PS3 Fanboy

For the Unreal devotees, it shouldn't come as surprising that Unreal Tournament III is shaping up quite nicely. Already far along in development, this PC/PS3 first person shooter is pushing the boundaries of the already-impressive Unreal Engine even further. Not only are the weapons demonstrated in this video, but the vehicles are, as well. Some of them are quite creative, we have to admit.

While we're impressed, we're worried that the current popularity of Warhawk may deter fans from switching to yet another multiplayer shooter. While UTIII and Warhawk have very different approaches to the genre, we hope that gamers don't get too burned out from their endless Warhawk sessions.

[Thanks, Daichi!]

Those still on the fence and waiting for a demo of Unreal Tournament 3 are unfortunately out of luck. Mark Rein has stated that there will be no PS3 demo before the game's release. If you have a decent PC, however, then you're in luck. The reason given is that Epic isn't a big enough company to work on a game and a demo at the same time.

Rein said it was the same when Microsoft asked Epic for a Gears of War demo. "What we told Microsoft last year - they wanted a demo for Gears of War and we said 'you've got a choice - you can have the demo this year or the game this year'." We know which we'd rather have. The game is a no-brainer for us anyway, we'll be picking this up as soon as it's available.

Despite numerous sites taking the recent Gamespy press release to mean that Unreal Tournament 3 will include PC to PS3 cross platform play, this is still not necessarily the case. For those not in the know, Gamespy have recently partnered with Epic to offer all Unreal Engine 3 licensees the ability to connect to the Gamespy network and utilize its matchmaking and profile tools. This includes cross platform play between the PS3 and PC. While the partnership means that allowing cross-play would be easy, Mark Rein has stated to us that the decision to include it in Unreal Tournament 3 has yet to be made. As for other Unreal Engine 3 games, using these tools will be up to individual developers.

Mark was keen to emphasize that the Gamespy multiplayer tools are not a replacement for Games for Windows LIVE. It is simply another choice given to developers using the engine. We're sure that if anything changes regarding cross play for UT3 then an announcement will be made as appropriate. Until then, look forward to any and all Unreal Engine 3 games potentially having some excellent online play in the future.

Much like how George Bluth Sr. was having a love affair with his ice cream sandwich, Mark Rein of Epic Games has admitted his feelings toward the new Blu-ray format. Don't worry, his feelings are positive and returned in full. Speaking about Unreal Tournament 3, Mark Rein talked of the advantage the PS3 version may have over the 360: "we may have fewer maps on the 360 version...Blu-Ray has definitely given us a lot of legroom." Boo-yah, Blu-ray!

Rein wasn't quite finished there, however. He even thought ahead to Unreal Tournament 4, saying "If you think down the road, well maybe the next UT beyond this one, on Blu-ray disc, we might fill the whole damn disc with all the cool stuff the mod makers make." We'd be very excited to see that, really! So there's even more proof that not only is Blu-ray a handy asset, but it'll give us all more stuff down the line.

[Update: Changed title to more accurately reflect content.]

During the Unreal Tournament 3 screening at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival today (that's in Scotland, by the way) Games Digest noticed something strange in the game's menu. The option, "Gamercard", was quickly covered up by Mark Rein, who was giving the presentation. "Oops," he said, "you shouldn't have seen that."

Due to the "no camera" rules there is no photographic evidence, but we're still happy to commence the speculation. Especially since Mark was so secretive about it. Is it a UT3 feature? Is it Sony's answer to the 360's Gamertag? We're not sure, but we'd definitely like to know. No doubt we'll hear more before the release of Unreal Tournament 3, at least. We'll try and contact Mark for a statement, but expect him to remain extremely tight lipped. What do you suspect it could be?

The rumour mill is working overtime today, churning out bags and bags of delicious untruthes. The latest of which is that Unreal Tournament 3 will feature PC to PS3 cross play and that the PS3 will be the only console to support the feature. We contacted Mark Rein for clarification and he responded exactly as we expected him to. "We have not made a decision on PS3 vs. PC play."

