Unreal Tournament 3 (Xbox 360) review

[TomChick]

[Unreal Tournament 3's] Xbox 360 version is huffing and puffing and bringing up the rear, long after anyone cares to watch the race.

Thumbs down. (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3168961&p=4)...

[Rock8man]

What's more: These same players probably wouldn't know they're missing out on the reason to get an Unreal Tournament game. This version features no support for third-party content.

Ouch that's a pretty strong indictment of not only the content that comes on the disc for UT3 for 360, PC and PS3, but possibly also all the UT games and the content they all shipped with on their discs.

[Chowhound]

I dunno, the average rating from the 1UP editors and users is an A, while Tom gives it a C. Don't bite one of the many hands that feed and pet you Tom!! :P

[MattKeil]

Gonna have to go with Chick over the average rating on this one. The UT series really needs a shot in the arm. Multiplayer shooters have come so far, and UT always feels strangely archaic no matter how pretty it looks. But losing mod support is an absolute killer for the 360 version. Justifies a lowered score, I'd say.

[Rock8man]

UT always feels strangely archaic no matter how pretty it looks. But losing mod support is an absolute killer for the 360 version. Justifies a lowered score, I'd say.

Agreed on UT feeling archaic (based on playing the PC demo of UT3). But I'm curious about your last statement: are you implying that there's already some mods out there that make UT3 for the PC worth buying? Or are you just talking only on theoretical terms, i.e. "losing mod support is bad not because there's a specific mod out there that makes the game much better, but that there exists the possibility of one day being a mod that does this"?

[stusser]

That was some short review. Was the length restricted, or were you directed to focus on the differences from other platforms?

[TomChick]

I'm not sure I understand those user ratings on 1up. Is the "1up Editors & Users" rating an average of the review and the user ratings? For instance, here's my C+ review of the PC version (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3165096&p=1). It has an average User Rating of F on the right of the page (whoa), and a 1up Editors & Users rating of C- at the top of the page. How'd that happen?

-Tom

[TomChick]

Stusser, it was a 350-word assignment. I presume 1up didn't ask for a longer review since it's an "old" game and a straight-up port.

Mr. 8man, the mod issue for UT3 is a big part of it's "identity". For instance, there was a pack of eight really good maps released a few weeks ago (http://fidgit.com/archives/2008/06/eight-new-maps-for-unreal-tour.php) (the Community Bonus Pack) that got me to boot up the game again on the PC (you could even download the files onto a USB device and install the new maps directly to the PS3 version of the game). The August map was gorgeous to see. The "excavation" vehicle CTF map was pretty cool. This sort of continued input from talented fans goes a long way, and it's the main reasons I haven't uninstalled UT3 from my LAN. The promise of new stuff goes a long way.

As for specific mods, I haven't really kept up with the must-haves for UT3, but if anyone here has some tips, speak up. What's worth checking out?

-Tom

[Matthew Gallant]

I don't really understand UT anymore. It used to have a niche, now it's just kind of a throwback. Also, it used to be about a fancy bloodsport, and now there are commercials where some alien invaders are trying to take over? It seems like the only thing it's got going for it is a preview of Gears 2, which only applies to this version coming months later.

[Lizard_King]

Could you comment a bit more about the split screen aspect? Other reviews made it seem like a viable rental at the least for those of us that really enjoy that kind of thing.

[TomChick]

It's the single best selling point for the 360 version, missing from the PC and PS3. You get straight-up two-player splitscreen across the board, in all modes. You can play the campaign, online multiplayer, or instant action (deathmatch, team deathmatch, warfare, capture the flag, and vehicle capture the flag) with a buddy.

If your wife's into fast action shooters, LK, this would be great for you guys. And even if she's not, you can add the slowspeed mutator and team up against retard-level bots. There's a lot of splashy stuff going on here to make it a gratifying shooting gallery game.

-Tom

[Lizard_King]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[BDGE]

Ill play devil's advocate here and nominate the game as a big thumbs up.

Yes, the lack of user-created content is a blow, but playing toy soldiers in a massive bedroom or dressing up as Master Chief can't be that much of a dealbreaker. 55-ish included maps across the various modes is enough to last at least until Epic releases the promised "Best-of" map packs in the future.

Sadly, ripping assault mode out of the core design blueprint is a larger dissapointment(especially given the narrative, co-op focused approach the campaign has now), but missing out on fan-favorites like Jailbreak or wacky mutators like octo-jump are a shame.

