Customer Reviews

Unreal Tournament III Collector's Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Games that are as long awaited as UT3 always bear the inherent danger of becoming over-hyped and to inevitably disappoint in the end. Well, this is NOT the case with this game. UT3 ROCKS!

Graphically you have not seen anything that beautiful this year! Surfaces, shadows and explosions are just GORGEOUS! Yes, I liked the graphics even more than those in CRYSIS (and I gave CRYSIS a raving review - check it out if you like): they are crisper and even more atmospheric.

Fans of the UT-series will meet again all our old ...friends: the Bio Rifle, the Link Gun, the Shock Rifle, the Flak Cannon (my favorite!), the Rocket Launcher and the Sniper Rifle. New additions are the Enforcer (to replace the under-used Assault rifle) and the Impact Hammer (replacing the shield gun). An interesting twist: hitting an enhanced target with the Impact Hammer's alternative fire will drop his power-up for you to grab!
SuperWeapons are also at our disposal, both the Redeamer and the new Target Painter.

The number of available vehicles has been enriched as well. Besides the Axon vehicles from UT2004 (which have been renovated), a new Necris set is available: vehicles that demonstrate novel behaviors, yet are beautifully balanced with the Axon set.

What is really impressive once more are the environments. You have to see them to believe them...! And the skies...! I have not seen more breathtaking skies ever since, well, the original UNREAL.

Since this is a pretty demanding game, once the rockets start flying do not trust that by meeting the Minimum requirements you will be cruising. So, here are the official RECOMMENDED requirements:
· Pentium 2.4GHz Dual-Core (or AMD equivalent)
· 1GB of RAM
· nVIDIA 7800GTX (or ATI equivalent)
· 8GB of HDD space
· WinXp(SP2) or WinVISTA

This is the Collector's edition mind you. So, for the extra $10 all you get (apart for the...tin box) is an ART BOOK on vehicles, characters, weapons and environments design. I guess it's up to each one to decide.

CRYSIS is surely getting a run for its money for GAME OF THE YEAR!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Despite what you may read from some grognards, this game hasn't changed much from the original. It's still fast paced, twitch-based shooter gameplay at its best. The bots are smarter, the guns are much more balanced than in 2003 or 2004 (I can once again get headshots with the Enforcer!!) and the superfluous adrenaline system has been excised. The two faction's vehicles are likewise balanced, but dissimilar enough to merit different tactics for each. Couple this with gorgeous graphics, the first soundtrack in the series I actually enjoy, a fun and accessible single player and slick controls and you have one of the gaming high points of this year. This is not to mention the Buzz3d VTMs that come with the Collector's Edition. Those, by themselves, make this package a five star deal.

... so then why only four stars? My biggest problem is that I can't turn off the dodging feature. I'm sure there are those out there who swear by it, and they could probably take me to the cleaners, but I don't like using it and would rather turn it off. I'm also not a fan of the menu design. I know it's a small gripe, and I wouldn't actually take off a star for this sort of thing, but along with the slight control scheme issue, it's one star less for an otherwise outstanding addition to the series.

At the time of this writing, May 8, 2008, UT3 ROCKS!

First, the bad (and NOT much about this game is bad!):

1) There were some bugs that I found with the initial install of the game on my PC, namely some menu item issues and some video features issues, but as far as I can tell ALL of these issues were resolved with the 1.2 patch. This patch is available for download, for free, so no worries. Just update the game, and v1.2 works slick as heck.

2) The second issue is controlling vehicles. It's either that I am just no good at keyboard controls, or the vehicles were designed to work with a controller. If this an issue, I would suggest trying to remap keys or maybe adding a joystick controller. I haven't bothered to do either, mainly because the war maps are just as fun on foot or on hoverboards as they are in vehicles. I found these maps just as fun no matter how you decide to play them.

3) Another issue - if you could even call this an "issue" - is that the Deathmatch game mode has a very familiar feel to the previous UTs, namely UT99 and UT2004, however, I think this iteration of UT has some of the best look and feel to the game, even better than UT2004 which I enjoyed quite a bit. I actually like the gameplay of this version of UT more than any previous version of the game.

