It's been around six months since Unreal Tournament 3 released on the PC and PlayStation 3, now the time has finally come for Xbox 360 shooter fanatics to get their hands on Epic's gory multiplayer first person shooter. As mentioned in our preview, no one was really sure how the whole user-generated content fiasco was going to pan out with Epic and Microsoft, as regards to getting the same treatment as PC and PS3 gamers. Epic Games have put so much emphasis on this feature with the PC, and even being able to transfer that content and get it working on the PlayStation 3 version of the game. User-generated content is not available in the Xbox 360 version, at least not directly - it remains to be seen as of yet if Epic Games will be doing the rounds of the more popular created maps and mutators and adding this stuff to the Marketplace as free downloads. Fingers crossed, though we'll have to wait and see on that one, hopefully the inclusion of Xbox 360 Exclusive content is not Epic's answer to unlimited user-created maps and mutators that PC and PS3 users have been enjoying for the past several months... I mean who wouldn't want to play UT3 in a map made out of LEGO? The Xbox 360 exclusive content has a few new neat additions over its PS3 brother, the main one being split-screen play, which can be played both offline and online (in unranked matches only). The other exclusives include new playable characters and 5 new multiplayer maps, the irony of this though is that characters from the Xbox 360 world of video games appear on the rival console without any legal issues in the form of user-created content and include the likes of the Master Chief, and characters from Epic's own Gears of War. There's no doubt the Epic team is hard at work on getting Gears 2 finished up for its November release, and to whet our appetites there is a rather interesting must-see Gears of War 2 multiplayer run through video on the Unreal Tournament 3 game disc.

So it's several months later, the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 is on store shelves now, but perhaps the important question is whether or not the wait was really worth it?

Gameplay:

Unreal Tournament 3 is a return to Epic's old school style shoot 'em up series, while the gameplay may seem outdated to some it actually proves rather refreshing from the more tactical shooters of recent memory. UT3's focus is purely based on all out action, requiring you to charge in, shoot, and ultimately kill or be killed. There's no cover system or squad orders to be concerned about here, it's simply just you, your gun and plenty of players/bots to shoot. As I've been playing the PC version for some time now and actually with the 360 controller too, I must admit the pace has changed rather considerably. This however is no doubt a turn for the better, it's just I've got used to the epileptic fast paced nature of that on offer with the PC version, which obviously caters to gamers with a mouse and keyboard more than it does to players with a controller. The Xbox 360 controller does work very well as it does with most shooters, my only real issue here is with changing weapons. Changing to a different gun can be done with a simple press of the RB, and repeatedly pressing this will cycle through all the weapons you've currently picked up, the other way though is with LB, holding this down will display a weapon selection screen something similar to that of Rainbow Six Vegas, you simply move the analogue stick over the weapon that you want to use and then release. It all seems to take a bit longer than it should do, most players will likely be satisfied with quickly cycling through all available weapons using the RB button until they find the best weapon to cause the most damage. For gamers more accustomed to the likes of Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4, this weapon selection will take some brief getting used to, I think the first thing to get used to though is just the general speed of the game compared to these other shooters. There are some rather entertaining ways to blast the snot out of your foes, all of the weapons come with a secondary fire option too (except the Sniper Rifle where the secondary fire acts as the scope zoom), which usually offers up a longer charged shot but accumulates the most damage or results in an instant kill should you manage to connect. My personal favourite here is the Bio Rifle, which is not too hot when using the primary fire as it just shoots out balls of green acid, though holding down LT will let a larger bubble of this build up into a big green ball and releasing the trigger at the right moment will propel this onto an unsuspecting enemy who then explodes by what looks like a giant bogey. As always you can expect to find the Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle and another favourite which sees allot of use is the Flak Cannon, which is rather handy as it doubles as a grenade launcher and fires some rather nasty bullets which can be used to bounce around corners and can prove very useful when chasing someone through a narrow corridor or similar. The main trick is not only learning the basics of most of these weapons but it is perhaps more being able to dodge and accurately fire at the same time. Dodging basically revolves around jumping, not only can you jump forward or backwards but sideways as well. With a double tap of the A button you can jump that bit further (or higher by tapping again at the highest point in the jump) to the side and dodge an incoming rocket or sniper shot, the trick here though before jumping is to move the analogue stick ahead of time so that the opponent is in your line of fire by the time you finish the jump; after all, not everyone jumps around and shoots at the same time.

Unreal Tournament 3 features some pretty unique vehicles, not to mention the hover-board which comes in handy in getting around the larger scale maps more quickly, but also proves useful for getting away with the enemies flag rather quickly as well. The hover-board, (basically a cooler one than Marty McFly's as seen in the Back to the Future films), does bring with it some restrictions, while it brings you into a third person view and even enables you to use some rather limited ramps featured in the maps to jump over to make a quicker escape and get out the line of fire. You are restricted by not being able to shoot, and should you get hit you will fall to the ground and if carrying an objective item, this will be dropped and returned should an enemy touch it before you can regain it. Perhaps the largest vehicle in the game would have to be the Dark Walker, which looks rather familiar to the tripods seen in the War of the Worlds film, whilst these are rather on the slow side they're good for getting about most places and can give you a good view from high up above, enabling you to take some cheap shots at enemies as as there objectives, depending on the match type. There are several other vehicles to get around in, the controls on all of these are very similar to those from Halo, as in you drive which ever way you're looking, which is a good thing, but they still seem rather too loose in comparison as it can be a bit difficult to maneuver around tight corners. All of the vehicles work well on large scale maps though, especially when avoiding rather confined areas which could potentially become problematic should you find yourself cornered.