To clarify further, for those confused, the PS3 version of UT3 will feature keyboard and mouse but PC to PS3 cross play has not been decided on yet. Rein listed some hurdles that need to be jumped before the feature could be implemented during his interview with Joystiq. One of those hurdles? Control differences. So with that fixed, it's a possibility. They just haven't decided yet. Yes, we're really driving that point home.

Keep those rumours coming and we'll keep debunking them. Probably.

Our mate (and Vice President of Epic) Mark Rein has today posted on the official Unreal Tournament 3 forums to confirm that yes, keyboard and mouse input will be available in the PS3 version of the game. The confirmation came, we suspect, after a number of PS3Forums members noticed that Rein stated that he didn't see a huge demand for the feature during an interview with Joystiq. Taking matters into their own hands, they started campaigning to show that there was indeed demand for it by emailing Rein en masse telling him so.

Rein states that the feature will be implemented in a balanced way "without feeling "gimped" for either side." In the Joystiq interview he seemed worried that incorporating different controller methods would give an unfair advantage. If this problem has been solved, does that mean we could be seeing PS3 to PC cross play, after all? There are more details to come later.

In a recent interview with Joystiq the Vice President of Epic, Mark Rein, makes it clear that PS3 mods for Unreal Tournament 3 will have no limits. "Anything that can put into a level" can be included. ""Level" is a little deceiving now because, with the streaming system that we have, a level isn't just one map anymore. But anything you can put in there, which includes maps, models, Unreal Kismet scripts, Unreal Script, textures, shaders, matinee instructions." So total conversion mods will easily be possible, when utilizing all those tools.

Rein summed it all up by saying that "Anything that we can do, you can do." Sounds good to us. Check out the full interview at Joystiq.

As if Sony needed any other publisher's concern, Midway spoke out the other day about the up-take (or up-doc, if you want some tomfoolery) of the PS3. Midway's CEO David Zucker did the talking, but his words strike home and we're concerned about the same things he is: we want the good PS3 titles to sell very well. He's also concerned about console sales, feeling the price cut will deliver a nice, temporary boost to sales, but it might not be enough.

If you're wondering why Midway is so concerned, it's because for once, they're not trying to sell a Mortal Kombat title. They've got the special edition of Stranglehold and Unreal Tournament 3 coming out over the next few months and those are pretty important titles to get sales for. Midway wonders if another price cut will come in the future, if it's enough, and if their big titles will make a splash on the PS3, or bellyflop. Everybody knows that getting a pink belly is not a very fun way to start your day at the lake.

One of the main reasons why Epic decided to stick Unreal Tournament 3 exclusively on the PS3 until the end of the year (we think Sony meant fiscal year, so really, until the end of March) was because of Sony's willingness to allow modifications of the game via the PC build. They call these "mods" in the crazy land of hardcore gamers, or so we've heard. It's sort of a mystical place -- a place no one has ever truly been here in Consolevania. Even with the promise of having mods on the PS3 version of the game, Epic has not decided to allow cross-platform play yet.

Everything isn't dark and gloomy, though. Mark Rein of Epic gives us hope that they will probably consider it in the future: "We're not 100% sure that users want that feature but if we get time we'll play around with it and see how it works. In the mean time we plan to be able to serve the PS3 from PC servers so that should help us gets lots of great servers going." No word on any cross-platform play between the PS3 and 360, let alone the Games for Windows LIVE service. Just the PS3 and PC at this point. Would you guys like cross-platform play, since the PS3 version does, in fact, support keyboards and mice?

We got to see Unreal Tournament III running side by side on PC and PS3. Both versions obviously looked fantsatic, and it was great to see how nearly identical they look. However, the incredible resolution of the PC version made it the clearly superior offering. A representative from Epic told us that the PS3 version is still being tweaked, and that details about the resolution and framerate it will run at won't be revealed yet as they're still trying to optimize the performance for the console.

UTIII will feature the return of many fan-favorite weapons, but we saw a couple of a new additions. Of particular note had to be a weapon that generated a time-warping field. A cube can be created, and within that cube, all time gets slowed down significantly. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the field, we saw the Flak Cannon shoot into the field. As the spray entered the field, it came to a crawl, and the player was able to run past the flak and see it exit the other side, at full momentum. We don't know if this will make a significant change to battles, but it certainly was a cool effect, nonetheless.

