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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 11, 2008

System: PlayStation 3

Also available for: Windows PC (Microsoft Xbox 360 later this year)

Publisher: Midway

Reviewer's rating: **½

ESRB rating: Mature

Game type: First-person shooter

Kind of like: "Quake III Arena"

Best feature: Smooth graphics

Worst feature: Game moves too fast, repetitive soundtrack

The bottom line: "Unreal Tournament III" stays true to its original formula, harking back to the days of hyper-speed PC shooter action. By and large the game hasn't changed since the original 1999 incarnation.

The online multiplayer section offers several game modes, including large-scale warfare, deathmatch and variations of capture the flag.

Generally, shooters designed for the PC need tweaking to work well on a console. (See "Half Life 2" for the Xbox 360 as an example of a good PC transfer.) "Unreal Tournament III" plays a bit too fast on the PlayStation 3, with noticeable frame-rate jumps here and there.

Gameplay amounts to what you'd expect from an "Unreal" game - impressive graphics and sound, with loads of extra weapons and goodies thrown in. The translocator gun, for instance, shoots a small disc which can be used as a teleportation point - think of the "Orange Box" portal gun, but much less innovative.

An impressive modification system allows players to alter maps and weapon/vehicle layouts for all to use. "Mods" must be created with the PC version and can be exported to the PS3 via a flash card or USB drive.

The single-player campaign plays like an afterthought - which it is.

Stephen Hammill

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