New unreal has really arrived

UNREAL Tournament first screamed onto PC screens in 1999 following the success of the original first-person-shooter by Epic Games, Unreal. It was a multiplayer-only game best described as a bloodsport as two teams used an assortment of deadly weapons to destroy each other in a variety of game types, including the standard Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag.
The game was alluring for an indescribable reason; it just felt well balanced and, most importantly, fun.
In 2002 it spawned a sequel, Unreal Tournament 2003, which used upgraded visuals and the introduction of vehicles to enhance the Unreal Tournament franchise.
A 2004 version was released the following year, which was more or less the same game but with the new Onslaught mode that thrust players into a warfare-like situation.
This week, the beta demo for the oddly-named Unreal Tournament 3 (as it will be the fourth version to date) has hit the internet, and we are very pleased with what we have seen and played.
The visuals are using the new Unreal 3 engine which powered Gears of War on the Xbox 360.
The environs and player models look spectacular but perhaps the most impressive feature of the graphics engine is not how good it looks but rather how well it runs.
Even when scaled down to suit older computers, the game looks and plays well.
And that’s a good thing given you’ll want to play the game using a computer’s keyboard and mouse and not a console controller when it is also released for the Xbox 360 later this year.
Unlike other first person shooter games that actually work well with a gamepad, Unreal Tournament 3 is a terribly fast game requiring lightning fast reflexes and pinpoint accuracy.
Halo 3 is a perfect console shooter because its pace is measured to suit two analogue sticks, but Unreal Tournament 3’s pace is best likened to holding the fast-forward button down in a Halo replay.
Fan favourite weapons such as the link gun, flak cannon, bio rifle and shock rifle are back but the minigun has been given a new look, and the rocket launcher is there but seems to cause less splash damage.
The sniper rifle is back but the lightning gun that almost defined the 2004 edition has been given the flick.
Fortunately, one of the strong points of the Unreal Tournament series is how its community rapidly creates modifications – including new weapons and maps – for the game. So no doubt we’ll see the lightning gun in some form, as well as some older maps (CTF-Face, anyone?).
Unreal Tournament 3 is due for release next month.