Unreal Tournament 3 Review

Since the development of Unreal Tournament has been suspended by Epic Games, those who want a dose of the franchise have to look back to 2007’s Unreal Tournament 3.

That means we have to rewind to a time when “more of the same” was the philosophy of the gaming industry. This isn’t always a bad thing, but the third main entry in the Unreal series is very much a product of its time.

Gameplay

Unreal Tournament 3 has all the meat that made the series famous. The most basic modes, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, all play out just as they have in hundreds of other games. The exception here is that the Unreal Tournament series is OG when it comes to fast-paced multiplayer gaming, and UT3 continues that tradition well.

The action is fast, and the controls are tight and straightforward. You can pull off maneuvers like double-jumping, side-dashing, and wall-jumping with ease, which makes the tightly-packed levels more interesting. The game ends up being very vertical, as jumping is one of the best ways to avoid fire and get the drop on your enemy.

The only problem with these basic gameplay modes is that what was once innovative has become an industry standard. When playing UT3, you’ll likely have a blast for 30 minutes or so before you start getting bored.

There have been games since Unreal Tournament 3 that do Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes better. It was fun when it came out, but even in 2007 UT3 wasn’t innovative. Now, it just feels old.