Still, UT3 is a better 'game' than my cynicism tried to predict. The control is superlative and possibly exists as one of the most responsively tuned shooters on the 360 console. The visuals will delight, and the core action is as engaging and visceral as it ever was. Ripping out the wonky Street Fighter 2 special move activators and scaling back all the other nonsense gives the game a very approachable feel. CTF and Deathmatch CAN still be addictive in this post-class focused meta-shooter climate.(Especially when a disembodied gruff voice congratulates you on MOOOONSTER KILL chains egging you on for more blazing and pure carnage).

I lurv it.

[ProStyle]

After growing up on UT Instagib CTF matches I really don't think I could attempt to play one of these titles efficiently with thumb sticks. Halo, Gears, sure. Missing mod support is a big subtraction in the context of the series. UT2K4 was an overflowing well of high grade content once you downloaded all the CBP's, extra models, mods, etc. It seems a bit unfair to expect all of this to translate to consoles, but H3 has some really sick features like the Forge and Theater which go a long way to bridge the gap to player generated content, although it is obviously not of the same caliber. Not to mention a very nice network model and lobby/party system that should be copied by all.
...local multiplayer means you won't have to deal with the terrible server browser, which is slow...and has no ping indicator, no sorting, and very little server info.
UT also seems to suffer from an overflowing map selection, on one hand the variety is really nice but they all seem fairly derivative within their respective game modes. Maybe it's changed with UT3, but I like to see shooters where you can play multiple game modes on the same maps, it keeps things fresh - you don't see a thumbnail of the map and groan about the experience you are about to have, because it could be something besides CTF or Domination, etc.

[BDGE]

UT also seems to suffer from an overflowing map selection, on one hand the variety is really nice but they all seem fairly derivative within their respective game modes. Maybe it's changed with UT3, but I like to see shooters where you can play multiple game modes on the same maps, it keeps things fresh - you don't see a thumbnail of the map and groan about the experience you are about to have, because it could be something besides CTF or Domination, etc.

Understandable, but the maps are clearly designed around their respective modes. DM and TDM maps can't be tasked to have CTF and Warzone encampments tossed in given their tighter structure. Meanwhile, playing DM and TDM on the bigger-scale objective maps would only give a "where's the fight?" mentality without the focused chokepoints.

The lacking server information sucks though. No ping rates(though with 730 achievement points logged and many hours played, I've rarely ever run across dodgy online matchups), but there literally is no information about the game you are subscribing to join. Mutators activated? Chapter info for online campaign co-op? Nada...

[Kareem]

I really hated UT3 and posted about it on the forum here. It really boils down to the neutering of the game modes, so much so that it's essentially pointless to play the game if you have UT2004. Did UT2004 come out for the original Xbox?

[BDGE]

I really hated UT3 and posted about it on the forum here. It really boils down to the neutering of the game modes, so much so that it's essentially pointless to play the game if you have UT2004. Did UT2004 come out for the original Xbox?

Not UT2k4, but UT2k3 was ported to Xbox1 as Unreal Championship.

[Wholly Schmidt]

Unreal Championship was actually kinda cool, and definitely wasn't a straight port. It had the crazy finishing moves (and Raiden as a hidden character), so I can totally get someone not enjoying it, but I had a good time with it.

[BDGE]

Unreal Championship was actually kinda cool, and definitely wasn't a straight port. It had the crazy finishing moves (and Raiden as a hidden character), so I can totally get someone not enjoying it, but I had a good time with it.

I think you are thinking of Unreal Championship 2, which was a wholly(!) original product built specifically for the Xbox. 3rd person, melee and gun combat, fatalities, and of course Raiden(thanks to Midway's publishing crossover).

UC1 was literally a straight port of UT2k3 though, again minus user content. It was a launch game for the Xbox Live service way back in 2002-ish? It was also quite competent, but UT2k4 was around the corner for PC. In the pre-Wolfenstein days on XBL though, it was a nifty thing to play on the service.

[Podunk]

Unreal Championship was actually kinda cool, and definitely wasn't a straight port. It had the crazy finishing moves (and Raiden as a hidden character), so I can totally get someone not enjoying it, but I had a good time with it.

That was Unreal Championship 2. The first one was a half-baked port of UT2k3.

edit: yeah, what BDGE said. FWIW, I got a kick out of UT3 as well. My biggest issue with it was simply that there were too many other excellent shooters vying for my time.

[Wholly Schmidt]

Whoops, stupid facts.

[Robert Sharp]

Couldn't the opening paragraph of that review apply just as well to the picture you are still using Tom? I bet your like in your 70s now or something.

