Published by: Midway
Developed by: Epic Games
Score: 75

Back in 1999 I never thought I could get so much into a first person shooter for the PC, but then Unreal Tournament came along and changed all of that. UT was a fast paced game that threw away most conventions like reloading and rockets killing upon impact. UT also placed an emphasis on competition as multiplayer was pushed as the dominant form of playing the game. Let’s fast forward to 2008. After having Unreal Tournament III on the PC and PS3 for over 8 months, UTIII has finally arrived on the Xbox 360. As I popped in the disc, sounds of the deep voiced “commentator” kept ringing in my head. “HEADSHOT,” “MULTI-KILL,” “ROCKET SCIENTIST.” UTIII keeps the tradition of a fast paced, competitive, and frantic FPS with some minor additions, but as you’ll read doesn’t exactly add much to the FPS pool when compared to other FPS of recent.

UTIII uses the Unreal 3 engine that we all know has been pimped out like crazy for the past 2 years. I’ll just go ahead and say the game doesn’t disappoint in visuals. Sound is so-so. While the weapon sounds and general sound effects are good the music is fairly bland and “samey” with many songs just being rehashed from previous versions of the game. Remember Deck’s background music, yeah, it’s still there, yet somehow boring now, like it has no energy to it anymore.

The core gameplay has mostly the same weapons as before. Though that will seem fine to veterans of the game, it really could have used some new ones. The new additions are essentially mines. One of them is a slow mine which creates a big block of, I think they’re terming it plasma, that basically makes anything that goes into it very slow. It’s actually effective for grabbing flags solo. Aside from that all of the staples like the Flak cannon and Rocket Launcher are still there and that may not change ever.

I think what’s been great about the series is the multiplayer and that is still the essence of the game. The usual suspects like deathmatch and CTF are still there, but sadly absent is assault and bombing rub. I assume the idea was to concentrate players as much as they could into each available gametype rather than scattering them around, but it’s still a few less gametypes which were definitely fun. Onslaught has been replaced by Warfare this time around. The concept is similar but a little different now with some new additions. Nodes are setup around a map and the idea is to capture each node which links to another node and so forth. Eventually capturing the right nodes will connect your team to the enemy’s core which is in their base, this will allow you to damage their core until its destroyed, which means victory. I actually lost a lot of interest in this mode this time around. It seems like every map has some sort of gimmick which detracts from the core of the game which is capturing nodes. Whether it be aerial strikes, shit being poured into the node, or sandstorms, it really just takes away from a gametype which doesn’t need those sort of things. One new aspect of the warfare is the node buster node which, if you’re carrying it, allows you to capture a node in one shot. The previous method of capturing nodes is still there, however, this has sort of taken a little bit of strategy and skill out of the picture. Instead of having to clear out a node, you can just rush in and dump the orb and grab a node without even trying. Aside from these negative changes, there are some positive ones like new vehicles and some alterations from UT2004. The Scorpion now has an effective primary fire and new additions such as Dark Walkers and Nightshade are all welcomed. Balance between each vehicle is a little bit better. I no longer have that sense of dread when coming face to face with a tank while all I have is a Manta.

And then there’s the single player. I wish I could tell you they improved it. I wish I could tell you there’s a good story. I wish I could tell you it was little more than a bunch of bot matches. I CAN’T, and why is that? It’s because the single player is all those things and nothing more. That’s right for the 4th straight game, Unreal Tournament has failed to deliver a decent single player and instead has set up what is essentially a long and drawn out tutorial for the online multiplayer. The main character is…y’know what? Fuck it, I’m not even going that far. Basically, it’s not different than instant action with bots with the only difference being that Malcolm is in between each match being as stereotypical a black as ever. “Alright, now we gonna do a drive by on these guys.” A drive-by in a UT game? I can safely confirm no black guy works for Epic.

Online is fairly lag free, usually on official servers. At the moment there seems to be a pretty good number of players on there, but I have a sense of dread that there won’t be as many in a few months, maybe even 2 at most. UTIII seems to be stuck in the early days on online console play. Setting up a match and friends and hoping more will come is still the only way to get a good match going. Oh, and God help you if you want to have a Team Deathmatch with some of your friends. You’ll stack on side up and virtually no one will want to join in. I wish Epic had done some sort of party system to at least allow for a more cohesive online mode. It would even been better for Warfare since I seem to encounter far too many rooms with only 1 or 2 people instead of ones with 10 or 12.

To be honest, I’m not sure who’s to blame when it comes to the reputation of UT’s weak single player. Is it the game which constrains it or is Epic who simply doesn’t care anymore? I say it’s a little bit of everyone because I sure as hell can’t think of a good way to actually keep UT’s sports theme while having a decent story. However, UT has and never will be about single player, it’s always been about the multiplayer. UTIII isn’t the best shooter for the 360 out there and the fast paced gameplay may scare some newcomers, but it’s pretty much more of the same. I wish there had been some new weapons and not just a coat of paint, but that’s what it really boils down to. On a personal note, I had been waiting for a long time for this game and without a PS3 or decent PC, I couldn’t play it, but now that I’ve gotten my hands on it, I’m a bit underwhelmed. It feels like it’s the old warhorse of FPSs, but it’s getting blown out of the water by newer games that do the same and then some. I hope Epic figures out a way for UTIV to incorporate some new additions and try to appeal to those who are more used to modern FPS conventions.