Rising Storm is the next game in the award-winning Red Orchestra franchise. You know the great gameplay, innovative features and realistic audio and graphics of RO2 – Rising Storm will take this to the Pacific Theater, adding even more  features, new levels, new weapons and new factions. The game will allow the player to fight across iconic locations from the famous island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, as the US Army and Marine Corps fight it out with the Imperial Japanese army and Special Naval Landing Forces. Players will experience beach assaults, jungle fighting, close quarters night fighting and more across Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Saipan, among other iconic battles. The player is able to take the part of either side – American or Japanese – battling it out online in multiplayer on up to 64-player servers.

Rising Storm also introduces an entirely new type of gameplay to the franchise – asymmetrical warfare. The American’s have the apparent advantage in firepower with their fast firing semi-automatic rifles, fully automatic weapons, and devastating flamethrower. The Japanese balance this out with gameplay elements that model their raw courage, ferocity, and cunning use of equipment. Their knee mortars allow them to rain indirect fire down on their enemies from anywhere in the map. Grenades can be planted and turned into booby-traps for unwary GIs. The Japanese put very high store on close-quarter combat, with a bayonet on almost every weapon – even machine guns and SMGs. Their banzai charge suppresses the enemy making it difficult for them to return fire and gives them an opportunity to close in to use bayonets and katanas on their opponents.

Welcome to Origins, the new ARMA II mod inspired and based on modified version of DayZ. Fight to survive in the harsh apocalyptic Taviana 3.0 map, fully redesigned, making room for a wide range of new features and twisted survival elements. The world has gone to hell and you’re right in the middle. There is more to life than just surviving, and now you have a purpose. What is this infection that has spread across the globe? Why are the dead walking again? Is there any hope in putting an end to this? There is only one way to find out, grab what supplies you can and get exploring.

Some things never change, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. While you crawl in the mud hunting for scraps the rich have made a nice home for themselves, aptly named “Salvation Island”. They live in comfort surrounded by high walls and armed mercenaries. But they are not there to just keep the infected at bay. Don’t expect a welcome party if you pay them a visit. Although if you manage to get in, you will have a chance at grabbing some of their finest weaponry.

All of this set in our new Taviana 3.0 featuring over 60 new buildings with full interiors to explore. From Hospitals and Police stations to Museums and Military Camps. There is more to explore than ever before. Will you be able discover the Origins of the outbreak or simply become another walking corpse?

Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks. At first, people built structures to protect against nocturnal monsters, but as the game grew players worked together to create wonderful, imaginative things.

It can also be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. It’s pretty. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether, which is more scary than pretty. You can also visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea.

Intel Xeon E3-1230 – 3.20 GHz Dedicated Server

Art of War Central is a high quality low cost dedicated server provider. We offer dedicated servers for all Microsoft Windows operating systems, almost all UNIX operating systems.

 Features:

99.9% Network Uptime - 2 IP Addresses - Free Manual Reboots - Managed Backups Options - 10 or 100mbps port - Setup: 1-7 business days - No contracts - Unlimited gaming bandwidth*

Intel Atom Dedicated Server

Art of War Central is a high quality low cost dedicated server provider. We offer dedicated servers for all Microsoft Windows operating systems, almost all UNIX operating systems.

 Features:

99.9% Network Uptime - 2 IP Addresses - Free Manual Reboots - Managed Backups Options - 10 or 100mbps port - Setup: 1-7 business days - No contracts - Unlimited gaming bandwidth*

“The most fun you can have online” – PC Gamer Is now FREE! There’s no catch! Play as much as you want, as long as you like!

The most highly-rated free game of all time! One of the most popular online action games of all time, Team Fortress 2 delivers constant free updates—new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats. Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities, and lend themselves to a variety of player skills.

New to TF? Don’t sweat it! No matter what your style and experience, we’ve got a character for you. Detailed training and offline practice modes will help you hone your skills before jumping into one of TF2’s many game modes, including Capture the Flag, Control Point, Payload, Arena, King of the Hill and more.

