Unreal Tournament 3 is dumb. It's also one of the most viscerally enjoyable, well balanced competitive multiplayer titles available.

Let's start with the 'dumb'. UT3 features a campaign mode - something which inherantly indicates a story of some kind. UT3 has a story, although the more perspicacious player will see it as little more than piggy-backing on Marcus Phoenix's world of hulking machismo and heroics. Of course, given Gears' irony and obvious hollywood influences, had UT3's campaign followed suite it may have been more acceptable, but instead oversteps into farce, cliche and unforgivable acronyms (anyone for a game of Capture the Field Lattice Generator...sorry, FLaG?). Still, brushing aside this thin coating of absurdity, UT3's attention to detail in every over sector of aesthetic and gameplay is near unparallelled.

On initial inspection not a great deal has changed in terms of weapon functionality and player mobility, but a few matches are enough to show UT3's focus is on quick kills and sonic reflexes - somewhere in-between UTClassic's elegant showdowns of skill and mastery of a map and UT2004's infatuation with flinging projectiles. Make no mistake: most of the weapons in UT3 are geared for instant kills (although UT3 seems to curb spread/splash on area of effect weaponry that made recent iterations so frustrating). The overpowered weaponry creates an interesting dynamic by making health pickups almost redundant in fast-paced Deathmatch games (perhaps a reflection on modern FPS games and their medi-kit mutiny) and truly making every shot count - something which is traditionally enjoyed by games such as Call of Duty.

UT3's real success is its map and environment design. The Unreal Tournament series has always been at the bleeding edge in aesthetic design and captivating mood within its microcosms, and UT3 hits new highs with some truly inspiring architecture - from the mephitic brickwork of Heatray to the shifting worlds of Gateway.
The game's format also retains much from previous versions, with the staple Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Duel and Vehicle Capture the Flag modes. Two major departures for the series are the classic Assault mode and UT2004's Onslaught mode, elements of which make up the game's main attraction: Warfare mode. Warfare's rules are essentially an instance of Onslaught's, but really open up the game's most defining moments (usually when defending your base from relentless waves of enemies using the new Wells-inspired Dark Walkers).

It's also a pleasant surprise that the PS3 version is near identical to the PC, with the dual analogues providing the necessary resistance and accuracy to make playing on a console a thoroughly enjoyable experience (although mouse and keyboard is also supported for those who have their machines set up on a desk). Plus, with mod support finally emerging, the PS3's could well become the definitive version.

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