Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) is a first-person shooter and online multiplayer video game by Epic Games, and is the latest installment of the Unreal series. It is published by Midway Games, and was released for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2007, PlayStation 3 on December 11, 2007, and Xbox 360 on July 3, 2008. The Linux and Mac OS X versions of the game were planned to be released as downloadable installers that work with the retail disc. Ryan C. Gordon has uploaded screenshots of the game, dating from September 2008, running on both platforms.^[2][3] On May 22, 2009, Ryan stated that the UT3 port for Linux was still in process.^[4] On December 16, 2010, Steve Polge announced that the Linux port would never be released, making it the first Unreal Tournament game not to be released on Linux.^[5]

Unreal Tournament 3 is the fourth game in the Unreal Tournament series and the eighth Unreal game, but is numbered in terms of the engine it runs on. The original Unreal Tournament uses the first Unreal Engine, while UT2003 and UT2004 use Unreal Engine 2. Since 2004 incorporates all of the content from 2003, they are regarded as part of the same generation. UT3 is the third generation, as it runs on Unreal Engine 3, and does not reuse any content.^[6] In March 2008, Midway announced that UT3 had sold over a million copies worldwide.^[7]

Gameplay[link]

Similar to the prior entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes, including large-scale Warfare, Capture-the-Flag, and Death match. It also includes an extensive offline single-player game with an in-depth story, beginning with a simple tournament ladder and including team members with unique personalities. The following game modes are included:

• Deathmatch
• Team Deathmatch
• Capture the flag
• Duel – A one versus one game mode. It uses a queuing system: the winner stays, and the loser goes back to the end of the queue. A typical match lasts fifteen minutes with the winner being the player with most kills.
• Warfare – A mix of Onslaught and Assault game modes. While basic game rules are equal to those of Onslaught, Warfare adds countdown nodes (which, after being captured and defended for a certain period of time, create a vehicle or trigger an event helpful to the capturing team) as well as the orb, which can be used to instantly capture and defend nodes.
• Vehicle Capture the Flag – Capture the Flag, with vehicles as part of the map; this game mode is distinct from the standard Capture the Flag mode. Also, players are given a hoverboard rather than a translocator.
• Betrayal – This game type places freelance players on teams, and when the members of each team kill enemies, the pot for that team grows. Anybody on a team with a pot can betray the rest of the team by shooting them, thus taking the pot, but they must defend themselves from the betrayed teammates for 30 seconds after that, or the teammates receive extra points.
• Greed – Greed is a game that (like the UT2004 mod of the same name) focuses on collecting skulls dropped from dead players and capturing them in the opposing team's base. For Greed, the game uses all Capture the Flag and Vehicle Capture the Flag maps.

Modes not returning from the prior Unreal Tournament games include Invasion, Mutant (having been later on partially replaced by the Titan mutator in the UT3 Titan Pack), Onslaught (replaced by Warfare), Bombing Run, Last Man Standing, Domination, Double Domination, and Assault; Assault was removed from the game during production.^[8]

Features[link]

Vehicles[link]

In this installment of Unreal Tournament, the vehicles are split into two factions, the Axon vehicles and Necris vehicles. The Axon vehicles are the same vehicles from UT2004, but several have significant game play changes. In addition, on vehicle maps every player is equipped with a personal hover board, a skateboard-like device that allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other team-mates' vehicles. The hover board is very vulnerable to attack, and any hit will knock the player off the board and disable him or her for several seconds, leaving the player exposed and vulnerable. The player cannot use any weapons while on the board.

Teams[link]

Unlike the prior Unreal Tournament games, the single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, and therefore several of the teams within Unreal Tournament 3 are not Tournament competitors.

The five playable factions are: Iron Guard, a team of human mercenaries led by former Tournament champion Malcolm; the Ronin, a band of four survivors of a Skaarj attack on a human colony; Liandri, a series of advanced humanoid robots custom-built or retrofitted for combat; the Krall, a warlike race of aliens formerly under the leadership of the Skaarj, returning from their initial appearance in the original Unreal; and the Necris, warriors who have undergone the process of the same name, making them stronger at the expense of replacing their biological processes with "Nanoblack", effectively turning them into undead soldiers (hence the name, Necris).

In the Campaign, the player is a member of the Ronin, and the Necris serve as the chief antagonists.