Make a character your own! There are hundreds of weapons, hats and more to collect, craft, buy and trade. Tweak your favorite class to suit your gameplay style and personal taste. You don’t need to pay to win—virtually all of the items in the Mann Co. Store can also be found in-game.

Three years after the conflict in Chernarus, portrayed in the original Arma 2, a new flashpoint explodes in the Green Sea Region. Coalition forces led by the US Army are deployed to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further civilian casualties.

You will enlist into various roles within the US Army, from basic infantrymen, through special operatives, to pilots and tank crew in this new installment in the award winning line up of military simulators for PC from Bohemia Interactive.

Building on 10 years of experience and constant engine development, Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead boasts the most realistic combat environment in the world. It models real world ballistics & round deflection, thermal imaging, materials penetration, features a realtime day/night cycle and dynamic wind, weather and environmental effects.

 Building on 10 years of constant engine development, ARMA II boasts the most realistic combat environment in the world. It models real world ballistics & round deflection, materials penetration,

features a real time day/night cycle and dynamic wind, weather and environmental effects. The simulation of a combat environment is so effective, the engine forms the basis for training simulators used by real armies the world over.

Although ARMA II is set in the fictional ex-soviet state of ‘Chernarus’ the gameworld is actually a 225 square kilometer chunk of the real world! ARMA II’s highly detailed landscape is a meticulous facsimile of real terrain, modeled using extensive geographical data. This recreated region is brought to life with spectacular environmental effects and populated with dynamic civilian settlements and wildlife. Wild animals roam the atmospheric forests while the people of Chernarus try to live out their lives among the war-torn streets.

The 27th U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit have been deployed to the former soviet country of Chernarus in this third installment in the series of award winning PC war simulators from Bohemia Interactive, creators of Operation Flashpoint*: Cold War Crisis and ARMA: Combat Operations.

Force Reconnaissance Team “Razor” are among the first to fight. This elite five-man team are about to fall down the rabbit hole, trapped in a war not only for control of the country, but the hearts and minds of its people. With the might of the USMC offshore and the Russians anxiously watching from the north, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The fate of Chernarus is balanced on a razor’s edge…

Sequel to the highly successful Operation Flashpoint, ARMA: Combat Operations is a first person tactical military shooter on the PC with large elements of realism and simulation. This game features a blend of large-scale military conflict spread across large areas alongside the more close quartered battles. You’ll be thrust into the midst of an engaging and expanding storyline, fighting against smart, aggressive enemies who will continually provide a challenge over a massive landscape.

• Story driven single player campaign: Write your own campaign storyline by choosing the right mission order when playing the 20+ missions. Play it differently next time and find new ways to victory!
• Large scale multiplayer: Use ARMA Combat Operations’ strong multiplayer mode and play battles where tanks supported by infantry and helicopters take control of an enemy city. The engine supports 50+ live opponents in a role of both friendly and enemy forces.
• More than 30 weapons: Every weapon has unique firing characteristics featuring the new and improved recoil system.
• Vast environment to explore: Explore Sahrani, an area over 400 square kilometers in size, full of flora and fauna.
• More than 30 modern vehicles: All vehicles in the game can be controlled – tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, civilian cars or even boats.
• Multiple gunners: Utilize the multiple gunner positions on tanks and helicopters to rain death on your enemies both in multiplayer missions and single player campaign.
• HDR Lighting effects: Ambushing an enemy with the sun in your eyes leaves you at the disadvantage. Think smart, fight better!
• Real constellations and tides: ARMA’s great depth even includes such features as fully simulated star maps, lunar cycles and tides. Watch where you park your vehicle, soldier!
• Built-in mission editor: Create you own scenarios using the easy-to-use mission wizard, advanced built-in mission editor, scripting language or BI tools available online and share your creation with the game.

Presentation time!

This presentation being long overdue, I figured, what better place to put it than on our brand spankin’ new blog?