Also, the use of split screen may force me to rent this. Can I play it coop?

[BDGE]

Couldn't the opening paragraph of that review apply just as well to the picture you are still using Tom? I bet your like in your 70s now or something.

Also, the use of split screen may force me to rent this. Can I play it coop?

Co-op works with splitscreen just fine. You can even do splitscreen campaign online with 2 other people for 4-player awesome.

[Creole Ned]

UC1 was literally a straight port of UT2k3 though, again minus user content. It was a launch game for the Xbox Live service way back in 2002-ish? It was also quite competent, but UT2k4 was around the corner for PC. In the pre-Wolfenstein days on XBL though, it was a nifty thing to play on the service.
If I recall, Unreal Championship was actually in development first then Epic decided to port the game back to the PC as the next version of UT. Oddly, Epic wrapped up and shipped UT2003 before DE got UC out (UT2003 in spring 2002, UC in fall 2002). Epic regularly patched UT2003 to further refine it as a PC title and less as a port (adding small weapons, resizeable HUD, etc.)

UT3 is a strange game. In some ways it seems almost archaic given how most shooters are now class-based, tactical or some combination. I happen to think there's still room for a straight-up run and gun shooter but even there UT3 has problems. Epic removed Assault, Bombing Run, Double Domination and other game modes, effectively giving the player a lot less than they had in UT2004. The game's UI is pretty bad. The look jettisons the wacky variety of the previous games for a more monochromatic and "serious" Gears of War vibe. I think it was Epic's president who remarked that the previous games' being "afro chicks and spaceships" was not what they thought the series was all about, which to me is exactly wrong. Having an afro chick fighting a Nali on some weird ass level is *exactly* what UT was all about. UT3 feels generic in comparison.

It will be interesting to see what kind of playerbase the 360 version will get. It does seem too little, too late but it may carve out a niche.

[Flenser]

Lack of user generated content sucks. That knocks the game down to a B for me. I think the 360 version looks better, moves better, and features a superior controller than the PS 3 version. The game is beautiful, loud and spaztastic. It comes with a ton of maps. A solid B is what I would rate it. Not inspiring but a competent performance.

[Brendan]

Gameplay wise (Considering that it is supposed to be a classless run 'n gun shooter.), is there any way to improve on UT 2004 for PC?

I think part of the problem is that Epic released an almost perfect game back in the day. The aspects that weren't perfect in the original release were modded up later.

[wumpus]

Nobody gives a crap about UT3, regardless of whether there are "mods" or not.

[Shadari]

Gameplay wise (Considering that it is supposed to be a classless run 'n gun shooter.), is there any way to improve on UT 2004 for PC?
Yeah, Quake 3. :P

[Cubit]

Nobody gives a crap about UT3, regardless of whether there are "mods" or not.

Which is sad. Its a great game, but the genre is passing it by...

[Wholly Schmidt]

Yeah, Quake 3. :P
Amen.

[rei]

is the PC version worth it for $10?

[rei]

Wow, no feedback. $9.89 actually.

[Wholly Schmidt]

I haven't played it, but if I saw it for $10 I'd buy it.

[Rock8man]

Have you played the demo rei? That should tell you if it's worth it for you or not. For me personally, I wouldn't get it for $10, because I regretted the 15 minutes I spent playing the demo.

[rei]

I ended up getting 2 CD-keys in my box for $10 :)

[z0diac]

is the PC version worth it for $10?

Yes, but only if you already own 2004 and would like a nicer looking version to play around with from time to time.

2004 is much more active online still, so with both installed I still end up playing 2004 more often.

[rei]

wow that big dumb ugly over-designed character design crap and sorry excuse for 'story' should be shot. it made my mind rot. i prefer ut2004 and earlier.

it's worth $5.

[WarrenM]

You're all so mean! :(

[Cubit]

wow that big dumb ugly over-designed character design crap and sorry excuse for 'story' should be shot. it made my mind rot. i prefer ut2004 and earlier.

it's worth $5.

oh come on rei, since when is a great story and character design your criteria for judging an unreal tournament game? standing on its own merits, ut3 is a great old school multiplayer shooter

[nutsak]

You're all so mean! :(

Hey, it's cool mate. I bought it...


.. so I could mod it.

[rei]

oh come on rei, since when is a great story and character design your criteria for judging an unreal tournament game? standing on its own merits, ut3 is a great old school multiplayer shooter

with less modes than 2004?

[Podunk]

Meh. Maybe I have low standards, but I liked UT3 just fine on PC.