The Good:

This is definitely, far and away, the best looking and feeling UT ever. The artwork and graphics are jaw-dropping on a decent machine (I have a core 2.4 duo and an Nvidia 8600m GT with 256mb RAM and 2GB system RAM). Load "DM-Ferarless" for just one example. The levels are all interesting, quite different, and very fun to play and that's just the deathmatch part of the game. If you get into warfare or capture the flag maps, the game offers some very different game experiences and seems to be to be a vast improvement over UT2004 in almost every conceivable way. Everything is done top notch. I was fairly happy with UT2004, but got bored of it rather quickly - mainly because of the game play and some maps that got boring rather quickly. Not so with UT3. In this version, the more I play it, the more I love it. I didn't expect that reaction when I bought this game, but after playing hour after hour, I can really feel how much love and dedication went into making this game. When I first played it, I expected to just play a map or two for about an hour. I ended up playing the game for about 6 hours the first night - just to see more! If you are a UT fan, you'll more than get your money's worth.

After owning and playing every version of UT so far, UT3 takes me back to how fun and engaging the original UT99 was when it came out - but this is oh so much better at the same time. Epic has taken all the best aspects of previous versions of UT and elevated the "frag fest" high-paced action of traditional FPS games to a new level. The audio is stellar, the game effects are awesome (such as hot gases physically warping your view of in game objects), the weapons are all great, and this game definitely has the nebulous "fun factor" nailed.

But that's just the game itself...

The very BEST part about this collector's edition package is the additional bonus content DVD. This DVD includes some 20 hours of instructional videos detailing EXACTLY how to use UnrealEd 3 (the actual Epic map / level editor) to create your very own custom UT3 maps / levels using anything and everything that ships with UT3, including every texture, every model, and every feature that you see in UT3. If you take the time to learn it (I've been learning for about 3 weeks, about 2 hours a night, so far), you will find out that UnrealEd 3 is one of the easiest and best level editors ever made (and yes, I have been a professional Mission Designer for PC games), so there you go. For the additional $10 bucks you get hundreds of hours of fun not just playing the game, but creating content for the game itself.

You will need to go to Epic's forums to find out how to actually publish and distribute your custom maps or mods, but if you are serious about doing your own maps or levels, all of the resources are available either in this game itself or online. Also, Epic changed a couple of features of the editor itself after the instructional videos were made, but these issues are very minor, and I know why Epic changed the editor slightly: To make sure that every map created with UnrealEd 3 will work on every installation of UT3. (A rather nice touch if you think about it.)

The bottom line? Buy this game and feel good about having it in your game collection.

If you have never played UT, this version is arguably the best version of UT so far and you'll totally get your frag-fest money's worth by buying it. If you are a UT fan already, I think this game will speak for itself once you play it for a few hours and see much of what the game has to offer. To me, this is one of those games where the more you play it, the more you feel like you got a great bargain at $50. This game is definitely not sitting on a shelf - like some other PC games I bought recently.

Been looking forward to this game for a long time. a loyal gamer to the UT series.The modding tools are one of the best there is.The gameplay mechanics are solid. However the single player campaign and the new orb feature for warfare are extremely lacking and annoying. The graphics are gorgeous. too many of the wanted game types from older UT games are missing,leaving an extreme workload for modders. The engine is still hands down the best yet.

I've been a UT fan since the moment I saw the original Unreal game run on Glide via a Voodoo card back in the late 90s. It has been a long time waiting for UT3. Was it worth it? Absolutely! The look, feel, and gameplay of UT3 is a total win for Epic and Midway. I especially like the added realism obtained with a PhysX card and maps designed to exploit it, of which there are currently two from Ageia, with the promise of more to come.

But... I don't care for the user interface that you use to set up the game. Even with the v1.1 patch. Many of the settings are only adjustable via the command line or by editing ini files. It shouldn't have to be that way.

And... why all the foul language? I wanted to show my kid some of the game and I unplugged my headphones so she could hear the sound effects. I was totally embarrased by the cursing and swearing of the AI characters (yes, offline AI characters)! This also is supposed to be controllable by editing ini files, but it hasn't worked for me yet. Totally unnecessary. Do Epic programmers think foul language makes the game better??!

As for the extras included with this collector's edition, the bonus DVD is awesome (as usual), but the mini-hard covered book of concept art has low value for me. I would have rather it been full of maps and tips/tricks and weapon details and storylines, etc. to add to the UT3 universe, its lore, and improve my overall gaming experience.

Although it has some of the feel of UT2004, it has a lot of changes to make it oh so much better. It's a really addictive game weather you're playing against the bots, or playing online. The bots are using a much better AI this time as well. The only downside is that it is kinda making me want to upgrade my system due to some choppiness at times. I still give it 5 Stars just due to the addictive action. My specs are below in case anyone is curious.

