I really liked unreal tournament, and unreal tournament 2004. They have always had good graphics, extremely smooth, simple, fast paced game play, really cool map design, and lots of violent weapons and plenty of gore to boot. Unreal tournament 3 is no exception to these rules. If you like the series, and you aren't bored of it yet (I was on the fence about that last part) then deffinately pick up a copy of ut3. The graphics are absolutely amazing, the gameplay, like all the other titles, is smooth and flawless, and the blood is as plentiful as ever. The new maps are well designed (most of them anyway, as always there are a couple stinkers) and they have added a few new vehicles to the warfare game mode, along with a few other changes. Nothing huge though. Its really just the same game with some new polish.

The good.
All the things I just said.

The bad.
They removed assault and bombing run game modes. This is a shame because those were my 2 favorite game modes. I reaaaally hope someone mods those back in. As far as new innovations, there aren't really any, and that's disappointing because until now, every installment of the series has added a little something more to the game. Instead this game seems to have subtracted from where ut2k4 had left the bar, and instead added in really pretty graphics (really really pretty graphics). There is only one new game mode, vehicle capture the flag, which really isn't so much a new game mode as it is an old game mode with some new mechanics.
I wish they had at least left assault.

Though, in vehicle maps they added in hoverboards which are pretty cool. Everyone starts with a hoverboard (which can be toggled on and off) instead of a translocator while on a hoverboard you cannot fire and if you get hit by anything you get knocked off your board and get disabled for a few seconds, but adversely, you go alot faster, can ramp off things, and can throw a grappling hook on friendly vehicles to catch a ride from them.

I've not bothered downloading the demo (also I haven't reinstalled my UT2k4 for about two years.) - but the one mode that was fun in Unreal was Onslaught (er - the one where ya gotta unlock the nodes and cap them.) - particularly fun on those servers that had mods where you could build stuff to defend your points. The UT3 demo, which I saw at a friends house, doesn't seem to have this mode which kinda kills it for me. Is it just plain not in the game?
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"I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them." -Ian L. Fleming
Thothie

No, it's still there. It's called warfare now. It is, in fact, probably the most popular game mode other than deathmatch. It is basically the same as it was ut2k4 with a few differences. In warfare mode, there is basically 1 primary node on the map and several support nodes. The support nodes grant access to new spawn points and special vehicles/weapons etc. The primary node grants access to the oponents core (usually centrally located on the map). If you take the prime node you can do damage to their core; if they regain the prime node, their core is safe and yours is vulnerable. Sometimes a primary node will be locked by a series of support nodes that you have to cap in succession.

It works practically the same as before except now they have added orbs to the mix. Orbs are like flags that give an instacap on a node. Each team can have 1 orb in play at a time. The nodes have much more health than they did in ut2k4, meaning you have to chew on it for a good while for it to die so you can cap it. Alternatively, you can take your team's orb from your main base and drop it on a node that is not in your posession. This immediately grants you ownership of the node without having to destory the enemy one already in place and you don't have to wait for your node to build, also, if the node is already in your posession and you take your orb to that node you link with it, so that you must be killed before they can do damage to your node.

The only 2 game modes they removed were assault and bombing run. Assault was where one team defended an objective which the attacking team would attempt to claim/destroy. It was basically dustbowl style gameplay. Attackers attempted to kill the objective before time ran out, defenders held it.

Bombing run was the football style game where the ball spawned in the middle of the map and you had the ball launcher. You could pass the ball between your team mates and you tried to score in the enemy goal. The passing system was really well developed and the enemy goals were always really elaborate. That to me made the game really fun. It's like inverse capture the flag, kind of like that once tfc map with the soccer ball.

Oh I forgot, they did add in one more game mode which was based on an old assault map. The game mode is called tank crossing or something. Basically its an adaptation of the warfare/onsalught map. Basically there are 2 bridges on the map which you must take a point in the middle of the map in order to gain access to (they are like draw bridges). When your team has control, your bridge lowers and you can drive your tank accross the bridge to the enemy core. Once there, the tank must sit on a pressure pad to gain access to the enemy core, which the tank can lob volleys into the core to destroy it. If the middle bridge point is lost then the core becomes safe again. I'm not sure if this is an entire game mode, or just a map. I think it might just be 1 map in particular, but it has the potential to become a game mode I think.

They also did away with the "Mutant" game mode, but I'm sure nobody is crying about that. That mode sucked. It was like everybody vs 1 guy, but the one guy had super powers, super fast, extra damage, extra armor, cloaking, shield belt, and everytime he killed someone he got more powerful. If you killed the mutant you became the mutant and everyone killed you. I'm sure nobody is crying that they did away with it. I know I'm not.

Shit sucks.

An update now that I've played it a bit more. The new onslaught mode "warfare" is actually alot more in depth than I thought it to be previously. I had only played a few maps but now that i've had a bit more time to explore it, it actually is pretty cool, and it makes for an excellent multiplayer game.

Basically, there are a few (or more than a few) simplistic Warfare maps which have one primary node and some uneccessary support nodes that grant extra vehicles ect. Alternatively however, the majority of the warfare maps are played out that you cannot simply capture one node to gain access to the enemy core, generally you have to capture multiple nodes in succession. In addition, there are a wealth more new vehicles than I had originally thought: a sniper tank, a stealth tank which drops mines and time slowing fields which is pretty cool, a tank which deploys a force field thingy, a spider walker thingy, hoverbikes direct from star wars, a little spider crawly glowly looking orby thingy, and a new air unit. I think that's all, there might be more I don't know about.