As many might have already interacted with me through tickets, my nickname is Farchord, real name’s Steve. I’m a soon to be 30 years young IT guy from Quebec Canada. If you interacted with me on the phone, you might have mistaken me for someone from India. Don’t worry, I’m not offended, I am aware of my accent.

I have been working for Art of War Central for the better part of 9 years now, I started as a technician for the now defunct VSK Gaming Servers company which was based in St. Louis, MO. Approximately 3 years later, the company was going down from various reasons, and it got bought out by Art of War Central. Originally, I was not set to be included in the buyout, and would be left without a job. But I ended up coming in anyway, to my happiness. Who likes being left without a job after a buyout, right…?

So I started as a game server technician. Note that that was around 2004, quite a while ago. Over the years, I have expanded my wings and learned to basically troubleshoot everything. The road has not been easy, there has been a lot of roadblocks along the way.

So recently, as you might know, the company was bought out. Unlike your traditional buyout, it was procured by the oldest working employee of the company. So I knew basically that he knew where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do right from the start.

So, right now, we are in the process of re-sprucing Art of War Central. We are trying our hardest to bring it back to it’s old glory days, and make it enjoyable for anyone who wishes to choose us for their gaming needs.

Stay tuned on this blog, in the following weeks, I will post tidbits of news of events that happened during the week in the gaming industry that has impacted game server owners.

Steve ‘Farchord’ Cossette
Art of War Central Technician

The theme of the sequel is germ warfare, as Mullins and his new partner Madeline Taylor travel to Colombia to investigate a viral outbreak in a small town, only to link it to a shadowy organization called Prometheus. The virus, called Romulus, is followed by a computer virus called Remus which is programmed to delete files on any computer in the world, in this case, files relating to Prometheus and Romulus, so an anti-virus cannot be formulated.Prometheus then plans to blackmail the G8 countries at a summit in Switzerland for billions of dollars. It is revealed throughout the course of the game that a mole inside The Shop may be feeding information to the terrorists.

Major characters

• John Mullins: Born and raised in Southwest Oklahoma, Mullins served three tours in Vietnam, earning threePurple Hearts. He was also a member of the controversial Phoenix Program group created to assassinate high ranking Vietcong officers. Mullins retired from the military to become a “consultant”, or mercenary, 12 years ago. He now takes jobs from the United Nations anti-terrorist group called The Shop. With a medium build, Mullins boasts strength and speed that few men possess. John Mullins is voiced by Todd Susman.

• Madeline Taylor: With the death of John’s lifelong friend and partner, Hawk, The Shop looked long and hard for a suitable match to John’s can-do attitude. Although a fully trained field agent, Taylor’s specialty is human medical research, making her an invaluable ally in the fight against chemical and biological weapons. Madeleine Taylor is voiced by Iris Bahr.

• Sam Gladstone: A 62-year old bearded book store owner and part-time employee of The Shop. A Captain in Vietnam, Gladstone excelled at recon, later spending several years with the CIA. He owns the small enterprise known as Goldberg’s Used Books. Behind the old bookshelves however lies a hidden lab filled with the latest technology and weapons. Sam Gladstone is voiced by Earl Boen.

• Dr. Piotr Ivanovich: One of the Soviet Union’s top Biopreparat scientists, Dr. Ivanovich has worked on chemical weapons for a very long time. Unlike his cohorts however, he wants out. Ivanovitch has extensive knowledge in his head which certain terrorist groups would kill for, and he has passed most of this knowledge on to his young protege, Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor. Dr. Piotr Ivanovich is voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.

• Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor: A mysterious figure, Dmitry Sestrogor has been behind the production of many deadly bio-weapons which have been used throughout the world. This man, however, is no criminal mastermind. Held hostage by the ruthless Prometheus group, Dr. Sestrogor has been forced to develop deadly weapons in exchange for his life. Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor is voiced by Michael Bell.

• Anthony Michaels: The Shop’s director, Michaels operates under the strictest of secrecy. For years he has pushed The Shop forward, hoping to bring terrorism under control. Michaels is an extremely powerful figure in his own right, being the head of an organization that owes no allegiance to any government and having a vast network of informants and agents across the world. Anthony Michaels is voiced by Cam Clarke.

