Shooting sharp

by ERIK LEIJON

I was reading an editorial about Star Wars creator George Lucas the other day, and as is the custom since Revenge of the Sith, the piece admonished the portly filmmaker for his shoddy writing skills. Where the article strayed from the usual mud slinging and schadenfreude was in acknowledging that Lucas’s films tend to be promotional devices for his technological ventures.

Thanks to his cross media prowess, THX sound has become industry standard, and Industrial Light & Magic remains a go-to visual effects company. Ultra-stylish first-person shooter Unreal Tournament III (X360/Midway, Epic) is similarly skin deep, but as eye candy and as an example of stretching the graphical limits of next-gen consoles, its impact will be felt for some time.

The Unreal brand name is significant beyond the game, since the engine created for UTIII will be used to create most big-name action titles for the foreseeable future (Gears of War was the first to use Unreal Engine 3). As a showcase for the popular engine, UTIII emphasizes those much-hyped graphical innovations, especially when it comes to lighting and shadows.

ENDLESS ARSENAL: Unreal Tournament III

UTIII is a standard multiplayer-specific first-person shooter with an endless supply of fictional weapons and vehicles, and a lot of care was put into making each battle map unique. The maps are centrally designed, each with multiple floors and no dead-ends. A few spots truly catch the eye and include the sprawling space station Deimos, complete with translucent light-based force fields and asteroids floating overhead.

The Asian-themed Rising Sun looks and feels different from other maps but is still traditional in design. Gateway impresses by forcing players to chase each other through three distinct dimensions (via portals), though one never gets lost jumping to each location.

The single-player is really just an extended tutorial for the new warfare mode, which pits two teams against each other in a time-constrained mission to destroy your enemy’s power core. Although unlikely to supplant regular and team deathmatch as the primary mode of online multiplayer, warfare fits with the simplified, yet tight, FPS style of UTIII.

I was also extremely impressed with the trigger and bumper buttons, which were used to alternate weapons and secondary shooting functions. It seems logical now, but I can’t remember the last time I had such ease changing weapons on the fly during a madcap online deathmatch. Plus, the many types of weapon fire take advantage of the engine’s cool lighting effects.

Everything from RPGs to other shooters will be built from Unreal Engine 3, so it’s reassuring to know developer Epic got it right with their own product. It’s the nicest looking console game yet, and the multiplayer gaming is perfectly tuned and balanced. Hopefully they’ll bring back Unreal Championship’s melee battles for a future sequel.

Taking stock

NASCAR 09 (Multi/EA Sports, EA Tiburon) is an accurate and good looking representation of America’s premier stock car series. As with the real tour, most races occur on oval tracks, so even beer-hat sporting gearheads will find the game repetitive after the hundredth lap.

It’s surprising given that the tour never shies away from most fans’ morbid fascination with fiery crashes, but the collisions here are tepid. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is available as a download: here’s hoping Jacques brought his rain tires.

Finally, until this Sunday, Aug. 24, Ubisoft Montreal and Quebec are holding interactive workshops down by the Old Port in conjunction with our provincial capital’s quadcentennial. There will be lectures, game demos and San Francisco DJ WiiJ will show off his unique mixing skills with the help of Wii remotes. The Master Class lecture is this Saturday at noon, while the normal festivities start everyday at 4 p.m.