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Joystiq impressions: Unreal Tournament III
We got to see Unreal Tournament III running side by side on PC and PS3. Both versions obviously looked fantsatic, and it was great to see how nearly identical they look. However, the incredible resolution of the PC version made it the clearly superior offering. A representative from Epic told us that the PS3 version is still being tweaked, and that details about the resolution and framerate it will run at won't be revealed yet as they're still trying to optimize the performance for the console.UTIII will feature the return of many fan-favorite weapons, but we saw a couple of a new additions. Of particular note had to be a weapon that generated a time-warping field. A cube can be created, and within that cube, all time gets slowed down significantly. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the field, we saw the Flak Cannon shoot into the field. As the spray entered the field, it came to a crawl, and the player was able to run past the flak and see it exit the other side, at full momentum. We don't know if this will make a significant change to battles, but it certainly was a cool effect, nonetheless.In addition, UTIII will feature a greater variety of vehicles. The coolest addition has to be the hoverboard, which is readily accessible at all times. This allows players to move much more quickly, and can be used while holding a CTF flag. A new single player mode was briefly demonstrated, and it shows a lot of potential. The offline single player from previous Unreal Tournament titles were slim on story and options. In the newly updated single player campaign, players will be able to watch a story unfold, and choose a non-linear path through various missions.%Gallery-4830%
Hands-on Unreal Tournament III
We got to see Unreal Tournament III running side by side on PC and PS3. Both versions obviously looked fantsatic, and it was great to see how nearly identical they look. However, the incredible resolution of the PC version made it the clearly superior offering. A representative from Epic told us that the PS3 version is still being tweaked, and that details about the resolution and framerate it will run at won't be revealed yet as they're still trying to optimize the performance for the console.UTIII will feature the return of many fan-favorite weapons, but we saw a couple of a new additions. Of particular note had to be a weapon that generated a time-warping field. A cube can be created, and within that cube, all time gets slowed down significantly. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the field, we saw the Flak Cannon shoot into the field. As the spray entered the field, it came to a crawl, and the player was able to run past the flak and see it exit the other side, at full momentum. We don't know if this will make a significant change to battles, but it certainly was a cool effect, nonetheless.In addition, UTIII will feature a greater variety of vehicles. The coolest addition has to be the hoverboard, which is readily accessible at all times. This allows players to move much more quickly, and can be used while holding a CTF flag. A new single player mode was briefly demonstrated, and it shows a lot of potential. The offline single player from previous Unreal Tournament titles were slim on story and options. In the newly updated single player campaign, players will be able to watch a story unfold, and choose a non-linear path through various missions.%Gallery-4836%
Epic Games, Unreal Tournament 3 sign exclusivity deal with Sony
Right alongside NC Soft, Epic signed a multi-stage exclusivity agreement with Sony to optimize use of the Unreal Engine 3 for the PS3. The big idea behind this was Unreal Tournament 3. Namely, making it a PS3 exclusive for this financial year. That's right -- the devs responsible for Cogs of Battle want to try their hand at making the PS3 the leading platform for their hot, hot, hotly anticipated UT3. What's really impressive about this announcement isn't necessarily the exclusivity agreement, but the fact Jack Tretton promised us the ability to bring user-created PC mods into the console version of the game via the PlayStation Network. Homebrew is happening, little by little, and we're very happy about that.
Unreal Tournament 3 to be timed PS3 exclusive
See the awesomeness that is the game trailer above? It's Unreal Tournament 3 and fellow Xbox 360 fanboys we'll have to wait a little longer than our PS3 brothers to play. Sony and Epic Games just announced that UT3 will be a timed exclusive for the PS3 platform which will launch this November. But the wait will be short lived, because the game will be available on the Xbox 360 platform early 2008. Epic is obviously feeling love from everyone this generation and it looks like Sony played the right hand this time. Sorry fanboys, this is one game the PS3 will get before us ... consider it a fluke.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Unreal Tournament 3 to ship with dozens of maps
Over on Beyond Unreal, Death Booger mentions that August's OXM demo disc features a look at a few of the multiplayer maps that'll ship with Unreal Tournament 3. Among the pretty in-game videos are a few details about UT3 including confirmation that the game will ship with three to four dozen multiplayer maps. And, if our math is correct, that works out to be around 36 to 48 multiplayer maps on launch day and on the disc! The maps will of course vary in size, player count, etc., but the shear amount of variety should satisfy any Unreal enthusiast. Here's to hoping the "dozens" remarks holds true when the game ships as that would seriously put Shadowrun's nine maps to shame.
