Official Unreal Tournament 2007 Thread **56k friendly**

UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2007

Format: PlayStation 3
Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Midway
Genre: First Person Shooter


20 Apr 06 Behold, ladies and gentlemen, the first exclusive look at the amazing Unreal Tournament 2007 on PlayStation3. This isn't just a fancy tech demo with a character walking around an empty room that'll bear no resemblance to the finished game. Oh no. This is an actual living, breathing, balls-out first-person fragfest, which is going to be one of the console's launch titles. Now pick up your jaws from the floor and we'll continue.

Some of you may be wondering why you should get so excited about what's traditionally been a PC game for years. Well, for starters this is no ordinary PC game. Unreal Tournament picked up the online multiplayer shooter mantle from Quake III at the turn of century (you may remember the first game on PS2 in 2001) and quickly established itself with two further additions as the premier game of its type. At one point there was even talk of it becoming an annually updated franchise along the lines of EA Sports games, but since Unreal Tournament 2007 is the first game in the series since 2004, we're guessing the comparison wasn't seen as a flattering one. And quite right, too.

The potential for a fantastic new Unreal Tournament game was there for all to see at Sony's pre-E3 press conference last year, where developer Epic showed off its Unreal Engine 3 that, at the time, had been in development for nearly two-and-a-half years. That explains the long break between Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Tournament 2007 then.

Back to the present and we're being treated to an exclusive demo of the game running on a PS3 dev kit. It looks superb even at this early stage and, graphics tarts take note, the finished game is being targeted to run at a high-definition 720p resolution. Characters are 1500 times more detailed than the models in Unreal Tournament 2004, with two types revealed so far: the red armour-clad Twin Souls warriors who are the heroes of the single-player game, and the yellow-armoured Iron Guard soldiers who are still under the command of series veteran Lauren.

GODS OF GRUNGE
The futuristic sci-fi setting has led to past games looking a bit too clean and angular, an observation also noted by Epic and addressed here with what it has dubbed 'grungification'. Definitely their word, not ours. That is, walls and objects should appear dirty, scuffed and even show signs of decay to illustrate the consequences of past tournaments or battles. This is apparent in a deathmatch map called Carbon Fire, set within a robot factory on Liandri and bearing all the hallmarks of a grimy industrial environment. There are plenty of conveyor belts and floating platforms around, and you can even see robots being assembled in the background.

According to lead designer Steve Polge, the actual gameplay side of things has been worked on for about a year. Epic started off by playing older Unreal Tournament games and other first-person shooters just to get a feel for them again and to go back to the series' roots. These hands-on playing experiences were then used as a template to refine the basics, the movement and the weapons for a new generation of PS3 players. After all, there's a big difference between using a PC mouse and keyboard and using a console controller to aim and move your character around - especially the new boomerang design.

The weapons in particular will be largely familiar to Unreal Tournament veterans, but enhanced with some gorgeous touches and effects. For example, when firing the rocket launcher new shells will visibly move into the barrel and a waft of smoke will disperse into the air. You can also see the link gun open up to reveal its onboard cells when using its alternate fire. Whizzing around a level trying to concentrate on targeting players and avoiding their fire probably means you won't notice these finer details and working mechanics, so Epic even bothering to take the time and trouble to include them at all is somehow rather encouraging. the movement and the weapons for a new generation of PS3 players. After all, there's a big difference between using a PC mouse and keyboard and using a console controller to aim and move your character around - especially the new boomerang design. The weapons in particular will be largely familiar to Unreal Tournament veterans, but enhanced with some gorgeous touches and effects. For example, when firing the rocket launcher new shells will visibly move into the barrel and a waft of smoke will disperse into the air. You can also see the link gun open up to reveal its onboard cells when using its alternate fire. Whizzing around a level trying to concentrate on targeting players and avoiding their fire probably means you won't notice these finer details and working mechanics, so Epic even bothering to take the time and trouble to include them at all is somehow rather encouraging.

GOT A NEW MOTOR?
Guns are all well and good, but when you're trying to make the PS3 equivalent of Halo 2, in other words the one game that everyone talks about and identifies the console with, vehicle warfare is now a basic requirement. Polge is excited most about this aspect of the game: "We're really innovating most with the vehicles. We think it's something that will really translate well to the console. It's one case where a console controller is actually better suited for gameplay."

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Fans have blasted EA for the Madden series, oftentimes saying it’s the same game with a few tweaks and prettier graphics. In what ways is UT2K7 not “the same old game”?

When you work with franchises, you need to be very careful to ensure that what your customers enjoyed about the previous titles is present in the new release. At the same time it’s a great opportunity to appeal to gamers that perhaps didn’t find the original to be their cup of tea. UT2007 strikes what we think is an ideal balance. Take Onslaught for example. It still involves capturing nodes and destroying the enemy’s Power Core. Anyone who enjoyed the previous incarnation will immediately be able to start playing and having fun. Where we’re innovating is a vastly increased roster of vehicles compared to UT2004, new types of objectives during the match, and even persistence results between individual maps.

Which maps and weapons from UT2K4 will make an appearance in UT2K7?

Lots of franchise favorites will be making a return appearance. On the weapon front you can expect new and improved versions of the Shock Rifle, Rocket Launcher and Flak Cannon. In our eyes, it just wouldn’t be UT without them. For maps, you can expect fan favorites like DM-Deck and CTF-Face getting the UE3 treatment. We’re pretty excited about all our new maps, but some of those classics have been in every incarnation of UT, and 2K7 won’t break the tradition.

Are you planning to have playable demos on the floor at E3?

For E3 we’re planning to have a theater demonstration where we will be conducting in-game tours of selected highlights of UT2007 in the most efficient manner.

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