdown, but nothing that detracted from the overall experience.

Online play however was a little problematic for us at times. We were surprise that, although the game used dedicated servers, there were still considerable lag issues. At times the game became almost unplayable as our opponents or team mates jumped around the screen like a rabbit appearing and disappearing in a magicians hat. We are assured that this is something that is being resolved with more hardware driving the online infrastructure.

Control wise, you have the usual choice of the PS3 controller, or a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard combo. Once we had played around with the novel alternative of the PC controls on a console, we ended up switching back to the living room-friendly Sixaxis. We found it simply too fiddly having to play the game at a desk. Back on the Sixaxis, we were impressed with the responsive nature of the controls. The auto aim and assists did their job without becoming obtrusive, or making it feel like playing on auto pilot. And the controller itself felt as sure and solid as ever. Of particular note in comparison with the 360 controller was the Sixaxis's greater travel for its analogue sticks. This gave the sense of having improved control fidelity over your actions, and seemed to make it considerably easier to fine tune those head shots. The lack to physical feedback was missed initially, but again didn't really detract greatly from the game in general.

At the end of the day, this is a game that succeeds by its ability to make a new home for itself on the consoles - the PS3 in particular. Although we have yet to see how easily the mod community will be able to hawk their wares, all other aspects of the game have made the crossing well. It says a lot about the game, that even with stiff competition from the likes of Call of Duty it is still a viable option for some PS3 first-person shooting action. Were it to include a killer campaign this would be a game that is hard to beat - as it stands it is still an impressive first outing on the PS3.

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By Paul Govan