Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

-Jeremy Sprader (yip345)

About a month ago I decided to buy this game because I've been an Unreal Tournament fan since the beginning. Despite the fact that one of my friends had said it was an awful game, I got it, brought it home, and put it in my now trusty Xbox 360. When the menu came up, I was frightened that it would not be a good game, (for whatever reason) and reluctantly went to the Campaign. The rest was history.

...But enough back story, on to the review.

The gameplay is excellent, it feels meaty and every weapon gives you a sense of manliness and buff, unlike Halo 3, where it just feels wimpy. (Yes, I'm comparing Unreal Tournament 3 in favor of Halo 3, and I do like UT3 more, and that's saying something, considering Halo 3 was my ex-favorite game.) The bots are a near-perfect level, and I say near-perfect because some of their difficulty seems a bit lopsided. For instance, they are (mind you this is all on the Normal difficulty) easy in the Deathmatches, perfect difficulty in Capture the Flag, and in Warfare they seem strangely difficult in most maps. Next we get to the graphics. And their splitscreen Campaign makes me rejoice, because it was so well done.

The graphics in this game are gorgeous. It's another thing that gives it the "meaty" feel. They look comparable to Gears of War, (obviously, it's Epic we're talking about here) but a little nicer and more colorful, due to the new engine and colorful characters and weapons. There are no game lags, at least, not in the offline modes, on the online ones there will be some lag, obviously. The vehicles in the game are well designed, with some unique minds at work, and the maps look like they should. I guess saying all this, you would think I'm a fanboy ranting about this game, and that I have nothing bad to say: WRONG! (3 things I dislike or am not content with.)

1. No user-created content (Damn you Microsoft!)
2. No Online Campaign Co-op (There is online Co-op, but it's non-Campaign oriented)
3. The BGM! (Let's get to that.)

I can't stand the BGM, (Background Music, for the n00bs.) and I never could in any Unreal Tournament game, it's just too repetitive and it's the kind of music that gets stuck in your head. (du na na nana na na na) At this point I'm just pulling hairs, and this problem can easily be solved (if you have a hard drive or computer connected to your 360) by going to the In-game Xbox Guide and turning on some Godsmack, (or Alicia Keys, if that's what your into) and continuing your game. And to be honest, I barely notice it at most times, because I'm to busy getting a MASSACRE! with the Darkwalker, or kicking arse online.

Overall, this game is magnificently great, and my favorite Xbox 360 game of all time, and it's all the more sweet if you have been a fan of the Unreal Tournament series.