It might as well be stated that Unreal Tournament 3 features no campaign, primarily it is a multiplayer only game which also lets you play with bots if you so choose. However, there is a mode in here called 'Campaign,' which can even be played online with upto 4-players on your team, as you go against bots in what are essentially just multiplayer matches with some rather cool looking cutscenes and dialog thrown in to fit in between the brief loading screens of each match. If you're an Xbox LIVE Gold member though, then the best place to play this is most certainly online, get a couple of buddies or friendly recruits together, smash heads on Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch or perhaps the new favourite objective match type, Warfare. The game's modes pretty much all speak for themselves when you consider the names such as, Capture the Flag and Vehicle Capture the Flag. Whilst I probably spend a majority of my time in the more old school Deathmatch modes, Warfare can prove rather entertaining with the right team. The objective based Warfare match type basically revolves around your team grabbing their objective and planting it at a central node, once this has been done it then opens up the opposing teams primary node for attack. Warfare is basically a tug of war between both teams, whoever scores their objective can then unleash damage at the opposing teams base, completely destroying the base will win the match. The other team must destroy the central scored node to stop their base from taking further damage before they can score their own objective and begin attacking the other base.

Considering the extra wait I was also expecting some kind of party system similar to that of Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3, Epic had confirmed a while ago that the upcoming Gears of War 2 would get such treatment, I had hoped that we might see something like that in UT3, but that is not the case. On the other hand, the game is frankly identical to it's PC and PS3 counterpart in terms of features (minus the 360 exclusive content) as regards to online play. UT3 does feature dedicated servers online, which is certainly most welcome, though of course there are other players who both host and play at the same time too. While there may be some nuisances to the controller layout, considering this is essentially a PC port, Epic have done a mighty fine job on making this game play every bit as good as it looks, and it certainly is no slouch as far as the visuals are concerned either.

Graphics:

Epic's other action shooter, Gears of War which released in November 2006, still to this very day is considered by many to be the best looking game on Microsoft's Xbox 360. It's no surprise then that Unreal Tournament 3 looks every bit as good as it plays, what with considering that both games run on Epic's Unreal Engine technology. The maps in UT3 are rather large overall, and every little detail looks crisp, though what stands out more than anything here is the weapons and character models, which are incredibly detailed – which just goes to making the game that much more satisfying when you get to annihilate your enemies into little chunks of meat. Yes the game is also rather gory, though a bit more toned down compared to Gears, but that doesn't make the carnage any less satisfying. The only issue to pick at as regards to UT3's visuals is the texture pop-in at the beginning of a match, the same was also apparent in Gears of War as well, though this does very little to dampen what is otherwise a phenomenal all-out action multiplayer shooter. The game's framerate for the most part never seems to dip either, though it can do only at times when there is a lot of action if playing in split-screen, but otherwise the framerate is rock solid all the time.

Sound:

Unreal Tournament 3 performs rather well as far as sound effects are concerned, the only low point is with the game's attempt at a storyline, here it offers up plenty of excessively cheesy moments in the voice acting, but then the UT series has never been big on the story side of things. What I love most about the sound is how the matches have a deep voice pop in as you score a “Killing Spree!” or a “Headshot!” etc. I'm sure most gamers have probably played a Halo game at some point in multiplayer, well UT3 is equipped with its very own creepy guy shouting all that stuff out as you go on a “Rampage!”. Unreal Tournament 3 isn't the sort of game that takes its self too seriously, while it's very much considered a hardcore shooter, it's easily approachable and at times rather comical. After all, you can taunt in the game to wind up some opponents. One of the things I really do appreciate here is that when the match is over, the camera will change for everyone in the game and look at the player with the most kills for several seconds, this player then can taunt everyone for a couple of seconds by hip thrusting the screen or something similar. These same taunts can be used in-game, too. You have the taunts and commands available at your disposable, these don't do anything dramatic but you can ask for assistance or something in this way should you have the flag. While I personally like to blast away my foes whilst listening to some rock tunes, UT3 does offer up rather diverse tracks which seems to appeal to each map in some way, almost matching the look and changing slightly when any significant action takes place.

Longevity:

UT3 should grab the attention of those still hooked on Epic's late 2006 release in Gears of War as well as those who may be growing just a bit tired of Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3, UT3 might just keep these and other players occupied for the next couple of months until Gears 2 hits store shelves. I guess the longevity of UT3 ultimately comes down to how much Epic support the title in the way of actively adding the better part of the user-generated content that PC and PlayStation 3 gamers have been enjoying for some months now. As it stands currently though, while 2 player split-screen is certainly a welcome addition, a couple of extra exclusive maps and characters does little to heal the bloody and sore wounds of Xbox 360 gamers not having access to what is essentially an unlimited amount of content which goes a long way to extending the game's overall re-playability appeal.

Overall:

If you're an Xbox Live Gold member and love your online shooters, then Unreal Tournament 3 is the game to get. Whilst playing with bots and/or 1 local player is all well and good, UT3 is at its most entertaining when played online. If you're more of a solo gamer that prefers a shooter with some form of campaign, then Unreal Tournament 3 is quite simply not that kind of shooter, this game is just based on all out bloody carnage in the best tournament arena available, which is online over Xbox Live.