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Original Unreal Tournament composers interested in return to series
Fans may not be the only ones who get a say in developing the next Unreal Tournament game. Michiel Van Den Bos and Alexander Bradon, composers for the original Unreal Tournament, expressed interest in returning to the franchise on the Unreal forums, as did Kevin Riepl, composer for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004. While this doesn't necessarily mean that these composers will return to Unreal Tournament, their interest has caught the attention of the team. Unreal project lead Steven Polge responded to all of the composers, saying he would be "thrilled" to have them contribute to the upcoming game. [Image: Epic Games]
Epic wants your help building the next Unreal Tournament
After a nearly seven year hiatus, Epic has announced plans to create a new entry in its beloved Unreal Tournament franchise. Even better: The game is going to be released at no cost, and Epic wants fan input on its design. Epic made this announcement earlier today, saying that from "the very first line of code, the very first art created and design decision made, development will happen in the open, as a collaboration between Epic, UT fans and UE4 developers." This will involve frequent forum updates and ongoing discussion as well as regular Twitch streams showing exactly where development stands. Further, all code created during the development of this new Unreal Tournament will be available to Unreal Engine 4 developers via GitHub. Though obviously this design process will take quite some time, Epic has revealed that the game will appear on PC, Mac and Linux platforms at the very attractive price of "free." Not "free to play," but actually free. Borrowing a page from the Team Fortress 2 playbook, Epic plans to recoup its development costs with an in-game marketplace where modders can sell their creations to players, earning funds which are then split between the modder and Epic itself. Those interested in joining Unreal Tournament's extended development team should pay a visit to the Unreal Engine forums, where registering a free account is all that's required to offer input on the game's creation. [Image: Epic Games]
Epic Games' Tim Sweeney turned into a game character
Man, are you guys ready to get meta? Epic Games founder (and Unreal Engine mastermind) Tim Sweeney was recently the subject of an Unreal Tournament 3 skin crafted by artist Gary Storkamp. Apparently, the guy is crazy about Burger King. And about hitting dudes with his keyboard.
UT3 is FTP on STW
Oh, sorry -- do you lack the cryptologic know-how to decipher that headline? Excuse us as we get our Layton on: UT3 is not a shorthand way of saying three urinary tract infections -- rather, it's the acronym commonly used to refer to Unreal Tournament 3. Though the internet-savvy may assume FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, that doesn't make much sense with the previous piece of the puzzle in place. However, "Free-to-Play" fits quite nicely. STW obviously means "Steam this weekend." If you couldn't figure that out, you should probably go jump off a cliff or something. Every puzzle has an answer -- this time around, the answer is "Unreal Tournament 3 is free-to-play on Steam this weekend," beginning today at 1PM PST. Unfortunately, we've got no Picarats to distribute. As any true gentleman knows, cerebral satisfaction is its own reward.
Unreal Tournament 3 Titan Pack delayed on PS3
We've got some good news and some bad news. We'll start with the negative stuff first. The previously announced PS3 version of the Titan Pack for Unreal Tournament III has been delayed two weeks (the PC version is still out today). According to Epic's Steve Polge, it's been pushed back to March 19 due to a snag in the certification process.It's not a total loss. The good news is that the PS3 version has been patched today to include Trophies and split-screen multiplayer -- both were originally slated to release alongside the Titan Pack. Hopefully, Trophy hunting and split-screen gameplay will keep you preoccupied for the two-week wait.[Via CVG]
'Titan Pack' coming to Unreal Tournament 3 on March 5th
Click for titan size Midway and Epic Games have decided to Titan up the graphics on Unreal Tournament 3 with the addition of an extensive new map pack, dubbed the "Titan Pack." The free download, aimed exclusively at the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the first-person fragger, will add 11 new multiplayer maps for several of the game's modes, as well as eight maps culled from the Xbox 360 version and a prior bonus pack. Our pals at Big Download have a hands-on preview of the content, including its two new modes: Greed mode, a "tug-of-war" style points battle; and Betrayal mode, which prompts you to tactfully turn on teammates if you feel like swiping the score for yourself. More intriguing is the new Titan mutator, which turns a skilled player into a towering Behemoth, excitedly described by the press release as "a 15-foot tall maestro of wholesale carnage that has the effects of every Power Up in the game... ALL AT ONCE!!!"Finally, the Titan Pack expands Unreal Tournament 3's array of deployed equipment, Trophies (Steam Achievements for the PC version) and turrets. ALL AT ONCE!!! Look for it on Thursday, March 5th. [Update: When asked about a 360 version, Midway explained that this update will bring many of the enhancements already included in the Xbox release to the PS3 and PC. "Given the file size requirements for updates on the Xbox 360 platform, we have no plans to release the Titan Pack for Xbox 360."]%Gallery-45287%
