Ten Reasons why UT3 destroys UT2004
November 29, 2007 2:03 pm Rants, Articles As a long time Unreal Tournament fan, I’ve played every incarnation quite a bit - and as of last week that includes the newly released fourth edition: Unreal Tournament 3. During the past three years the game I undoubtedly played most was Unreal Tournament 2004… yet now I find myself unable to even think of starting that game, ever again. Why? It’s simply because Unreal Tournament 3 decimates it, in terms of pure quality gameplay UT2004 couldn’t possibly hope to compete.Of course the previous paragraph might seem a tad fanboyish, so rather than writing it and leaving it at that, I’ve collected ten reasons as to exactly why I think Unreal Tournament 3 is so much better. Feel free to agree, disagree, discuss and add your own!
Please note that while I definitely consider Unreal Tournament 3 to be a better game than the 2004 edition, and this is an overview of reasons as to why that is so, there are also a few things UT3 does wrong. I’ve got a more balanced overview of my personal impressions up here. That said, UT3 certainly kicks UT2004’s ass - and I’m certain the following ten reasons will have you convinced of that as well. Now… let’s get to it!
- Map Design focuses on gameplay over graphics! Where in UT2004 you’d frequently get stuck in the environment and generally played on pretty, but poorly flowing, maps… UT3 features awesome fun maps that flow well and mostly feature good weapon placement. Particularly the Capture the Flag maps are amongst the best I’ve seen since… well.. Unreal Tournament itself.
- Weapon Balance is pure class. Contrary to UT2004, every weapon is useful and powerful. The stinger minigun and bio rifle might be a tad too strong, but these can certainly be overcome with every other weapon in the game. A welcome change from the Shock/Lightning/Shield-fest that was Unreal Tournament 2004. There really is very little to complain about on this front, which is a welcome surprise.
- Music returns to the style of old. Many remixes of classic Unreal Tournament tracks can be heard in this game, most notable being the bloodpumping music running on DM-Deck, which immediately sucks you back in time to the good old UT Classic days. Nothing in UT2004 can really compare to some of the tracks present in this game.
- Capture the Flag returns! While it wasn’t technically gone in UT2004, the unfortunate fact is that (non-instagib) CTF in UT2004 was a horrible experience. Not so in Unreal Tournament 3 which makes CTF feel exactly like it did all those years ago in the original game: fun, fast & furious! Playing CTF in this game makes you forget about all those class-based objective gameplay advances that have been made in recent years, this is just way more fun!
- Offense Exists, now that maps have been scaled down and the shield gun has been removed. With the weapon balance and movement no longer favoring the defensive, multiplayer battles have become much more exciting. Rookie and veteran players alike will love this more action-packed approach!
- Removal of horrible features makes for awesome gameplay! The game-ruining dodgejump and shield gun have been removed, making for a more in-your-face experience that no longer favors the overly defensive. Adrenaline is no longer present, which ensures that the winning player doesn’t continually gain more and more of an advantage over the rest of the pack.
- Faster gameplay is realized in a number of ways. Firstly maps are generally smaller (in overall size) than they were in UT2004, because dodgejump has been removed and doesn’t need to be accounted for. Secondly corridors and the like are much bigger, allowing for more freedom of movement. Lastly the higher base movement speed has been dramatically increased, which combined with the more offensive-based gameplay makes for a significantly faster game. In Capture the Flag the speed has been increased even further by means of a fast-firing, quick-reloading, translocator and in Vehicular gamemodes the hoverboard ensures fast gameplay the likes of which you’ve never seen before… in a shooter with vehicles and huge maps anyway
- Oldschool pickups are back! That’s right, we’ve regained the good old Armor Vest, Shield Belt, Thigh Pads, Invisible Powerup and Jump Boots once more! And with powerups dropping when players die, item usage has turned into an intricate affair. No more grabbing the uDamage and laying waste to a server uncontested, as now you’ll be hunted down by powerup-hungry players!
- Warfare > Onslaught. It’s more varied, strategic and fun. With the introduction of orbs and side objectives this crazy new twist on Onslaught is a lot more enjoyable than it’s predecessor, especially with the new and improved….
- Vehicular Gameplay! Vehicles handle much better and the new Necris vehicles are great fun to mess around with. The addition of a hoverboard in vehicular gamemodes also ensures even faster paced gameplay, that will keep you in the action all the time. All vehicles are easier to kill now too, which makes players on foot much more capable and ensures fun even if you can’t get your hands on one of these vehicles.
&nsbp;
If you have anything to add, agree or disagree with my reasoning or would just like to comment: by all means, do so! Now get to it, buy this game and experience the most enjoyable shooter to be released this side of 2000! And add me, Droniac, to your friends list in-game while you’re at it
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