Here's my attempt at a feel-good SW thread. UT3 is slated for release this year on the 360, PS3 and PC platforms(sorry , sheep). There's a lot of history to the Unreal Tournament franchise, and it's definitely one of the best multiplayer experiences out there.
Some of us will be revisiting an old friend, others will get to experience the series for the first time. I guess the purpose of this thread will be to inform everyone on what the game will offer, because it offers a lot! And we can all hop on the hype train together, before instagibbing each other to hell!
So what is Unreal Tournament? Well, it's a pure multiplayer experience. But things have changed in this new installment.The game will ship with a singleplayer component(with 4 player co-op and split-screen support), and the developers have stated that this isn't the usual "run thru a tournament with bots" SP that the game used to do. This has a full story mode. As you play thru the single-player campaign, you'll be offered different options. Your decisions will impact how the story plays out. Let's get into the campaign a little deeper...
The Story
The planet of Taryd is not a happy one. The government of Earth is distant,
and the planet's precious resources are controlled by three giant, evil corporations in a constant war of attrition. You've got the Axon (rugged, traditional sci-fi stalwarts), the Liandri (cyberpunky creators of the 'Unreal Tournament' competition itself) and
the Izanagi (oriental, pagoda-loving artistes). It's for the latter that your muscle has been hired.
Rather than the simple tournament structure of yore, the single-player missions, whether they boil down to deathmatches or Warfare matches (see 'How The Warfare Was Won', opposite), now link together to form a branching narrative. The plot will see you doing stuff like stealing technology from another corporation, laying claim to an area important for the refining of Tarydium or simply pushing forward with a military campaign.
What missions you embark on and whether or not you defect to a rival corporation will remain up to you - Epic are designing the game so you'll be able to see the ramifications of your decisions in the world at large. This whole shebang is controlled from what's currently a global view - a beautiful Earth-like planet with clusters of white spots marking specific map/mission areas. It's from here, or a screen very like it (Epic are still fine-tuning) that most of your decisions will be made as you play through the game. The 35-40 dots spiral up and over the globe alongside the story arc, eventually leaving terra firma for a few orbital frag-fests, then to another planet entirely for the final set of face-offs.
The Necris faction, you see, with their devastating Darkwalker tripods and flying Furies aren't just sitting around the multiplayer maps looking menacing. Partway through the single-player campaign they invade the planet of the bickering corporations and start transforming it to their own needs, hungry for Tarydium.
For a while you'll be able to ignore it, carrying on with the petty squabbles and demands of your faction, but it's not something you can ignore forever. To begin with, the Necris send in the Krall - horned reptilian chaps who thrive on outnumbering UT squads - and then the Necris and the big guns of their terrifying armoury start to hit the ground.
After the invasion, you return to familiar maps that have become infected with the goopy nanoblack that not only runs in the Necris' veins, but also is pumped through their lands. Dark clouds hang over Necris bases, black bony tentacles punch through walls and viscous black liquid oozes where clear water once ran. In short, in single-player and multiplayer alike, it's pretty bloody obvious at which end of the map the goodies and baddies live.
In the single-player campaign you won't be alone in your fight either, since Epic don't want you to feel like you're relentlessly fighting alongside barking AI bots. There'll be four main characters in your team, with plenty of verbal sparring, neat dialogue and personal tics crammed in. The aim is to make them feel and fight like real humans, though if you want to test the comparison there will also be a four-player co-op option with all the usual drop-in/drop-out functionality.
The vehicles
There will be a total of 18 vehicles in the game, ranging from spidery walking tanks to zippy scout gliders. Here's a few of the vehicles ;
Hellfire SPMA : One person pilots this mobile artillery while the second mans the guns ; once deployed, you can send a guidance camera into the atmosphere and target your foes with mortar fire. Hell yeah!
DarkWalker : This two-man vehicle features two turrets, and can crouch to reduce its profile in battle. Any enemies who think they can crouch underneath can look forward to what the devs describe as a "concussion fart". :o
Leviathan : A 5-man vehicle, each armed with their own turret and shield, this is the big daddy of the vehicles. You can decide to roll around in it, or clamp down to gain access to a very-long range megaweapon that only fires when stationary.
Scavenger : Retract the Necris bubble's three tentacle feet to roll thru the level at high-speed ; bring them out to crawl or jump. It deploys a drone that shoots out lighting bolts.
Cicada : It's been described as an air support vehicle. It's armed with lockon rockets that will follow your target regardless of which way you're facing when you fire.
Nemesis : Continuing with the reptile-like theme that runs through the entire Necris line-up, the Nemesis is a tank-like vehicle that kneels awaiting its passengers and then pops up when entered. It looks and feels very organic. The main weapon here is a twin-beam that fires and connects instantly which, coupled with the secondary fire zoom, makes it an ideal long-range killer.