Unreal Tournament 3 patch fixes bugs, in case you care
We can't help but wonder why Epic has decided to patch up Unreal Tournament 3 so late in the day, but they've done just that. The patch fixes a long list of problems, including AI issues, stability problems and other tweaks and improvements. It should be live by now -- simply place your UT3 disc in the PS3 drive and it will ask you to update. Of course, that's assuming you're still playing the game. Are you? If so, you probably won't be for long, what with WipEout HD (among plenty of other stuff) arriving tomorrow and Blu-ray releases ramping up from here til Christmas. Still, a free patch is a free patch. [Thanks silverwolf761]
A sad and scarce Sunday deals roundup
ZOMG! There's deals to be dealt with, money to be saved, so why waste precious time, let's just get to it! This week, over at Best Buy, they're offering RSV2 for $40, UT3, Quake Wars, Deadliest Catch (w00t!) and CoD4 GOTY for $50. And that's about it. Sadly, Circuit City doesn't have a darn thing to offer Xbox 360 fanboys either which is, uhh ... sad? Now that we look at it, Target stores don't even have any 360 deals, not a single copy of a game on sale. Another major bummer. You know, this has to be one of the worst Sunday deal roundups, like, EVAR! Who would have thought that getting RSV2 for $40 would be a deal highlight? Stupid retail conglomerates, don't you know that all we want is money savings on 360 games and don't care that you have popcorn makers on sale?
Epic commits to dedicated servers for UT3
In a move we never thought we'd see coming from the studio who birthed our Gears of War, Epic Games has confirmed that they'll support the 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 with dedicated servers.According to UT3 forum admin WarTourist, Epic will be setting up a "similar number of official 360 dedicated servers to what we provided for the PC and PS3." And our inner skeptic says that Epic is only doing this to add a bullet point to UT3's multiplayer so it can differentiate itself among the 360's already hotly contended FPS genre. That said, who really cares the reason they're doing it, we fully support and embrace the dedicated server move. You hear that Epic? We fully support dedicated servers and wouldn't mind you doing the same thing for Gears of War 2. Sound good?[Via Gearheads of War, Thanks dongcopter]
Gears 2 video straight from the UT3 disc
Well folks, the Gears 2 content that was promised to be on the final release disc of Unreal Tournament 3 for 360 has hit our inbox (despite the fact that game itself hasn't yet hit stores). Consisting of a mash-up of interview segments with the dev team and clips of gameplay, the behind the scenes video touches on everything from new game modes to player count to weapons. Heck, why are still reading this? Just watch the video already! Still reading? Well all that's left to really say is just how much of a bomb UT3 is likely to be, especially if the only thing enticing about it is this vid.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
UT3's Gears 2 video will be multiplayer focused
Further expanding upon the (mildly dissapointing) knowledge that Unreal Tournament 3's special Gears of War 2 content will be a video, we now know said video will be multiplayer focused.According to Midway's press release confirming UT3's release date, they make mention that the GoW2 video content "will include never-before-seen footage of the game's multiplayer modes featuring new maps, new modes, new weapons and new gameplay elements." Bonus, the video will be narrated by Epic's Rod Fergusson and Mr. Gears of War himself, Cliffy B Cliff Bleszinski! Cliffy Cliff narration FTW! We give it 28 minutes, no 23 minutes until this exclusive video content hits YouTube.
Unreal Tournament 3 gets a release, it's July 7th [update]
Update: Eurogamer just confirmed that Europe will be receiving UT3 a few days earlier on July 4th.Yesterday, not hours after we posted about the new Unreal Tournament 3 screenshots and joked about still not having an official release date, Joystiq forced Midway between a rock and a hard place and asked, no demanded an UT3 Xbox 360 release date. With fear in their eyes and ice cold blood pumping through their veins, Midway conceded and confirmed that July 7th is in fact UT3's North American release date. That Joystiq crew, they get things done, because they don't mess. Maybe we should get those threatening Joystiq bloggers to convince Midway or Epic to include a better Gears of War 2 surprise ... oh yeah, genius.