In addition, UTIII will feature a greater variety of vehicles. The coolest addition has to be the hoverboard, which is readily accessible at all times. This allows players to move much more quickly, and can be used while holding a CTF flag. A new single player mode was briefly demonstrated, and it shows a lot of potential. The offline single player from previous Unreal Tournament titles were slim on story and options. In the newly updated single player campaign, players will be able to watch a story unfold, and choose a non-linear path through various missions.

Right alongside NC Soft, Epic signed a multi-stage exclusivity agreement with Sony to optimize use of the Unreal Engine 3 for the PS3. The big idea behind this was Unreal Tournament 3. Namely, making it a PS3 exclusive for this financial year. That's right -- the devs responsible for Cogs of Battle want to try their hand at making the PS3 the leading platform for their hot, hot, hotly anticipated UT3. What's really impressive about this announcement isn't necessarily the exclusivity agreement, but the fact Jack Tretton promised us the ability to bring user-created PC mods into the console version of the game via the PlayStation Network. Homebrew is happening, little by little, and we're very happy about that.

Epic Games' upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 is getting some extreme hype and we think it might just be qualified. Recently talked up in the last issue of Xbox magazine, lead designer Steven Polge divulged a few details to keep us licking our lips in hushed anticipation. Some additions to the game are as follows:

• Four-player co-op and two-player split-screen in the single-player campaign
• 18 vehicles and five types of turrets
• Hoverboards

You read correct. Hoverboards. Like Back to the Future. In any case, some hype was collected for distribution to our minds when Polge said that a large portion of the staff preferred the 360 controls to the mouse and keyboard setup. We call shenanigans, since the speak was in an Xbox magazine and most people who really know FPS's wouldn't trade the mouse and keyboard in for anything (plus the mouse and keyboard is said to be supported for the PS3 version of the game).

Pulge also mentioned improvements made in Unreal Engine 3, talking some smack about that strange Cogs of Battle game or whatever: "[Unreal Tournament 3 is] Gears on crack. Cover is for wimps!" It sure is, Steven Polge. It sure is. Let's hope UT3 turns out to be beautiful as well as having a great personality, so to speak. But does that ever really happen?

[via Joystiq]

This is a great move by the Unreal Tournament 3 folks over at Epic Games -- the PS3 version of the game will support the SIXAXIS, sure, but it also gives you the option to plug in your (hopefully wireless) mouse and keyboard to give you that "PC Shooter" feeling consoles have always been criticized for lacking. What's the SIXAXIS gonna do? It controls where you're looking -- we're assuming it takes the place of the mouse.

How about the Unreal Engine 3? How's it holding up? Glad you asked, me. According to the fellow who got his greasy hands on the only booth set up for the title, the game is looking fantastic. "The game looks at least as good as Gears of War or Doom 3 with glitzy lighting galore...With strange glowing tubes and other bits of high-tech machinery coating nearly every surface, the whole package was really incredibly striking. All this, the framerate was still sky-high." We're looking forward to hearing more about this. If you want to learn more about the hands-on impression, feel free. We'd love to hear from Epic, Midway, and Sony about a demo coming soon...

So, what's this talk about Unreal Tournament 2007 going to the 360 and PC? That's completely untrue. Why? Because that's not going to be the game's title anymore -- even though the game is actually the fourth UT, it's going to be dubbed Unreal Tournament 3. Why would Epic Games instigate such a confusing name change? You have about ten seconds to make the connection or... well... we'll tell you.

Still thinking? Well, here's a hint: replace "tournament" with "engine" and you'll find your answer staring you in the face. That's right, they're changing the name to coincide with their incredibly popular, even in Japan, engine dubbed the Unreal Engine 3. So, we can assume UT3 is going to be one of the "showcase" titles for the engine. Honestly, the engine doesn't need any more showcasing. We know it's great. Now, if you say Unreal Tournament 3 is going to be multiplatform, you're right. We'll all enjoy it, so is that a problem?