The sniper tank is especially badass. Basically, it acts like a hellbender (plasma tank) until you deploy it into seige mode. Once in seige mode, you can fire a camera shell somewhere on the map. Once the camera is deployed you view the area from the camera POV (kind of like a guided missile that doesn't move). You can then launch aoe mortar volleys anywhere in your camera's view until someone gets wise and destroys your camera. They are very cool, and you can only get them from controlling a support node, so support nodes actually do serve a purpose.

On top of support nodes and prime nodes, they have also included "special rule" nodes. Basically these are a special type of support node, or series of support nodes that cause special things to happen like the enemy core to rise out of the enemy base, periodic damage, etc. In other words, warfare mode is alot more in depth than onslaught used to be, and its amazingly fun (though it can be really annoying when you're on a terrible team). Also, the orbs are a great addition. At first I thought they were kind of lame, but now that I've played with them for a bit I've realized that they are really useful and can quickly turn the tides of a game. They make for great ninja tactics, even though the computer tends to warn you when an enemy orb is in play.

In other words, warfare is great, its much better than onslaught. While it might not have the same strategic value that NS has, it's deffinately not just a run of the mill multiplayer like tf2.

I don't know that its enough to constitute purchasing the game if you are already tired of the UT franchise. Largely, the rest of the game is the same game as it has been, fast paced death match/ctf style gameplay but with a really pretty graphics overhaul. Warfare is nearly the same as onslaught but the new vehicles and orbs and new maps keep it fresh. Once again though, that is just one game mode.

UT3 is to UT what FF is to TFC with maybe a bit more to offer. If you had never played UT before I would say yes get this game now, but if you've played all the other ones and you're tired of them, than maybe sit this one out, or at least wait till the price drops and some mods are released. Yarrr, that is all.

Still not had the chance, but UT2k4 had THE best modding SDK EVER - unlike Source, where you have this broken, partial SDK, that the community has managed to add onto so much that it works to some degree, providing about 10% is actually Valve's core stuff (which works, 10% of the time).

One bad thing with the UT2k4 mod system (and I think this is what hampered it) - is they made these custom mod installer packets that didn't work for most folks, as UT2k4 did not associate the file type correctly on install. Maybe they'll abandon that, and we'll finally see a new engine with some really decent mods to compete with Source? (Granted, it'll probably still be through Steam, at the rate things are going. >_>)

In other news... I fiddled with Quake Wars: ET phone home... And it seemed to me suspiciously like Battlefield 2. Only real difference being deployables and escort missions, which, while they are a big improvement, aren’t pervasive enough to make much difference. Maybe if you had lots of smaller, more dynamic deployables, instead of just those big honking things you can only drop within your own territory, providing there’s about 800 square feet of flat surface, ya’d have something more interesting there. Still, if I had to choose between Battlefield 2 and Quake Wars, the latter would probably win. Neither, however, is good enough to take much of my time, I fear. (Both also have the flaw of horrible attempts at realistic flight physics, that I can't stand - give me UT2k4 arcade flight anytime - I'm using a MOUSE damnit!)
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[quote="Saint Thoth"]
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Ya mean like one of these?

Is there a map that looks like 1950's downtown LA, with a whole lotta breakables I can run through? Cuz if so, I am SO buying this!
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"We have learned now that we cannot regard this planet as being fenced in and a secure abiding place for Man; we can never anticipate the unseen good or evil that may come upon us suddenly out of space." - H.G. Wells
Thothie

more like this



And this



They are all very squiddy in design. Makes me hungry.

I loved Unreal Tournament when it first came out. I later purchased Unreal Tournament 2003 and that was fun, but I recently download Unreal Tournament 2004, and I totally fell in love with its game play. The graphics, the weapons, and the vehicles! Its fast paced and OWNAGE all around!!!!

The new UT3 looks great and I'm thinking about downloading that as well.

It looks like ID Software got left in the dust.

-DarK WilloW

UT would be another game i would beat you in.

we should get a ut server set up, I would totally be down for some facing worlds or some hall of giants

go warcows

go snipers!

The Good - UT (the first) was a good game... Kind of.

The Bad - It is a simple, basic, unstrategical completely spam-based game. The basis of strategy for the game is, at-most, "shoot gun at circle, move to other spot, shoot gun" and hope partners are around you... Natural Selection is the only ONLY fps i truely like because of the fact that it isn't based on how much I can spam or how lucky I am.


UT died in UT2004.

word

UT for life

UT has always been about the gameplay. It's one of if not the best twitch FPS out there. It's not a spam fest, tfc has become a spam fest, UT is and always smooth play control, lots of blood, and cool weapons.

The beauty of the game doesn't lie with the complexity of the gameplay, but rather the simplicity of it. The controls have always felt exceedingly fluid and intuative.

Also, I disagree with you that UT died in 2004. Far from it in fact, of all the FPS sequels or series that have ever been released, I would be willing to say UT is the only series that has gotten better over time. The gameplay has been consistently good, in fact if anything it has just become even smoother over time. The graphics are stunning, and the addition of game modes has added a massive amount of replay value and kept what would have been a very stale game continually fresh.

It's not as complicated an fps as NS, but really what is? Instead of trying to be something its not, the UT series has really just perfected what it is and that is mindless twitch fun with a glossy finish.

Also, Both hall of giants and facing worlds made it into the UT2k4. I haven't seen them make their way into UT3 yet, though I haven't played for months. I am sure someone has ported them by now.