Fatal Inertia hits Xbox 360 in September, 'delayed indefinitely' for PS3
Though the distinct lack of dynastically-inclined warriors may convince you otherwise, futuristic racer Fatal Inertia is indeed a product of Koei. The first game from the company's Toronto-based studio has now been assigned a release date on half of its originally intended platforms, with the Xbox 360 version arriving on 11 September 2007. The PS3 version, unfortunately, received no such date and has been "delayed indefinitely."The game's unfortunate status, as conveyed to Joystiq by a Koei representative, is as a result of developers awaiting completion of the game engine for the PS3 platform specifically. Fatal Inertia is built using Epic's Unreal 3.0 engine, which debuted on Xbox 360 last year in testosterone vs. chainsaw epic, Gears of War, and was more recently seen on PS3 with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. Koei explained that the game had not been canceled outright, but offered that progress on the PS3 engine was "out of our hands." We next talked to Epic's VP Mark Rein, who thought that the Unreal 3.0 engine was incomplete only in the sense that it's constantly being upgraded. "Unreal Engine 3.0 is running quite well on PS3 and people will have the chance to see that when we show Unreal Tournament 3 next week."
UT3 shall be the prettiest of them all
In the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine Epic discusses everything Unreal Tournament 3 and says that the game will look graphically better than Gears of War. Epic says that the Unreal Engine 3 has been tweaked and improved for use on the 360 since Gears launched and they're taking full advantage of its capabilities. Lead designer Steven Polge's even goes as far as to say that UT3, "it's Gears on crack. Cover is for wimps!". OXM also confirmed the game's vehicle count, talks about the control scheme, and confirmed that UT3 will include four player campaign co-op over Xbox Live. But we're just excited to see how much prettier UT3 can actually get, because Gears already set the bar quite high.[Thanks, DjDatz]
New Unreal Tournament 3 details
Epic Games' upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 is getting some extreme hype and we think it might just be qualified. Recently talked up in the last issue of Xbox magazine, lead designer Steven Polge divulged a few details to keep us licking our lips in hushed anticipation. Some additions to the game are as follows: Four-player co-op and two-player split-screen in the single-player campaign 18 vehicles and five types of turrets Hoverboards You read correct. Hoverboards. Like Back to the Future. In any case, some hype was collected for distribution to our minds when Polge said that a large portion of the staff preferred the 360 controls to the mouse and keyboard setup. We call shenanigans, since the speak was in an Xbox magazine and most people who really know FPS's wouldn't trade the mouse and keyboard in for anything (plus the mouse and keyboard is said to be supported for the PS3 version of the game).Pulge also mentioned improvements made in Unreal Engine 3, talking some smack about that strange Cogs of Battle game or whatever: "[Unreal Tournament 3 is] Gears on crack. Cover is for wimps!" It sure is, Steven Polge. It sure is. Let's hope UT3 turns out to be beautiful as well as having a great personality, so to speak. But does that ever really happen?[via Joystiq]
Behold, a lone Unreal Tournament 3 screenshot
Today, we present to you one lonely screenshot from Epic's upcoming game Unreal Tournament 2007 3. And before we go any further, let it be known that we don't want any complaining about the fact that Epic only released one screenshot. It's one screenshot you didn't have yesterday, so this should suffice ... right? Moving on. This game further proves what a graphical powerhouse the Unreal 3 engine really is, because this game looks stunning. Make the jump for the full size screenshot and you'll see what we mean. Everyone at X3F is curious to see if UT3's visuals will equal or surpass what Gears has to offer, though we're on the fence on the issue. What do you think, will UT3 be the cream of the crop when it comes to the best visual spectical on the 360?[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Unreal Tournament 3: mouse, keyboard, SIXAXIS
This is a great move by the Unreal Tournament 3 folks over at Epic Games -- the PS3 version of the game will support the SIXAXIS, sure, but it also gives you the option to plug in your (hopefully wireless) mouse and keyboard to give you that "PC Shooter" feeling consoles have always been criticized for lacking. What's the SIXAXIS gonna do? It controls where you're looking -- we're assuming it takes the place of the mouse.How about the Unreal Engine 3? How's it holding up? Glad you asked, me. According to the fellow who got his greasy hands on the only booth set up for the title, the game is looking fantastic. "The game looks at least as good as Gears of War or Doom 3 with glitzy lighting galore...With strange glowing tubes and other bits of high-tech machinery coating nearly every surface, the whole package was really incredibly striking. All this, the framerate was still sky-high." We're looking forward to hearing more about this. If you want to learn more about the hands-on impression, feel free. We'd love to hear from Epic, Midway, and Sony about a demo coming soon...
