Home Gaming Unreal Tournament III – Review – PS3

Unreal Tournament III – Review – PS3

4 min read
19

By Philip Dunkley

Unreal Tournament III Logo Unreal is a franchise that brings up a lot of sentiment for me and many other gamers out there. From the humble beginnings of the original Unreal, through the various stages and paths the franchise took, on various platforms, it was always the PC gamer’s game. I remember plenty of LAN tournaments taking place, and the frantic rush to upgrade my PC every time a new version was being launched. Ah the good old days.

Now it returns, still on PC, but also on console, and not just as a quick way to cash in on the market, but as a flagship title for the PS3. And I begin to wonder to myself, why. I know it’s a good game and all, and the multiplayer is frighteningly addictive, but how on earth can this game be taken seriously on a Sixaxis Controller.

Bite Me So my story begins late at night. I put the game into the console, have a quick installation to go through, and wham, Unreal Tournament III is ready to rock and roll. I begin the single player campaign, because I need to hone my skills at this, I haven’t done it for a while. I find the controls surprisingly easy with the controller, and though it’s not nearly as fast as a keyboard and mouse combination, it works just fine.

The story is weak, very weak, but then again, all it’s there for is to string together the vast array of maps that the game has lined up for me, and I was not expecting any Oblivion like story to it.

Playing the game was great, and the campaign allows you to come to grips with the various modes the game has to offer, and get used to the different game mechanics that you will face online.

It’s the same over the top Sci-Fi arenas that have captured many fans worldwide for years, just this time they look better than ever before. The graphics are amazing. No argument whatsoever. Obviously Epic is going to use the Unreal Engine rather effectively on an Unreal game, and this game shows off exactly what this engine is capable of, and it runs as smooth as glass.

wow

From an audio perspective, the game is good, except for a few irritating voices that kept reminding me what was going on over and over again. Surround works a treat, but seems to go a bit too deep, not giving off an accurate location of my enemy.

So I continue playing, and decide, right, I’m ready for online and off I go. Then I notice an option on one of the server selection screens that you can turn off something called Keyboard and Mouse, so that no servers with this option enabled will be shown. It dawns on me. How could I have missed this? Why did I not read the manual (Ah, we don’t get manuals with press copies of the game, that’s why).

I rush to my study, grab a spare Keyboard and Mouse, and plug it in to my PS3.

Now a famous loud mouthed English motor car journalist once made a comment like this: This car has all the niceties and smoothness that one would expect from this manufacturer, but the moment the sports mode button is pushed, it turns into a raging beast that surpasses all expectations. This is what happened with Unreal Tournament III. This little addition which had so eluded me, turned this game from a good game to an excellent game, allowing me to really feel what I had been missing all these years, and it worked really well with great response.

Now I was ready to play, and although I had some Lag issues (I’m getting more and more of these lately), multiplayer was a blast, and I just could not put the game down.

It’s multiplayer gaming to its core, and it makes me wonder why so many games have tried to change the online formula, when the original fast paced action has always been such a great thing.

I enjoyed every moment I played this game, and yes it’s not the greatest single player experience on the market, but it’s still fun to practice against some pretty decent AI Bots, but the multiplayer is where this game shines, and the fun that can be had either LAN or Online, is fantastic.

Thank you for not messing with the formula. Thank you for making a great looking game. And thank you for making it very playable on a Hardware Platform that we as gamers are embracing more and more by the day. For the moment, PC Gamers and PS3 owners are very lucky to be playing this, but it’s shortly coming to the XBOX360, so everyone will be able to experience a masterpiece of gaming.

Enjoy it, and I’ll see you online!!!!

Thanks to Ster Kinekor Games for providing us with a copy of the game, we really appreciate it.

Scoring:
Graphics – 90%
Playability – 90%
Sound – 80%
Tilt Factor – 85%
Overall – 87% (Excellent, a must buy)

Last Updated: March 12, 2008

19 Comments

  1. J Roux

    March 12, 2008 at 13:53

    YAY for keyboard and mouse support on PS3. I really hope to see more support in the new releases. It would really help to narrow the gap between PC and console. And this game is gonna rock!!

