E3 06: Unreal Tournament 2007 Preshow Report

The Unreal Tournament series of sci-fi first-person shooters will make a triumphant return next year in Unreal Tournament 2007, which will also be shown off at E3 in Los Angeles. The last game in the series, Unreal Tournament 2004 on the PC, was a runaway hit with its tight controls, fast-paced gameplay, and seemingly limitless game modes, including the vehicle-based onslaught gametype. UT 2007 will offer a number of enhancements, most notably in the form of the Unreal 3 gameplay and graphics engine, which promises to offer extremely detailed graphics and physics effects for the explosions and mayhem that characterize the series.

UT 2007 will offer both online play against human opponents and offline play against bots. The bots in previous UT games were renown for their lifelike cunning and skill, so it will be interesting to see what enhancements have been made in the artificial intelligence of UT 2007. Familiar weapons like the link gun and biorifle will return, as will game modes like onslaught. What's new are massive vehicles like the Leviathan tank and Darkwalker mech, the latter of which resembles something out of War of the Worlds. Other game modes like instagib CTF will also be available.

Stay tuned to GameSpot for more information on UT 2007 as news breaks. The game is currently scheduled to ship in 2007 for both the PC and PlayStation 3 platforms.