Other characters in the game includes Assistant Director Wilson (Mark Hamill), Deviant1 (Rosalind Chao), Manuel Vergara (Gustavo Vargas) and Alex ‘Skip’ Larson (Dee Bradley Baker).

Soldier of Fortune steers the first-person shooter genre away from the supernatural weaponry of Unreal and Quake and toward the realistic tactical combat of Rainbow Six and SWAT 3. In Soldier of Fortune, stealth, caution, and cover carry as much importance as accuracy and firepower.

Players assume the role of John Mullins (also the name of the game’s real-life mercenary consultant), a soldier for hire who accepts the most dangerous missions the U.S. government offers, including recovering stolen nuclear warheads and infiltrating war-torn Kosovo. Hawk, a burly sidekick voiced by The Green Mile Oscar nominee Michael Clarke Duncan, accompanies Mullins primarily in scripted sequences that advance the grisly story. Solder of Fortune‘s single-player story line exceeds genre standards and rivals Valve’s classic Half-Life for depth and excitement.

A first-person shooter wouldn’t be complete without explosive weaponry–Soldier of Fortune certainly doesn’t disappoint. The arsenal includes a knife, several pistols, a shotgun, a variety of machine guns, a rocket launcher, flamethrower, sniper rifle, grenades, and a futuristic microwave gun. Unlike most action shooters, players select new weapons before each mission–and you’re restricted in how much armament John carries. For instance, you must make tough decisions between the larger weapons. Should you take the submachine gun for close-quarter combat or grab the sniper rifle for a stealthier strategy? Weapons also do much more damage than in typical first-person shooters. If you’re unarmored, a single shotgun blast could end your game. These elements give Soldier of Fortune an intensity not often seen in the genre.

Soldier of Fortune uses a heavily modified version of id Software’s Quake 2 3-D engine, and the results are impressively realistic–perhaps even too realistic. Shoot an enemy in the foot with the pistol, and he’ll clutch the wound and favor his good leg. Shoot him in the knee with the shotgun, and the limb will be explosively severed in a spray of gristle. If you’re the type of person who thinks most action movies are fakey, you’ll appreciate the accurate look, sound, and effect of Soldier of Fortune‘s real-world weaponry. But if you’re the type of person who closed your eyes during the beach scene inSaving Private Ryan, you’ll want to turn on the password-protected violence lockout option or buy Soldier of Fortune Tactical, which has the lock permanently active. –Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Heavily modified and very crisp Quake 2 graphics engine depicts the carnage with frightening realism
• Varied multiplayer modes provide frenetic online excitement with smooth action on a standard modem connection
• Over two dozen missions with multiple objectives and diverse locations, such as on a speeding train and at Kosovo
• Some of the best weapons and weapon sound effects ever used in a first-person shooter
• Ability to lock out the realistic gore

In Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror, you are cast into the deadly world of counter terrorism. Powered by the award-winning Unreal engine, this game will is not for the weak of heart. You are a member of the elite Special Forces unit. You must stop terrorists from killing hostages and escaping. You can also try a different perspective and play as a terrorist, where you hunt down Special Forces units to try and prevent them from rescuing hostages. In the performance round, teams are awarded cash. This money can buy new weapons, items, and inventory.

A retro multiplayer shooter

Teeworlds is a free online multiplayer game, available for all major operating systems. Battle with up to 16 players in a variety of game modes, including Team Deathmatch andCapture The Flag. You can even design your own maps!

Tribes is back with a vengeance. The ultimate high-flying, multiplayer battle experience returns with deadly new weapons, faster and more versatile flight, in-depth strategic team action, and the first-ever Tribes single-player campaign. On a relentless quest for revenge, the warrior princess Julia must unravel a bloody mystery that threatens to destroy the Empire. Through the eyes of six different characters on multiple timelines, this exciting and new single-player campaign immerses you in all the violent history at the heart of the Tribes universe.