Limited collector's edition[link]

On October 26, 2007, a limited collector's edition of the game was announced for release on PC. This version of the game features an exclusive collector's edition tin and a hardcover art book. A bonus DVD is also included, featuring more than twenty hours of Unreal Engine 3 Tool kit video tutorials, the history of the Unreal Tournament series, and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Unreal Tournament 3. The Limited Collector's Edition is being sold in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and most other territories.^[9]

Expansion[link]

On March 5, 2009, a free update called Titan Pack was released for the PC; the PS3 version of the pack was released on March 19, 2009.

The pack includes five maps and two characters that were formerly exclusive to the Xbox 360 version, along with eleven brand new maps, two new game modes ("Greed" and "Betrayal"), and the Titan Mutator. The Titan Mutator causes a player to grow in size as they do better, while carrying alternative weapons and power ups. The expansion also includes a new power up, a new vehicle, two new deployables, and the addition of stinger turrets. A new patch was also released in conjunction with the Titan Pack, which allowed for various AI improvements (especially in vehicle modes), networking performance upgrades and added support for Steam Achievements (PC) and Trophies (PS3). It also adds a two player split screen mode (formerly exclusive to the 360 version) and mod browsing for the PS3 version.

Differences in the console versions[link]

Xbox 360 version[link]

Upon release, the Xbox 360 version had five exclusive maps, two exclusive characters, a two-player split screen mode,^[10] and all the downloadable content released by Epic already on the disc. With the release of the PS3 and PC "Titan Upgrade" patch on March 5, these versions offered the formerly exclusive Xbox 360 content, as well as other content.^[11] The Xbox 360 version does not support user-generated mods, as additional content has to be verified by Microsoft before being released. It is the only version to support controllers only.

PlayStation 3 version[link]

The PS3 version supports mods that can be uploaded and downloaded to the PS3's HDD or external media, as well as mouse and keyboard inputs. The 1.1 patch was released on March 21, 2008. It adds the ability for players using the North American and European versions to play together, fixes problems with some USB headsets, and displays the lowest pinging servers at top of the server list. Some updates only applied on the North American version, since the PAL version released in March 2008 was already partially updated.^[12] The 2.0 patch was released on March 5, 2009, and adds better PC mod support, split screen, smarter AI, forty eight attainable Trophies, server-side improvements, an improved map vote, local multi-player, and a new user interface.

Reception[link]

Unreal Tournament 3 received generally positive reviews from critics. The Windows version received an average score of 84% based on 38 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings,^[13] and an average score of 83 out of 100 based on 40 reviews on Metacritic.^[14] The PS3 version received an average score of 86% based on 41 reviews on the review aggregator Game Rankings,^[15] and an average score of 86 out of 100 based on 41 reviews on Metacritic.^[16] Xbox Magazine rated it 8.5 out of 10.^[17] Midway announced in March 2008 that they had shipped over 1 million units worldwide.^[18] GameSpot gave it a 8 out of 10 for the Xbox 360 version and 8.5 for PC and PS3.^[19] PlayStation: the Official Magazine gave it 5 stars out of 5 in its February '08 issue and stated, "UT3 looks great, but it's every bit the stunner under the surface."

Music[link]

Unreal Tournament 3: The Soundtrack is primarily based on the original Unreal Tournament score, which was composed by Straylight Productions and Michiel van den Bos.^[20][21] Jesper Kyd and Rom Di Prisco remixed many of UT99's tracks and composed several other original tracks, which were released on November 20, 2007 by Sumthing Else.^[22] Sandhya Sanjana was featured as a guest vocalist.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Unreal Tournament 3 at MobyGames

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)

Unreal Tournament is a first-person shooter (FPS) video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels. The game is based on the same technology that powered Unreal, but the design of UT shifted the series' focus to competitive multiplayer action, a trend at the time: id Software's Quake III Arena was released only ten days later.

Gameplay[link]

UT was designed as an arena FPS, with head-to-head multiplayer deathmatches being the primary focus of the game. The game's single-player campaign is essentially a series of arena matches played with bots. For team matches, bots are again used to fill the roles of the player's teammates. Even on dedicated multiplayer servers, bots are sometimes used to pad out teams that are short on players.