    Reply

  2. koldFU5iON

    March 12, 2008 at 13:58

    I wonder if we’ll get that kind of functionality with the XBOX360 (keyboard & Mouse) could be cool!

    Reply

  3. LazySAGamer

    March 12, 2008 at 14:25

    @kold, Microsoft has stated from the beginning that they will never allow a keyboard and mouse to be used in aiding gameplay.

    The reason they are doing this is to make sure that we are all playing of an even level. I personally think it’s one of their best decisions ever. I don’t want to be completely outplayed just because I am playing in my lounge and can’t use a mouse.

    Reply

  4. Jinja

    March 12, 2008 at 14:27

    Ye Mouse and keyboard rocks!
    *Welcomes the console to the FPS!*

    Jinja’s last blog post..Sick, Twisted…Awesome

    Reply

  5. doobiwan

    March 12, 2008 at 14:36

    Microsoft’s argument is that if you want to play at a desk with a kb&m, then play it on PC.

    doobiwan’s last blog post..Ranting in my armchair: The 360 Price Cut & Why the Arcade wins

    Reply

  6. scotty777

    March 12, 2008 at 14:55

    i hated this game… It’s good, but i just didn’t like it, sure I’ll rape anyone in death match, but the maps that need team work isn’t for me… I ALWAYS end up with a team of utter retards, who all think that they should be leaders… very unsatisfying

    Reply

  7. Banana hammock

    March 12, 2008 at 14:57

    But UT3 gives you the option to play on SixAxis only servers or K&M only or ALL.

    So you can have a level playing field if you want.

    Reply

  8. darthdad

    March 12, 2008 at 15:02

    I definitely be getting the PS3 version! This game is what MP is all about.

    Reply

  9. darthdad

    March 12, 2008 at 15:03

    @Banana hammock, positives in the PS3 camp are generally ignored on this site. Please comply.

    Reply

  10. Milesh Bhana ZA

    March 12, 2008 at 15:09

    LOL @ Darth dad.

    Reply

  11. ocelot

    March 12, 2008 at 15:40

    So if MS are so worried about making a game unfair, why do they support cross platform play? Games like Shadowrun and Universe at War support this.

    Reply

  12. LazySAGamer

    March 12, 2008 at 15:56

    Valid point….

    They did pretty much gimp the PC version for that experiment though

    Reply

  13. Fox1

    March 12, 2008 at 16:32

    I watched the review of this game at GT. They said that there’s barely any difference between these keyboard and mouse and the PS3 controller.

    And if it concerns you… apparently the PC edges out the PS3 in this department. So that leaves the 360 with high expectations when and if this game ever gets released.

    Reply

  14. Fox1

    March 12, 2008 at 16:33

    damn… I meant according to GT the PC has better graphics… blah… blah… blah…

    Reply

  15. Jinja

    March 12, 2008 at 16:37

    haha, no, a good Mouse and keyboard player will OWN a good controller player…

    But yes, that is why they have the options on the server list.

    Jinja’s last blog post..Sick, Twisted…Awesome

    Reply

  16. Fox1

    March 12, 2008 at 17:09

    @Jinja- Especially if you have a laser mouse… Mwahahahahahahaha 😉

    Reply

  17. doobiwan

    March 12, 2008 at 18:16

    Yes and no on kb&m especially for UT3, according to Epic the console version runs 20% slower than the PC version, so I don’t know if that “20% less twitch” would be enough to nerf the kb&m on PS3.

    I don’t know, someone try it and report back.

    Reply

  18. J4NR1K

    March 13, 2008 at 07:58

    KB & Mouse is why I left PC gaming behind.

    How do one KB & Mouse, whilst lying on a couch?

    Now if only I could mutate and get some extra arms so I can eat pizza and gobble beer whilst playing…

    /mmmmm Koeberg is only 11 km’s away….

    Reply

  19. NoMaD

    March 13, 2008 at 14:37

    http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/search/ps3+keyboard

    An interesting concept, not to sure I would like it.

    I like the mouse for strategy games.

    Reply

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