Unreal Tournament 3 to out Halo 3, Halo 3!

The demo for Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC just went up today. I downloaded it on the slow and crazy Fileplanet severs and was playing around the time that the demo went active at 3 PM EST. I was probably playing by 3:30. I have an old PC, not in the biblical sense but in the technological sense. It is a single core 2.4 Ghz machine with 512 MB of RAM and a ATI card with 128 MB. I looked it up once a few weeks ago and the PC is worth around $300. The demo runs so smoothly and so quickly that all the reservations I had about buying this game are gone! When I get a new PC I can turn everything up and really enjoy the graphics. But all of the effects are on and a lot of the textures are on. The game runs SO FAST it's like I'm playing the Unreal Tournament 2 on this machine. I just pre-ordered the collector's edition so I can make maps for the PS3 game that is coming out early next year. If this game looks as good as it does on a high end PC and runs as fast as it does on my PC on the PS3. This will be my Game of the Year for 2008 for the PS3. I don't care what else comes out, nothing is going to trump this title.
I was so happy with the gameplay and the speed of the title that really nothing else mattered. The game looks good on my PC but nothing extraordinary. But what is extraordinary is how seamless it runs. There is no slowdown, no screen tearing, it all most runs better than Resistance on the PS3. It is amazing! I forgot how awesome the Unreal Engine 3 is. A game that can scale as much as this does, should be put in some kind of Hall of Fame. I had a tremendous time playing this game. I played both maps offered in my favorite single player Deathmatch. The weapons are awesome and have been tweaked to make them all work and make them all fun.
This will be the first game I've ever bought on the PC and the console. It will be the best $120.00 I've ever spent! If Epic and Midway need more time to get the PS3 version right; I say give them all the time they need. It will be worth it.
Oh yes, I was going to talk about Halo 3 wasn't I? Halo 3 is a great game. I believe I gave it an 8.5/10. The graphics are great and the multiplayer gameplay is one of the best ever. But if Unreal Tournament 3 came out on the PS3 this holiday season with the proper hype it would beat the living stuffing out of Halo 3. Fortunately for Microsoft and Bungie they have been given a reprieve. If there was a game that would be system seller for the PS3, this is the game to do it.
I've seen plenty of footage from the game's modes and the extensive multiplayer that absolutely nothing Halo 3 can offer to compete with it. There is a tool set that comes with Unreal Tournament 3 that will allow the player to create everything from new maps to new GAMES ALL TOGETHER! All of this certainly pales in comparison to the features that Halo 3 has. If the reviewers thought that Halo 3 was a great value. they haven't seen anything yet. The biggest question is what features will the XBOX 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3 have? Will it be stripped out version because of the closed network that is XBOX LIVE?
Just as I thought, though the game is probably doomed because Epic and Midway don't usually sink the money necessary to hype a game the way that Microsoft did. Obviously Sony isn't helping them very much either. This should be the flagship title for the PS3 and Sony doesn't seem to worried about the fact that it isn't coming out this holiday season. They have Haze after all... I'm sure Haze will do about as well as Blacksite Area 51. OK, but nothing special.
Unreal Tournament 3 should be bigger than Killzone 2. But the hype just hasn't been there. If Midway would put some money behind this title and get some commercials and maybe a hardcore gaming tournament, featuring Unreal Tournament 3 it might really help sales. Instead of assuming everyone knows how great UT3 is, maybe Midway, Sony, and Epic need to be sure people can't miss it.
Halo might be big, but Unreal was big before the XBOX even existed. With it's latest installment it could be the BIGGEST of all. XBOX 360 is the shooter platorm, Midway needs to push this game on to the 360 as soon as they can after the PS3. With the higher install base and the interests of that install base it is necessary. Whatever they need to do to fix everything so that games can be uploaded on to the 360 needs to be done. Whatever network sharing, hyperthreading, whatever needs to be done. It will be good practice for when new content comes out for the Orange Box later next year.
Microsoft needs to get a grip on this whole closed network thing and figure out how they can have a secure environment and a place for players and developers to share software and information. You know. the way they did with EA.
Until then, Halo 3 might be KING but the REVOLUTION IS COMING!