Plot: What’s it about?
An evil alien race known as the Necris is on the prowl, but one man stands in the path of destruction. Ok, so the story in Unreal Tournament III is rather thin, does it matter? The single player campaign puts you in the shoes of Reaper, a one man wrecking crew who does battle with the alien menace. Reaper has access to tons of kickass weapons, wicked vehicles, and even some cool power ups, but the fight won’t be a simple one. Unreal Tournament III’s single player campaign is more of a training process, you sharpen your skills against the artificial intelligence, to prepare for the on-line experience. As has always been the case in this franchise, the action is fast and insane, so you will need to be up to the task. You can choose between traditional controller and the keyboard & mouse combination, but in multi-player lobbies, you can see who wields what. The controller works fine, but of course, the keyboard & mouse offer a little more precision.
The game itself is a wonder to behold, both in presentation and substance. As I said above, the single player mode isn’t the main focus of Unreal Tournament III. It offers some fun times of course, but it is most valuable as a tool to learn the maps and get the art of war down to a science. But if you’re after a mind blowing single player campaign, this isn’t the game you’ll want. The story is thin and not rewarding, its just the first step toward on-line mayhem. The on-line mode is awesome however, with all the expected match types, as well as co-op campaign, should you and a friend want to battle the Necris side by side. The presentation of Unreal Tournament III is excellent, with gorgeous high definition visuals that really impress. This is a nice show piece for the PS3, with smooth gameplay and stunning graphical presence. Unreal Tournament III is a terrific game, with decent single player, but the real draw is the on-line element. So if you’re even a casual fan of first person shooters and have access to on-line gaming, Unreal Tournament III shouldn’t be missed.
Video: How does it look?
As I said before, this game looks superb and proves that the PS3 can handle some high end ports. The 720p high definition visuals really shine, with so much detail and slick, smooth gameplay. In other words, you won’t notice any serious slowdown or the like, even with such graphic intensive environments. No framerate issues surface, which should please fans who were concerned how well the port would hold up on the console end. I don’t have a whole lot more to say here, Unreal Tournament III offers some of the finest visuals you’ll find on the PS3, which is no small compliment.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio isn’t quite as memorable as the visuals, but the game still sounds great. The pace is so fast you can’t always pay attention, but the audio is good about environment and atmosphere. In other words, in between the blasts of gunfire, roaring engines, and explosions, you’ll notice some nice immersion elements. The game sounds great when things get loud, but it still sounds good in those few lower key scenes, so solid work all around.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In addition to the single player campaign, you can explore six different on-line multiplayer incarnations, plus access maps & mods from the Unreal Engine 3 Toolset. So…plenty of value content in this one.