Viper : I guess you could think of this as the Necris' answer to the Axon Manta. This single-passenger speeder reels off rapid-fire projectiles that can bounce off of walls which, with a fair amount of time invested, can take down a vehicle or foot soldier. The real strength behind this vehicle is its speed and mobility. You begin to understand its name-sake when you press the space button and the vehicle spreads apart like a viper's hood, allowing you to hover high in the air.
A user movie on the vehicles : http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=39918
The weapons
Enforcer - your default weapon, a pistol that fires a fairly rapid single shot or a triple-burst in secondary.
Redeemer - nothing known about this superweapon first seen in Unreal Tournament.
AVRiL - Expected to appear in all vehicular gametypes (Onslaught, Unreal Warfare, CTF), expect the Anti-Vehicular Rocket Launcher to be similar to its UT2004 predecessor.
Sniper Rifle - The ****c sniper rifle has returned to replace the Lightning Gun as the primary long range weapon. Expect a new twist to this weapon as well.
Canister Gun - This gun incorporates the Sticky Grenade Launcher and the Spider Mine Layer, and fires different projectiles depending on the ammo available to the player.
Target Painter - Epic plans to allow the Target Painter to control level-specific hazards in UT3.
Translocator - This Unreal series favorite returns to the Capture the Flag gametype, except for maps that contain vehicles, in which the hoverboard becomes the secondary method of transportation.
Impact Hammer - This mining tool turned melee weapon returns from Unreal Tournament and replaces the Shield Gun found in UT 2004. While lacking its predecessors excellent defensive measures, this instrument of terror will send enemies fleeing when they hear it's trademark jackhammer rumble. The primary fire is excellent for wiping out unsuspecting enemies that get too close, and can also be used to "jump" to previously unreachable areas of the map. The alternate fire mode is rumoured to have projectile thwarting capabilities.
BioRifle - Yes, the rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. This lovable little bundle of goo has enjoyed a significant facelift, as seen in the latest released concept art. The fire modes are exactly the same, though the sludge has a new odd-looking glow about it.
LinkGun - The recipient of a major visual overhaul, now an odd whitish color, this weapon returns, in functionality, to its Unreal Tournament state. That is to say, it still retains its healing abilities towards vehicles, but the primary fire is smaller and faster and the secondary is pretty much an arrow-straight beam of finite length.
Stinger - Essentially a projectile version of the minigun. In fact, the modes are exactly the same: a fast, inaccurate wide-spread and a slower firing higher-powered shot. I was told that it can nail opponents to the wall, though I saw none of that. It too can be seen in the latest trailer.
ShockRifle - Other than the visual upgrade, this weapon remains largely the same in terms of firing modes. The primary fire beam seems slightly slower than that of the 2004 version and the secondary cores seem a little faster and smaller.
FlakCannon - As have the rest of the weapons, this one has received a transformer-like makeover. The weapons in UT3 are visually very interesting. Nearly all of them have quite elaborate animations. The primary is the same, though the secondary has a much shorter arc.
RocketLauncher - The biggest things to note about this iteration of the weapon are the slower rocket speed and the much more useful lock-on. The lock-on probably won't be useful against people, but against some of the slower vehicles, it is tremendously more effective.
A nice user movie on them : http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=44507
The Game Types
UT3 will have a multitude of game modes, but they will be all derivatives of three main game types ; Deathmatch, CTF and Warfare. We all know how deathmatches and CTF's work, but let's delve into the Warfare mode a little.
While the popular Onslaught mode will return in UT 2007, Assault is once again going on hiatus (as it did in UT 2003 before returning in UT 2004), and in its place is the new Warfare mode (which was originally called "Conquest" when we saw the game last year). Like Assault, Warfare missions will have somewhat scripted objectives, but instead of having one team on offense and the other on defense, both teams will have their own set of objectives and push back and forth. As we were told by Epic lead designer Steve Polge, the missions in Warfare mode will be linked as sort of a campaign, with one mission leading to another. The direction a campaign takes may be different each play, depending on who wins, or if specific objectives are (or aren't) accomplished during a level.
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Now, what about the environments? This is obviously a crucial part of the game, because we all know how bad a game can get if we are being exposed to repetitive maps and poor level design. Well, my fellow fraggers, fear not ; UT3 is set to ship with between 30-40 maps, all of varying size and design. Sadly, media and info on how the maps look and play are hard to come by online, but I will edit my post once I find some info on them. What I do know is the developers plan on giving each platform exclusive maps, in the form of DLC.
We all know how good this game looks, as the devs put it, it's "gears on crack". It will be nice to see how a fast-paced shooter like this will perform on consoles. Yes, we've had Unreal Championship, but I always thought those games we're a bit slower that the UT series. This is the first true UT to be released since 04 on any platform, and I think we are all in for a treat! This is honestly a title no one should skip out on this year, as the depth of the gameplay , the customizability and amount of variety in ther game modes,the amount of content included, and the production values will be top-notch. And let's not forget that EPIC is developing it. That right there is assurance enough.
All of this info was pooled from various GS, IGN and other online sites, as well as the cover feature in the July OXM.
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