UT is known and widely praised^[2] for its bot A.I., the product of programmer Steve Polge who had earlier risen to fame by designing the Reaper Bot for Quake,^[3] one of the earliest examples of an effective deathmatch bot. The player can choose a bot skill level (anywhere from "Novice" to "Godlike") or set it to automatically adjust to the player's performance. Bots can be further customized by changing names, appearance, accuracy, weapon preferences, awareness, and so forth.

Game types[link]

• Deathmatch: A classic every-man-for-himself player vs. player combat. The objective is to out-frag all opposing players.
• Team Deathmatch: Teams compete together to out-frag the opponent team. Like Capture the Flag and Domination in this version—and unlike subsequent releases—four teams were allowed: Red, Blue, Green and Gold.
• Capture the Flag: Classic Capture the Flag. Players compete to capture the other team's flag and return it to their base. Competitive teams must use a great deal of teamplay. Both teams must defend the base from incoming attackers and get into the other team's base, take their flag and return to base. This requires that the team protect their flag carrier very well from enemies in order to complete their objective.
• Domination: Teams compete to control various control points to earn points and win the map. Standard maps contain three control points. Control of these points is initially accomplished through occupation (physically occupying the space), but control of a point continues until a player from another team occupies the space. The more control points one team controls, the faster it gains points.
• Last Man Standing: Similar to Deathmatch, the objective here is to remain alive longer than your opponents, putting an emphasis on number of deaths rather than kills. Players start with all weapons available, fully loaded, and have a set number of lives. Power-ups, including health and ammunition packs, are unavailable. Once a player runs out of lives they lose and have to wait as spectators until the match ends.
• Assault: This game type is played with two opposing teams, one assaulting a "base" and the other defending it. The map is set up with a number of objectives which the attacking team must complete (usually in sequence) such as destroying something, entering an area, triggering a button, et cetera. The team who first attacks then defends, and attempts to defend for the entire time they attacked. If they can accomplish this, they win the map. If the team defending first assaults the base faster than the other team, they win the map. If both teams defend for the maximum amount of time the map is a tie.

Reception[link]

Unreal Tournament received wide critical acclaim.^[4][5][8] Mainstream press reviews praised the graphics, gameplay, maps and multiplayer capabilities of the game. Computer Shopper concluded "Quake may have spawned the online deathmatch, but Unreal Tournament has taken it to the next level with its amazing graphics and fast-paced action. Online or off, this game rules!"^[18] In March 2000, Unreal Tournament was second on a list of best-selling games in Computer Dealer News trade magazine, behind Quake III Arena.^[19]

At GameRankings, the Windows version of Unreal Tournament holds an average review score of 94%.^[5] GameSpot praised Unreal Tournament's graphics, noting "As good as the original Unreal looked, Unreal Tournament looks even better. The character models and skins look excellent, and there are quite a few choices to make when designing your character."^[13] GameSpot also praised the multiplayer gameplay, weapons and level design: "The first-person shooter genre is fiercely competitive. But Unreal Tournament rises above the rest with its solid multiplayer performance, from its good weapon balance to its great level design."^[13] The game was similarly reviewed by GameSpy, who concluded: "Unreal Tournament raises the bar for first person teamplay games. This game is stuffed with content and polished until it gleams."^[14]

The Macintosh version of Unreal Tournament was equally praised. Macworld dubbed it the "Best network shooter for the Mac", and gave it the Game Hall of Fame award in 1999.^[17] In its review, Macworld editor Christopher Breen stated: "If the violence and hardware requirements don't unsettle you, you'll find Unreal Tournament nothing but unwholesome, bloody fun."^[17]

The PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast releases did not fare as well as the PC versions. The PS2 version has an average review score of 77% at Game Ratings.^[7] GameSpy criticized the graphics of the PS2 version, saying "Graphically, the PS2 version of Unreal Tournament seems uninspired."^[20] Its conclusion stated "Sluggish gameplay, somewhat washed out colors and textures".^[20] In addition to this, the PS2 version only allowed multiplayer games on 11 maps (7 deathmatch and 4 capture the flag). A novel, but relatively unused, feature is the ability to connect a keyboard and mouse through the PS2's USB ports. Players could then play in a similar manner to the PC version. This also allowed for up to 3 players without the use of a PlayStation 2 Multitap.