New Unreal Tournament 3 details emerge
Over at the Beyond Unreal forums, Doc Shock translated a German gaming magazine's interview with Jeff Morris about Unreal Tournament 3. From the translation and follow up by TeamXbox we learn that Unreal Tournament 3 will include a co-op option for the campaign, similar to how Gears of War works. They are also implementing voice commands where you'll be able to give a bot simple instructions to carry out, like navigating a vehicle or protecting a base. Morris also confirms that there will be 12 weapons, 15 vehicles, and 30 plus maps to enjoy. And as always, we'll be playing Unreal Tournament 3 on our Xbox 360s "when it's done" ... because that's how Epic rolls.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Fragtacular UT3 Weapons Video
GameVideos has a nice video showcasing the weapons from Unreal Tournament 3. All of the guns in the game are being completely revamped from there previous incarnations. Featured arsenal in the video includes the flak cannon, rocket launcher, shock rifle, and link gun/plasma rifle. So have a look at some fragtastic firefights, complete with a couple Multikills and a killing spree. Graphics are looking tight and the pace is as fast as one would expect from an Unreal title. Are you up for some oldschool arcade shooter deathmatch?[Via QJ.net]
Unreal Tournament III Trailer on Marketplace
Major Nelson has let us know that there is an Unreal Tournament III trailer available on Marketplace. Although it is not available in Mexico or Asia. Perhaps it's a bit of payback for releasing Crackdown early. Still, the game features the Unreal 3 Engine, and is going to easily be on par with Gears of War in terms of visual fidelity. The trailer comes in two flavors, 720p or 480p and weigh in at 66 MB and 33 MB, respectively. So hop on Live, download the trailer and tell us what you think.
Mark Rein: Gears of War 'eventually' on PC
It seems that Epic's Mark Rein is finally being affected by the unrelenting repetition of being asked about a PC version of Gears of War every time he agrees to be interviewed. Having given up on traditional non-denials, an interview with Team Xbox has Mr. Rein taking one step forward and admitting that the testosterone epic will "eventually" be ported to PC. "Yeah, eventually...I don't think that's any great secret that we would like to do it on PC, but for now it's a 360 game. Eventually we'll get around to a PC version. I just don't know when." Mark explains that the "when" will be largely dependent on how long it takes for the market to have enough PCs capable of playing the reconfigured game and thus be economically viable. However, with Unreal Tournament 3 scheduled for release this year, aren't we at that point already?Perhaps we should stick to our current strategy -- ask Mark about Gears of War on PC until he screams in agony and orders a team to just port the game already.[Thanks, Jonah]
New GOW content in months, PC version "inevitable"
Speaking with TeamXbox, Mark Rein revealed that new content will be arriving for Gears of War within "the next couple months," citing the Dreaded Xbox Live Certification Process® as a primary reason it has taken so long. Rein notes that the content is "not months away...it's maybe a month? When it's done." It is unclear, however, whether he is speaking of the actual creation of the content or the certification process. The upshot, obviously, is that new Gears content is coming, and that it will have "a fun little surprise."Also mentioned in the interview is the inevitability of a PC version of Gears of War. Rein notes that Epic's biggest challenge will be to recreate a game that was designed exclusively for the Xbox 360 so that it will run on a wide range of PCs. Finally, Rein speaks about the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3, discussing his excitement about bringing user created mods to the console space. Hit the "read" link for the whole interview.Now, any wild speculations about what the "fun little surprise" might be in the new GOW content? We'll have none of that reasonable speculation either. We're only interested in wild speculation, thank you very much.