• Soar into Battle–Powered by Unreal technology, the all-new Vengeance Engine lets you seamlessly jetpack, ski and pilot your way through the most savage battles on land and in the air.
• Extreme Multiplayer Action–New immersive battlegrounds ranging from subterranean caverns to majestic coliseums, challenging new battle games, and all-new team strategies let you engage up to 32 players in an online tactical warfare experience unlike any other.
• Compelling Single-Player Campaign–In an innovative story format, you’ll take on the roles of six different characters in the first-ever Tribes single-player campaign, a twisted tale spanning two generations and 15 levels of treachery, vengeance and war for the Imperial family.
• All-New Weapons and Vehicles–Blast your way through the opposition with devastating new weapons like the Rocket Pod and Grappler, and powerful new vehicles like the all-terrain Rover and Assault Ship.
• Vast Customization Options–Personalize your Tribes experience with enhanced customization features for comprehensive control and unparalleled replayability. Innovative, easy-to-use mapmaking tools let you design your own battlefields.

Setting

Set in the year 3941 of the fictional Earthsiege universe, Tribes 2 allows the user to play as a soldier in one of several factions (referred to in the game as tribes), namely the Children of the Phoenix, the Blood Eagle, the Diamond Sword, and the Starwolf. Players can also choose to play a rebelling human-created soldier/worker race called the BioDerms. None of the factions differ from each other in strengths or weaknesses, but each has a distinctive look and background story.

Gameplay

Tribes 2 is a multiplayer online game, designed for Internet or LAN play with up to 128 players (64 vs 64) or bots per match, although a small single-player tutorial mode is included. The game may be played from both first- and third-person perspectives. Each match takes place on an Earthsiege-themed map. The Tribes 2 engine, an early version of the Torque Game Engine, is capable of both indoor and outdoor maps, with expansive play areas. Player movement about the map may be on foot, using a jet pack, or in various ground and airborne vehicles as pilot, co-pilot, or passenger.

Each match is played according to one of a number of possible game modes, which dictate the rules of the match. These modes include capture the flag,deathmatch, rabbit-chase, and others. Players are free to choose their own role, and may deploy various items of weaponry, vehicles, and emplacements. Many of these items can be left unattended to operate automatically, or control may be assumed by players. Each player may also choose from threearmor types (which trade off various abilities, e.g. weak but fast, or strong but slow), and a weapon and equipment loadout, which may be reconfigured at any time during a match.

The large variety of equipment and deployable items results in many opportunities for creative play and tactics, from pure combat to stealth. Tribes 2 gameplay makes extensive use of jet pack-powered flight, which adds a notable vertical element to combat. As such, playing style varies dramatically from player to player, and from moment to moment, but Tribes 2 gameplay may be generalized as being fast-paced three-dimensional combat over a wide playing area. Player vs player combat is a central element of Tribes 2 gameplay, even in team-based modes.

Tribes is a squad-based multiplayer online game with no single-player campaign; it is similar in this respect to the Team Fortress and Enemy Territory games. The story is set in the 40th century, after humanity has settled across the galaxies via jumpgates. Conflict has broken out between several factions of humans, the four largest of which are the Children of the Phoenix, Blood Eagle, Diamond Sword, and Starwolf. The first and largest descends from people isolated from the Great Human Empire during the jumpgate dispora. The second is a force of imperial knights originally sent from the Empire to subdue them who have gone ‘tribal’ over time. The Diamond Sword and Starwolf are secondary, with innumerable other splinter tribes constantly fighting for territory. The player assumes the role of a warrior loyal to one of the four major tribes battling in the front lines of the conflict.

The battles take place on one of 40 maps. Most of the standard maps are outdoors environments in a variety of climates, from sunshine to snow and hail. In general, bases are scattered throughout the map depending on the gametype. The outdoor environments can extend for several kilometers.