My current system

OS - Vista Ultimate - (UT3 runs better in XP than in Vista for me...FYI)
CPU - Athlon 64 X2 6400 - 3.2GHz (Athlon 64 X2) - Below the recommended specs, but does ok.
Memory - 2GB (Upgraded from 1GB, thinking I need more)
Video - ATI X850 XT (256MB) - In XP...make sure you have the most current driver (Catalyst).

Well i got the collector's edition. I had some Problems saving settings and the menu was annoying at first. but as far as i know all the problems i had were fixed with the first patch.so unless you have an internet connection or you can bear with your settings reseting i wouldn't get it.
They have removed some game modes from ut2004 so there is a bit less variety in this game at first,but modder's will probably make some more. the tutorials included on the bonus disk are not as varied as the one's that come with the ut2004 editor's choice edition but i guess it is a different engine now

overall an initial disappointment but if your a fan of classic ut it is similar to that now

I was the first one out the door when bestbuy received the game yesterday. With excitement in my foot steps, I quickly drove home and loaded the game on the computer.. and that is where the excitement ended.

I was expecting a huge change in the game, like the difference between Unreal when it first came out and unreal 2004. The graphics and game play were entirely different, most of the maps were win the 2004 package still and some maps that were new, but a lot more maps were included with UT 2004 as compared to The original UT.

In CTF, there are only 6 maps. They brought back an old from the original game, and left out classic maps like face classic, face 3 and the like, and what I love the best is the intel commercial.

Death match mode has several more maps, but several of the great UT 2004 maps are missing.

I just figured that after all these years in development, they could make a few maps, especially the classic fun maps.

I've been a massive fan of the Unreal franchise for ages now but I was slightly disappointed in UT3.

The Main reasons I'm disappointed with the game is the fact that there are only 5 texture and difficulty settings when the past games have had about 15 each.

Luckily this doesn't really pull down the overall fun factor of the game. The game is definitely doesn't hold anything back when it comes to gameplay and overall style.

With the ability to download 2 Physx based maps the overall gameplay take a massive boost but in order to truly play using the Physx maps you need a computer stronger then what it takes to run EA Game's Crysis.

This game falls under Unreal Tournament 99 as the second best Unreal Tournament game of the franchise.

This is a must buy for all FPS fans and gamers just getting into the genre.

The added art book in this collectors edition is quite nice.

i love this game -- the maps are great, weapons are tight, the game is intense. if you enjoyed any previous version you will enjoy this one.

UT99 has always been one of my favorite games. i still have the GOTY installed in 2007. The xbox version of UT (like UT2003) was ok - but not better. Unreal Championship on xbox was great - explain to me why this was never backwards compatible on the 360 ... so I refused to by a 360.... never the less - gaming with a trackball and keyboard is soooo much better - and thus UT3 is highly welcome. Min specs are pretty low and it looks great - running C2D E6600, 2G, X1950XTX on XP with highest settings - looks hot - no sweat, never any slow downs. all the fever without the virus.

i never played around with UEd - however I have always enjoyed user maps with UT99. this time around i decided to get in on the action and put down 10 smackeers for the collectors edition. This edition includes the UEd for UT3 with at least 20 hours of instructional video. Don't waste your time with a torrent - 10 bucks are not worth wasting your gaming time for these downloads. Just cancel your WOW subscription - that's 180 loonies your wasting a year - ouch! the choice is simple. the tin box contains an ARTBOOK. ok if you like that stuff - but the real art is in the game. why do we even waste our time going to museums when we could spend a day in a new map? i've spent hours just flying around the levels to check them out. UEd is great and within 2 hours you will be designing the coollest looking maps. if alive today picasso would have had a T1, a thermaltake tower painted in pink, a 1000W PSU, with components upgraded every 6 months and head phones under his tuque. his gamertag would be pablo_meat.

now - i never owned UT2003 and UT2004 for the PC - but I must agree with some previous users that the game may have been shipped out the door a little early (for the holiday period 2007). i suspect that we are going to get a new year 2008 bonus coming down the pipeline and i am already salivating. remember that they are writting for PC - 360 - PS3. wouldn't that slow you down? just think about what the GOTY edition will be like in a year with all the user maps that will be made. remember that 2 heads are better than 1 - now think about 200 000 heads writting maps.....i think pablo would have quit his job....and then painted his tower blue.

my advice: click "Add to Shopping Cart", and now i have to get back to the fun....ciao