New UT3 screens are eye popping
Our friends at Xboxygen scored some new shots of Unreal Tournament 3, the fourth game in the Unreal Tournament series. The shots mostly showcase the game's gloriously rendered vehicles. Most notable of the new vehicles is the vicious tripod pictured above. The giant mechanical beasts appear to be terrorizing the Japanese countryside (something that almost never happens). Another interesting shot shows two players on hoverboards hooked onto a third vehicle, Back to the Future style. Put simply, the game looks great. Click the "read" link for more pretty pictures (perfect for wallpaper).
Epic wants 40 UT3 maps, ponders platform-exclusive content
Speaking with CVG, Unreal Tournament 3 producer Jeff Morris detailed Epic's goal to ship its forthcoming shooter with 30 to 40 multiplayer maps. "[That's] substantially more than other games in the genre," observed Morris; indeed, but not necessarily enough to make UT3 a genre standout. The franchise has yet to take hold on console platforms.Perhaps, as Morris suggests, Epic would boost UT3's console presence by offering exclusive content for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 through post-release updates. While certainly a bonus, offering platform-exclusive content is becoming standard practice. Where UT3 could really shine is through user mod support. If epic could coerce Sony and particularly Microsoft into opening their consoles up to user-created content it would put UT3 into a unique class of console FPS unto itself.
PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 not delayed
An erroneous Midway fact sheet has stirred up confusion over Unreal Tournament 3's release, listing the shooter's arrival on Xbox 360 and PC as Q4 2007, and on PlayStation 3 as 2008. CVG has since confirmed with Midway that UT3 is tentatively scheduled for Q4 2007 on all platforms, quickly deading rumor of a PS3 delay. Last week, in an interview with Game Informer, Rein called UT3 the developer's "showcase title" and "poster child for PS3," concluding "we just want to focus on UT3 on PS3 to start." Today Rein chimed in on the Epic forums about UT3's release date:"Epic (who makes this decision, NOT Midway) have absolutely NOT decided whether the SKUs for this product will be released simultaneously or in staggered order and we have absolutely NOT decided (because we don't know yet) when any of them will be released. If our publisher [distributed] information contrary to this they did so in error."See also: Unreal Tournament 2007 renamed, confirmed for 360 Epic aims for Unreal Tournament user mods on PS3, 360
Mark Rein: User created mods in 360 UTIII
Speaking to Game Informer, Epic's Mark Rein believes that user created content will be featured in the 360 version of Unreal Tournament III. In fact, Rein admits that user created content is the reason the 360 version of UTIII took so long to confirm. According to Rein, Epic was unsure that Microsoft would allow such content to pass through the dreaded certification process (Whatever happened to VelocityGirl?). Whatever the issue was, Rein is now confident that mods should be coming our way. As noted by Joystiq, we're not really sure how such mods would be created. It's possible that mods could be made through a 360 specific level editor, though we have to question how detailed such a thing could be. Another solution would be for Epic to distribute the most popular PC content over Xbox Live. Could Live Anywhere have anything to do with this?[Via Joystiq]
Epic to churn out Gears of War until the Sun explodes
Unreal Tournament 3 producer Jeff Morris joked about the fate of his colleagues at Epic in an interview, saying that "the shoe has turned" when it comes to their current development cycle. The house that Unreal built has been hammering away at their foundation, cranking out Unreal titles since the series' conception in 1998, up until the release of Gears of War this past year. Could Marcus and company squeeze blood from stone the same way Mega Man has all these years?"It's funny because I think Gears started after a lot of people were a little fatigued working on UT, and now they're all probably making Gears for the rest of their lives," said Morris, reflecting on the massive success of Gears.He goes on to state that once again, no sequel has officially been announced, though we'd bet our precious thumbs that we'll be hearing of one down the road. We'll also be sure to put our acting chops to the test and look surprised when Gears turns into a trilogy.