Unreal Tournament III on Xbox 360 begins fragging away July 7
click to enlarge We've just confirmed with Midway that Unreal Tournament III for Xbox 360 will hit the console on July 7. The Xbox 360 version will feature five "exclusive" maps, split-screen capabilities, two new characters and the all-new Warfare mode. Of course, the online fragfest will also feature all the benefits of Xbox Live, with none of that pesky mod support.%Gallery-20852%
We have 360 Unreal Tournament III screenshots
click to enlarge Actually ... we only have seven. But they are new shots from the upcoming Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III! We thought you might like to take a look at 'em before the game's summer release. In case you've forgotten, the Xbox 360 version of Epic's frantic fragfest features five "exclusive" maps, split-screen capabilities and two new characters. %Gallery-24938%
Seven new UT3 screens and still no release date
Fresh from the new screenshot Easy-Bake Oven are seven deliciously moist and gooey Unreal Tournament 3 screenshots that are so sinfully satisfying, just looking at them will add two pounds to your waistline. In these new screenshots (which we caringly added to the gallery below), you'll be able to experience Xbox 360 UT3 action which will make your mind wander, thinking of different variations of "pew, pew, pew!" captions for each one. In other news, still no UT3 release date for the 360 ... sigh.%Gallery-24939%
Unreal Tournament 3's GoW2 surprise is a video
The hipster cats over at NeoGAF spotted the official box art for Unreal Tournament 3 over a UK store GAME. Not such a big deal, right? No, WRONG! You see, Epic has previously stated that they'll be bundling some sort of exclusive Gears of War 2 surprise content with UT3 and this newly discovered box art tells us exactly what the exclusive content is. Look closely and you'll spot the GoW2 circle on the right mentioning the inclusion of exclusive "video content on disc". That's right, no exclusive Gears 2 demo, player skins or in-game Gears 2 goodness ... just video content. We guess we can live with that, but for anyone who specifically plopped down an UT3 pre-order solely for the exclusive Gears goods, we recommend you think about spending $60 on video.[Via NeoGAF]
Unreal Tournament meets Super Mario
If any of you own either the PC or PS3 versions of Unreal Tournament 3, you might enjoy downloading this Mario-inspired map made by FrontAXL. The blocky platforms will look familar to players of the original Super Mario Bros., as well as many of the background elements. It's not an exact replica (nor is it meant to be), but the similarities are impossible to deny. Also, the PC version of the map includes music and sounds from the beloved classic. Check out the awesome in-game video of the stage in action after the break, along with some other screens. You can also download the stage here at the UT3 forums.
Don't expect a split-screen patch for UT3 on PS3
According to Videogamer, Epic's Mark Rein says PS3 owners shouldn't expect Unreal Tournament III's split-screen option for Xbox 360 to be patched into their version of the game. To compensate, he says they "should be happy" that they have user-generated mod support.Rein explains it would be a "big job" to go back and retrofit the PS3 version and doesn't believe Epic has the resources to devote to such a project. He says more mod support will be added to the PS3 version of the game, but wouldn't go into specifics. The Xbox 360 version of UT3 is expected "this summer."
Video: Unreal Tournament 3 does split screen
One of the additions to the upcoming Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 is local split screen. A very useful feature to have when entertaining a buddy or relative who too would like to join in on the carnage. So, today we thought it to be the opportune time to show you a video of split screen UT3 in action. And that's exactly what we embedded above. Everything looks lovely, fast paced and it even sports a solid frame rate to boot, but from what we can tell, a bit more of the players' character gets chopped off to accommodate for the FOV. No matter, it's still a sexy UT3 frag fest.
UT3 360 will have mods in some form
Well, well, well, what do we have here? Mark Rein dropping more details of Unreal Tournament 3? First was the Gears 2 content tease, now the assumption that the 360 version wouldn't see mods whatsoever seems to be a thing of the past. In the same interview with OXM UK, Mark Rein said "We know some of these great mods are going to play a role on Xbox 360, even if we have to get some people and bring them over ourselves." "We'll figure it out."Now while this is good news in that any form of mod on 360 now is good news, but it's nothing to get too excited about just yet. See, Mark Rein notes that the game will probably not ship with any sort of ability to exchange user created mods, but that Epic would have a solution at some point in the game's future. From the sound of things, and taking into account Microsoft's digital distribution system, UT3 360 will probably have some free (we would hope) DLC at some point in it's life that adds the best of the community-created content.
