It may not be original, or even superior to predecessors, but UT3 is still a great first-person shooter at its core
Getting to the Necris homeworld is expensive and difficult after all, requiring a ship, a jumpgate, and the intelligence to get in and locate Akasha. As it would happen, mercenary work is plentiful. The resources of the G.E.D. (Global Earth Defense) have been stretched thin over the years, and mega-corporations like the Izanagi, Axon, and Phayder Corporations are at ends to secure limited resources in critical locations by any means necessary.
The Izanagi hire you and the rest of the Ronin to take on odd jobs under the direction of Malcolm, a former Tournament champion. You will lead the Ronin in securing existing locations under attack by competing corporations, to take additional facilities which present a tactical advantage, and to fight back against incursion by the inevitable Necris invasion. The jobs will take you across continents, into forests, across archipelagos, into the desert, across snowy canyons, and onto distant planets.
Every location is beautifully rendered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. The team has done a wonderful job creating an atmosphere unique to each location. Trees sway, mists rise, water ripples, and it becomes obvious why so many developers have been keen to snap up the technology for blockbuster titles like Bioshock and Mass Effect. Not only is it possible to sit back and take in the exquisitely modeling arenas, but to look closely at the character models, as well. Even face-to-face with another character, which is unlikely given the pace of the game, every facial pore and dent in the armor leaps out of the screen in vivid detail. With the possible exception of Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3 was probably the best looking game at the time of its release.
Of course, it can be difficult to take in its beauty when the average lifespan of the player is under thirty seconds. Like its predecessors, Unreal Tournament 3 is an incredibly fast-paced game. Gamers familiar with a first-person shooter interface will be quick to learn the basic functions of UT3, which uses a fairly standard WASD keyboard setup for movement and mouselook function for aiming. Mastering the nuances of movement, however, will take some time. Gone is the dodge-jump system from its predecessor. So, too, is the shield gun. Instead, the player must rely on rapid short hops and accurate aiming to ensure their own survival in UT3, and there are plenty of weapons to aim.
Every weapon in Unreal Tournament has two types of firing with the primary and secondary mouse buttons by default. The Biorifle, for example, primarily rapidly fires small globs of hazardous green globs that damage the opponent. The secondary fire will, when held down, form a mass of hazardous goo that can be released on one massive shot over an arc. Sometimes it can change the way the weapon is used. The shock rife, a particle weapon, fires an instant, infinitely long shot with the primary fire and slow-moving balls of destructive energy with the secondary fire. When the energy ball is shot with the beam, it explodes in a massively damaging sphere, typically destroying anything in a fairly large radius.
As if the large arsenal were not enough, there are a number of new vehicles and redesigns. Some are upgrades, such as the single-player Scorpion, which now fully encloses the player and has a turbo-boost feature. Some are downgrades, such as the Hellbender, whose rear cannon has lost much of its oomph and whose steering is awkward. But a number of interesting Necris vehicles with beam weapons, tentacles, and traps keep the vehicle lineup interesting.
Included game variations include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Vehicle Capture the Flag, and Warfare. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are standard enemy elimination rounds where you need to kill your opponent before they kill you. The one with the most kills, or frags, is the victor. Capture the flag is just that, run to the flag of the other team, take their flag by walking over it, and return it to your own without getting fragged, which drops the flag. Vehicle CTF is the same only with tanks, hovercraft, and the rest of the assorted UT3 mobile armament. Warfare is a variation of Onslaught, a game mode introduced in UT2004 that opened up huge maps with nodes that needed to be controlled to allow access to new vehicles, player spawn points, weapons, and the ability to take out the enemy core, the ultimate goal.
Gone are Assault, Bombing Run, Domination, and Double Domination game variations. Of the four, the loss of Assault is particularly disappointing, as its goal-oriented gameplay would have fit seamlessly with the single-player campaign.
As it stands, the single-player campaign is a bit thin. One might recall a generic action movie, where the characters are one-dimensional and plot contrived. As Reaper, you pick some assignments handed down from your employer, the Izanagi Corporation, while others are optional. Completing one mission over another has little bearing on the main plotline of securing Izanagi resources from competitors while Reaper tangentially seeks revenge on the Necris. Certain missions reward the player with "cards" that can be used for upcoming levels. The cards allow the gamer to add additional squad members beyond the default or upgrade vehicles. Unfortunately, the cards merely fill a gap in the game, since the missions are often heavily weighted against the player. For example, a Warfare mission might have you begin with one less teammate than the opponent, or a core that is already vulnerable to attack. Without the cards to compensate, the difficulty can border on frustration.
Still, the single-player campaign is lengthy and the NPCs non-player characters) are generally intelligently designed, offering some depth for gamers looking to play alone. Though giving orders does not often seem to matter, they do work well in teams and will support the player in a pinch. Your opponents and comrades alike degrade and gloat in an entertaining manner; though it has no tangible bearing on the gameplay, it certainly provides atmosphere. All in all, it is entirely possible to thoroughly enjoy UT3 without ever going online.
Online, however, is where Unreal Tournament has and continues to shine its brightest. Online is a sizable community of dedicated and casual players that range from the hardcore to the newbie. Maps that single players believe they have mastered take on new dimensions as human beings find nooks and crannies to exploit that would go unfound in single-player. Human beings require a change in tactics, faster thinking, and thicker skin. The taunts are somewhat more real when they are generated by actual people that have humiliated the player.
Finally, there is the bevy of content created by the users themselves. Epic Games provides players with a development kit with every game so that players can create modifications, such as new maps and character models. This adds significant replayability, even with the fairly sizable library of included maps.
The downside is that some of the content that made its predecessor stand out has been lost. Gone is the player-favorite Assault, the ability to quick dodge and jump, and the continued absense of the "Ripper" weapon. Further, the additional gadgets are so much fluff on a game that offers little play variety. Several levels are reimaginings of popular historical maps, beautiful as they are. The single-player campaign also feels tacked on, despite significant hype leading to its release.
Despite its faults, Unreal Tournament 3 is a great game that executes on a mature gaming format. Fans of the genre will generally be pleased at the improvements in visuals and balanced gameplay. Newcomers will enjoy the game for what it is: a solid first-person, science fiction shooter that does not tinker with its original formula.