There are five distinct “default” gametypes:

• Capture the flag (CTF) – Each team (up to eight, normally less than three on any given mission) has one or more bases and a single flag. Each team tries to take an opposing team’s flag and touch it to their own, which “captures” the flag and awards the capturing team a point. If a flag carrier is killed, the flag is dropped; the flag can be picked up by a teammate to finish the capture, instantly returned to its base by a member of the flag’s team, or returned after a certain interval of time. Stalemates often occur when multiple teams’ flags are taken at the same time; a team’s flag must be at its base to accomplish a “cap”. Capture the Flag is a popular mode, with 75 percent of servers running this game type.
  
• Deathmatch (DM) – It can be played with or without teams; in both cases, players must get the highest number of kills to win.
• Capture and hold (C&H) – Teams must seek out capturable bases or other assets, sometimes complete with turrets and stations, throughout the map. Points are given based on the amount of time an asset is “owned”.
• Defend and destroy (D&D) – Players on a team must destroy certain items in an enemy’s base before the enemy does the same to their base. Subsequent team-based First-person shooter games, however, did use variations of the concept (such as with Unreal Tournament and its “assault” game type). Defend and Destroy is the second-most popular game type.
  
• Find and retrieve (F&R) – A number of flags are scattered across the mission area. Team members must find and bring them back to their base. The flags can be captured from the enemy as well. The team to capture all the flags wins.
• Multiple Team: Multiple teams must fight against each other to retain control of an objective or to capture the enemies’ flag.
• Speedball/Paintball: Similar to capture the flag, Speedball, also known as Paintball, is a game setting in which you had paintball guns that where one hit kills, regardless of the gun used. The map was limited to custom set building in which both teams was put on different sides of the map. The first team to reach a certain number of flag captures, win, then the next round would start on another terrain.
• Open Call: Open Call isn’t necessarily a game mode per se, but a collection of missions created by map makers after a contest held by Dynamix.^[7]

Each player wears either light, medium or heavy armor. Heavier armors supply larger amounts of armor, energy, and ammunition. Different armor types support different weapons and equipment; for example, only the heavy armor supports the heavy mortar but only light armor supports the sniper rifle.^[6] When damage is dealt to the player (by falling or being hurt by a weapon), armor is lost. Loss of all armor results in the player’s death. After dying, the player respawns at the team’s base (or somewhere in the field). Players also have an energy cell, which is drawn on for jetting, firing some kinds of weapons, and activating packs. The different armor types can be accessed at an inventory station.

There are various items of equipment usable by the players, including vehicles, eight weapons, and “Packs” which alter the abilities of the player. On some maps, bases include various defense mechanisms and other tools to assist the team: Generators, turrets, stations and sensors. Generators provide power to systems. Destroying them can disable an entire team’s defense by deactivating turrets and stations. They are also among the objectives in the “Defend & Destroy” gametype. Turrets come in five varieties. They can all be destroyed by sustained fire and their shields can be drained by an ELF. Stations are where players get equipment or monitor the base. Sensors scan a radius for enemies and allow players to view troop movements in the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). There are large and small varieties.

Weapons include the heavy mortar, sniper rifle, explosive disc launcher, short-range gatling gun, grenade launcher, blaster, plasma rifle and laser rifle. The heavy mortar is considered to be a good weapon for taking out base defenses from afar.^[6] The sniper rifle is the only hitscan weapon, with the others firing relatively slow projectiles.

The PDA is intended to provide information to commanders and give detailed information on the team’s situation. Among other things, players can issue commands to teammates, view equipment status, monitor enemy activity (with sensors or hidden cameras), watch teammates in a miniature screen, and control turrets (although this must be done at a command station).

Movement

In addition to running and jumping, players are equipped with a jetpack which allows them to accelerate into the air until the armor’s energy is used up. In addition to straight-line movement, the jetpack has other versatile uses. It can be used to make short hops whilst zig-zagging to make a player harder to target in open areas. An upward thrust can help the player evade oncoming enemies armed with short-range weapons.

Another method of movement is known as “skiing”, and relies on an exploitation of the game’s physics engine. If a player taps the jump button with the correct timing whilst descending a hill, their momentum will accumulate. High speeds can be achieved this way, and if this momentum takes the player to the crest of another hill, the jetpack can be used to rapidly propel them across the map. This technique was later developed into a game feature by Dynamix for Tribes 2.

