Having found a home on the both the PC and PlayStation 3 late last year, we’ve been hearing promises of Unreal Tournament III coming to the Xbox 360 for quite some time now. Yesterday, Midway and Epic announced that they will finally be shipping the title for Microsoft’s console this summer.
In terms of modes and gameplay, there are no huge changes with the Xbox 360 release. It will still maintain the single-player campaign, as well as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Warfare modes. The game will include two extra characters, each with its own enhanced abilities, as well as five new maps exclusive for the Xbox 360; additionally, all of the previously released downloadable content will also ship on the disc. And there’s good news for people who actually like to be close to human beings – UT III on the Xbox 360 supports split-screen play.
The game was up and running at Midway’s Gamers' Day, and there’s not too much to report. The game looks good (although not quite as sharp as the PlayStation 3 version) and runs smoothly on the Xbox 360. I do prefer the feel of the Xbox 360 controller, but that’s at the expense of the game lacking keyboard and mouse support. The extra content 360 owners will be getting is nice, but the lack of proper support for user-generated content due to Microsoft’s strict “Anti-Things That Gamers Want” could genuinely hurt this title’s appeal for some. For sure, it’ll only be a matter of days before the community re-creates all five maps and the two extra characters for the PC and PS3.
Modifications aside, UT III shipped as a pretty solid game out of the box, and at the right price point (Midway recently announced price drops for both the PS3 and PC versions of the game) should definitely be worth a look for most fans of twitch-based first-person shooters. Hopefully Xbox 360 gamers will be able to pull themselves away from Call of Duty 4 long enough to give it a go when the game ships later this year.
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"due to Microsoft’s strict 'Anti-Things That Gamers Want'"
I loled.
I have a fear of commitment and other human beings, but that's good the 360 is getting split-screen play. Makes one wonder, if a split-screen patch is coming to the PS3.
Too little too late
I am to damn excited about this!
I bought it on PS3 since the 360-version won't allow user-mods...
the user-made-character-models are brilliant!!!
39.99. That's how much it is on the PS3 with over 50 FREE maps and Mutators, and skins as well. With more being done daily as well as new game types like 2-D UT3.
I'm glad the 360 is finally getting it but it's a shame they wont partake in custom mods and whatnot because Microsoft are a greedy bunch.
nice hope they enjoy it, I wonder why is it 360 can get split screen n ps3 doesnt...
User mods are usually the best thing that happens for a game and UIII is no exception. I am not buying this on the Xbox 360 and will wait until my purchase of a PS3 by the end of the year (yeah I can actually wait that long), then it will be one of the first PS3 titles I own.
Sorry Microsoft, you shot yourself in the foot when you disallowed user mods. Bye bye.
Damnit Microsoft, quit being like that.
umm, i dont kno if u guys noticed, but a large majority of 360 owneres wrote this game off . theres a rumor that there will be some gears 2 preview or something shipping with the game. i hope thas true because this game is pretty done
Is anyone else bothered at all by the fact that UT3 is advertised as from the studio that brought you Gears of War? Don't get me wrong I love my GoW just as much as the next guy but Unreal came out when? Like mid to late nineties? Maybe i'm getting old, but it seems kinda backwards.
I love the 360, but this is a clear example of Microsoft not totally getting it. I understand wanting a safe online gaming environment, but maybe this could be a test to get your servers up to proper protection instead of making the community suffer.
The 360 is so close to losing 2nd place to the PS3, you would think they would be stewing some good PR tactics...this is not what they need.
@kaz Just shows you how much Consoles have overshadowed the PC market. Pretty sad ain't it?
Oh noes! The PS3 has mods but the 360 doesn't! This game suddenly sucks and I'm not buying it! ;)
User mods and maps are nice to have, but 99% of them are utter shit.
@ElfShotTheFood
Uh, have you tried ANY of the mods or maps? Almost every single one of them rocks on the PS3.
I also hope for a split-screen patch for the PS3 version, also. That should have been included in the beginning, and not having it makes me want to trade my copy in for Call of Duty 4 or something like that.
Also, I'll bet that like a month after this is released, someone remakes the 360 exclusive levels for the PS3.
I, for one, am glad that Microsoft is thinking of the user. Sure, user-generated content is cute and all, but the risks are simply too high. What if I try to type a research paper and accidentally spend twelve hours playing Mass Effect instead?
@ ultra
Thats absurd. Have you played UT3 for the ps3 or pc? MS needs to lighten up. User generated content is too much of a risk? I think you have more chance of getting a rrod than anything happening by dling some mods for ut3....
I am not getting a PS3 until after I move (moving is expensive) and my PC is a pile of shit. I'll take what I can get for now, but Microsoft's bullshit is aggravating and I'll be migrating over to the PS3 on this game as soon as I can.
Xbox Exodus, man ... I warned you guys it would happen one day. :-)
Exodus??? for an okish shooter. Nope. COD4 is a big fat monolith on the fps landscape, god help anyone trying to weasel in on this space, especially as the GTA multiplayer stuff is bound to be good.
Bargain bin in a few months, bad time to release a shooter.
I also think Microsoft was right to halt mods as the microsoft badge is a lot more appealing for a hacker than sony. Shame though, I used to love the mods on older UT games. There should really be some sort of clearance system like XBLA etc.
@ultrapeanut
Risk? Lawl big time @ you because you are a TOOL.
I'll be getting this title on the PS3 when I buy one. Its a perfect example of a superior version of a game winning out over achievements. It's proof that even though I have achievement points from Kameo and King Kong (both great games, so stfu) I'm not REALLY an achievement whore.
I'm still waiting for a total conversion, I only and PURELY bought UT3 for all those total conversions that come out. Which sadly enough often take years. How can you say no to free games?
UPDATE
Mods in some form may be coming, seems like someone was listening.
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/04/19/ut3-360-will-have-mods-in-some-form/
I get the mental image of Epic smuggling these mods to the 360 version via some sort of underground railroad.
For all of their faults, Sony's trying to make the PS3 do it all, while Microsoft actively tries to avoid things that make sense in the interests of "not being too much like a computer" or "protecting the end-user." I doubt hackers could do any more damage to a 360 than its own design flaws currently do.
Ultrapeanut, that was a crucial burn.
bones.
@DryvBy
It's called humor. Get a sense of it.
Ill get get if its for 40 dollars other wise Ill wait for it someday I guess
I'd just like to applaud ultrapeanut for having the class to not even deign to respond to the people who failed to understand that his comment about the risk of user-generated content was a joke (and how could you not, after the last line?), and just going on with his life.