The Dreamcast version has an average review score of 88%.^[6] GameSpy's review said: "Well, believe it or not, there are lots of annoying features that drag the game down".^[21] GameSpy cited both slow framerate speeds and low sound quality as problems with the Dreamcast version.^[21]

Competition[link]

Unreal Tournament was played at the World Cyber Games in the years of 2001^[22] and 2002^[23] where the title was contended for in a deathmatch 1 vs 1 environment. This was where UT was played on an international scale, where players from all around the world went head to head to see who would be crowned world champion.^[24]

Place	WCG 2001[25]	WCG 2002[26]
1st	GitzZz	GitzZz
2nd	XS|Pain	Shaggy
3rd	XaN	eVeNfLoW

Modification[link]

Many fans have taken advantage of the chance to create mods for the game. These range from slight changes on some aspects of gameplay (such as map voting) to total conversions. One modification, ChaosUT, became popular enough that it was included with the 'Game of the Year' edition of the game, while Tactical Ops was released as a stand alone retail product.

Another popular mod, released by co-creator Digital Extremes, is "Relics", which adds items to the game which have various effects on the player who obtains them. Relics include Vengeance (when the player holding it dies, a skull appears at the point of death and then explodes in a similar fashion to the Redeemer); Defense (which lessens the damage done by weapons); Speed (which gives the holding player a boost in speed); Redemption (which teleports the holding player to a different area when the player's health meter is at 0); Strength (which boosts the damage done by the player's weapons); and Regeneration (which regularly increases the player's health by 10 points).

As with the original Unreal, the ease with which players can create and release mods to the core game is a key factor contributing to UT's longevity. UT improved upon the mod-friendly nature of its predecessor with support for mutators such as Sniper Arena, Instagib, JumpMatch, Low Gravity and more. Further, UT clans, or gaming teams, and a score of UT dedicated clan and fan community sites continue to sustain Unreal Tournament's popularity years after its initial release.

Sequels and remakes[link]

The success of the original Unreal Tournament has spawned three sequels, including Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 (on Unreal Engine 2.x) and Unreal Tournament 3, which was originally code named UT2007. This yearly naming structure, based around marketing the franchise as a competitive sports title, was abandoned shortly before the launch of the third sequel.

There have also been several efforts to remake Unreal Tournament by the community using newer engine versions, the largest in scope being Unreal Tournament Revolution, a total conversion for UT2004, featuring new music by original Unreal Tournament composer Michiel van den Bos. Because of differences in the styles of the sequels, the goal of such remakes are typically to take advantage of newer engine features and graphical capabilities while remaining true to the gameplay and style of the first Unreal Tournament.

In 2000, Digital Extremes announced a game with the name Dark Sector which was planned as a spiritual successor to Unreal Tournament and "the next step in the first person action gaming experience by blending the intense action elements of Unreal Tournament with the scope and character evolution of a persistent online universe".^[27] It was to feature an early clan/syndicate support,^[28] team battles, ladder matches and Space flight gameplay. However, the game (in this form) never would see the light of day as the original plan was scrapped. The title would resurface in 2004 with an entirely new focus and being developed for the late sixth generation of video game consoles.

Music[link]

	Unreal Tournament theme noicon The Unreal Tournament theme music written by Alexander Brandon
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The soundtrack for the game was primarily written by Alexander "Siren" Brandon, Michiel "M.C.A." van den Bos, Andrew "Necros" Sega, and Dan "Basehead" Gardopée, the same music artists who wrote the Unreal soundtrack, although only Brandon and Van Den Bos remained credited for it. The game (in contrast to Quake, which used CD audio) employed tracker music, which resulted in a considerably good sound quality with very little size trade-off.

Two additional tracks were contributed: one ("Firebr") by Tero "Teque" Kostermaa and Kai-Eerik "Nitro" Komppa, and one ("Razorback // Unreal mix") by Peter "Skaven" Hajba. These, however, remained uncredited for reasons unknown—Hajba's credits are in fact still intact in the instrument data in the file itself, and the original version of Kostermaa's song is available from his website,[1] although there are various differences. Users, such as map makers, may also add custom soundtracks to maps using UnrealED. Game composer Frank Klepacki was impressed by Alexander Brandon's contributions to the soundtrack.^[29]

System requirements[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Unreal Tournament at the Open Directory Project
• UTChat – Official IRC network for the UT series