Unreal Tournament III (360)
Review by David Jenkins – Although it's getting on for almost eight months since the original PC version of this came out, a good excuse for the delay has been noticeable by its absence.
Allegedly it was all to do with downloadable content, resulting in an argument Microsoft appears to have won, given the lack of any user created maps or even support for keyboards and mice.
Thankfully none of that really matters.
This is actually the fourth Unreal Tournament, the incongruous name referring to the fact that it uses the Unreal Engine 3 graphics technology.
Apart from some rare slowdown, it uses it very successfully too.
The first person shoot 'em-up series has never been a success on consoles - where the bland art design and controller limitations have kept the PC as its natural home.
Although previous Unreal Tournament games have represented the concept as a sport with no real storyline, this features a proper narrative about a war with the demonic Necris.
It's entirely inconsequential but compared to the single player mode in other similar games (if they even have one) it's actually quite an effort.
You can even play the campaign online in co-op mode with three others.
The story mode is essentially a six-hour long tutorial for the multiplayer, walking you through all six game modes.
Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are all very run-of-the-mill, with Duel being a one-on-one variant with spectators.
Capture the flag (CTF) mode is made slightly different, thanks to the game's teleporter gun. There's a separate vehicle based version called, imaginatively, Vehicle CTF.
Although five of the game modes are stock concepts, the weight of options and variety of weapons makes this one of the definitive multiplayer shooters.
Then there's the new Warfare mode – a combination of the previous game's Onslaught and Assault modes that's almost a rival to Quake Wars on PC.
This uses very large maps filled with vehicles, where you must capture and hold control nodes as part of a team.
To make up for the lack of mod support, the 360 version has a new split screen mode, five new maps and a couple of new characters and other extras.
As perverse as it seems to recommend another first person shooter on the 360, this is not only an excellent game but its fast pace and unusual modes make it unlike any other on the format.
It may do nothing for the 360's typecasting but that's not its aim.
IN SHORT: It may be frustratingly late but this is still one of the most finely crafted shooters on the 360.
PROS: Six game modes, plus a proper single player campaign. New split screen support and robust online.
CONS: Art design is as uninspiring as ever. No real new gameplay ideas. No Keyboard/mouse support or user mods.
SCORE: 8/10 Out: Now (UK)