Archive for category U

Supposedly this has been known for a while, but even following the development of the game, I’ve never come across this small little tidbit: UT3 for the PS3 has no splitscreen mode!

Colour me crazy if you want, but this totally breaks the deal for me. I was SO looking forward to getting UT3 for the PS3, downloading and installing mods, and having fragfests with my friends. But no. There’s no splitscreen, so scratch the whole actually-enjoying-the-game aspect of UT3.

This sucks.

A couple Unreal Tournament 3 reviews for you today, starting with 1UP:

As for today, the arrival of Unreal Tournament 3 stands to be one of the highlights of the year for Net-connected PS3 owners. For many, this will be a fresh experience, lessening the impact of the modest mode options and lack of some fan favorites from prior versions. At the same time, the lessons learned over the years of iteration and the sparkling new graphics engine make this the latest and greatest version for fans of the series. While that experience factor also benefits the bot A.I., that shine may wear off fairly fast for those not planning to play online.

Unreal Tournament 3 Playstation 3 Review

IGN doesn’t give a full review just yet. They have an “impressions” post, where they state at the end:

In the meantime, you should know that all signs point to this being an excellent version of Unreal Tournament 3, offering a unique and enjoyable brand of FPS action.

Unreal Tournament 3 First Impressions

Good news there on the review and impressions. Now for the bad news. If you were to go out and buy the PC version of UT3 in order to put together a level for import into your PS3 version, you’d be out of luck. The tools for cooking a level for PS3 export are not available yet. On the Epic forums, they say:

However, the PS3 mod tools aren’t quite ready yet. We are working through some final legal/release issues.

When it’s ready, you will need to download the latest PC patch and another PS3 Mod Tools “patch” that adds the full PS3 mod support to the PC version.

You will have to cook ypur mods for the PS3 specifically. You will also need removable media (memory card, USB drive, etc) to transfer the mod from your PC to your PS3.

We will have the tools ready ASAP!!

So the tools are coming. Just be patient.

Edit: CVG put up three cool PS3 UT3 videos.

Gamasutra has a great interview with Mark Rein up on their website. Here’s a snippet about user-created content on the PS3 (imported to the PS3, created on the PC):

BS: To me, that seems to be a bit of a conceptual leap, in terms of how people are trying to run stuff. Maybe I’ve got it all wrong.

MR: No, that’s what’s so special about this game. We’re enabling people not just to move the furniture around in the levels we give them. You’ve seen in-game level editors, and that’s essentially what they do. They let you move blocks and stuff they already created around, and in the most sophisticated one, maybe it lets you make terrain and things like that. We’re divorcing ourselves from that kind of ridiculousness.

This is the full power of the Unreal Editor. The same editor we used to create the games is now available to you. You want to import your objects you made in 3D Studio Max or Maya? Bring them in! You want to code an UnrealScript? Code an UnrealScript! All those things you can do. If they fit on our map, you can stick them on the PlayStation 3 and they’ll run!

BS: How does exactly that go through you?

MR: It doesn’t go through us.

CN: Does Sony not care?

MR: It’s user-created content! It’s fantastic! I can’t understand why people are so nervous about what Sony… no, Sony’s wonderful. When they embrace user-created content, that’s what it means to be an open system. That’s why we’re on PlayStation 3 first — because they are embracing user-created content. It’s not just moving the deck chairs around the boat. They are embracing real art.

I wish every game did this! Wouldn’t it be cool to take those maps you know are coming for CoD4 PC version, and play them on your PS3?

The Unreal Man: Mark Rein Speaks

I have only played the demo, but Uncharted looks like a great title. However, from the impressions that I’ve read it will take around ten hours to complete and the replay options sound limited. Others have said that they love replaying to get all the treasure items and bonus points, but realistically, I don’t see myself doing that. I’ve also heard that the play time is very action packed and has minimal repitition and “fluff”, but the simple fact is that I can rent this, finish it, and then return it if I choose.

Should I rent or buy?

From a selfish consumer perspective, it seems like best option is to rent: it may be a great title, but I can simply rent for a few weeks at the small cost of my montly game rental service, and I will get most the enjoyment and experience out of the title.

On the other hand, I’d like to support these types of titles and see more of this type of product in the future. Renting definitely doesn’t do that. Regardless of how much I enjoy the product, the developer and publisher of the game will see almost no money from a rental.

I’m leaning towards renting. Sure, that behavior won’t support this type of high quality product, and if everyone starts doing that, these types of products will disappear, but that isn’t my job. My job as a consumer is to make myself happy for the least amount of money. Also, I am buying plenty of other PS3 products.

What are you planning to do?

In case y ou missed it, here’s some recent UT3 gameplay.

Unreal Tournament III – Flag Capturing Gameplay HD

Unreal Tournament III – Flag Defense Gameplay HD