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Unreal Tournament III

Also known as: UTIII,Unreal Tournament 3,Unreal Tournament 3

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Wisely not counting UT2003

Words: Tom Francis, PC Gamer UK

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UT now has Vehicle CTF. Except that you can’t capture the flag with vehicles, because you’re not allowed to get in one while you’re carrying it. It’s an understandable limitation - UT vehicles are spectacularly fast, and the Manta in particular would be almost impossible to stop before it got into your base and out again. But you can carry the flag on your hoverboard, which is the other half of UT3’s vehicular genius.

The hoverboard is integral to both Warfare and Vehicle CTF, since you always have it with you. If you take a single shot while you’re surfing, you’re floored and usually dead before you pick yourself up. But it’s fast, it’s cool and it can latch onto other vehicles with a grappling hook. This technique seems like a novelty at first - hooking yourself onto a Hellbender doesn’t give you much of a speed boost. But latching onto a Scorpion jeep just before it turbos, or a Viper while it leaps over small buildings, or a Scavenger as it tumbles downhill: that’s a hell of a thing.

Which brings us back to the Fury. The hoverboard can also grapple onto flying vehicles, and since it can carry the flag or the Orb, that’s a killer tactic. It’s also a ridiculous amount of fun: you’re surfing, 300 feet up, dangling from a metal octopus, holding the most important thing in the game. This is UT3’s contribution to the formula: spectacle, drama, mad heroics. Hurling yourself on the enemy Orb like it’s a live grenade, dodging bullets on the hoverboard as you escape with the flag, bailing from an explosive bike aimed at the enemy’s star player, and yeah, hanging from a flying metal octopus. That’s why the game’s a must-have, even in spite of the AI shortcomings.