Unreal Tournament is the original King of the Hill in the frag-or-be-fragged multiplayer gaming world. As the undisputed 1999 Game of the Year, Unreal Tournament grabbed the first person shooter genre by the soiled seat of its pants and knocked it around the room with its never-before-seen graphics, brutal edge-of-your-seat gameplay and a massive and varied feature list that gave gamers more than they ever expected.

• Novice Mode – This Botmatch competition is where new flak fodder hit boot camp. The Novice setting makes the computer controlled Bots in the game move slower and inflict less damage with their attacks. For those new to first person shooters, this is where teeth are cut, skills are born and addiction begins…
• Hardcore Mode – Strap on extra armor and have a hand towel next to your mouse pad to wipe away the palm sweat. This mode is only for the pros — all of the bots move like lightning — dodging, jumping and inflicting A LOT more damage with their standard attacks than do their Novice counterparts.
• Enhanced Bot AI – Bots in Unreal Tournament play as if they’re jacked up on a big old shot of steroids. Their basic deathmatching skills have been virtually perfected, their understanding of the game rules is professorial, their ability to navigate levels is GPS-like, and their threat to your existence is very real.
• Radio Chatter – Each of the commands at your disposal in the game is accompanied by both a text message on screen AND an audio message. Pleas for back-up or for cover fire are accompanied by pre-recorded sequences communicating your needs. Making this especially cool is the fact that you can hear your opponents’ messages too (even if you’re playing against bots ’cause bots are people, too).
• New Command Line Options – For the hardcore server masters, this is the dream way to access features and manage a game. Virtually any option you want to tweak can be accessed via the UT command line. Nice and easy!
• Improved User Interface – Unreal Tournament introduced a better way to see what is happening during a game. By using a unique heads up display (HUD) for each game type (Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Domination, and Assault), the game provides ALL the info needed to play effectively WITHOUT bombarding the player with excessive info.
• UBrowser – Unreal Tournament’s robust Ubrowser system provides the easiest way to find a game on the Internet and jump into battle. The Ubrowser eliminates the need to download third-party server querying applications. It’s as simple as one-two-frag. By clicking on the “Play Online” button and then selecting a server from the list, the game is on.
• Spectator Cams – Watching a game of Unreal Tournament has the potential to be almost as much fun as playing it. Thanks to the Spectator Cams, gamers can enter a game and hop around to designated Spectator Cams to view the action on the level. Even cooler, the camera can be “attached” to one of the players in the level to view the action from their perspective. Either way, it’s a cool feature and a great way to learn for people new to the world of online gaming.
• Jump Mode – Jump twice as high as normal. It’s sorta’ like having a never-ending pair of jumpboots on. The impact these boots have on gameplay is almost indescribable. It changes the dynamic completely.

Gameplay

The available combat modes are:

• Deathmatch — Frag other players as much as possible to gain the highest score.
• Team Deathmatch — Two teams go head to head to be the best fragger.
• Capture the flag: Players must invade the enemies’ base, capture their flag and bring it back to his/her base in order to score.
• Double Domination — In double domination two teams must control two points on the map. Holding both locations for a certain period of time gives points to a team.
• Bombing Run — Bombing run can best be described as Unreal-style American football where the player gets the ball and has to take it into enemy territory and score in the enemy force’s goal. Players can pass to other teammates. Getting killed causes the ball carrier to fumble the ball. The ball launcher is used to carry the ball, it isn’t a weapon but helps the player heal when he/she is in low of health. 3 Points are awarded for field goals (shooting the ball through the goal), and 7 points are given for touchdowns (carrying the ball through the goal), although the levels are often designed such that this kills the ball carrier.
• Last man standing — All players in this gametype spawn with a limited number of lives. The last remaining player to still have lives wins the match.
• Invasion — Is a co-op gametype where you play with all the players in the server in an attempt to kill the invading alien AI. If you are killed, you must sit out until your team clears the map of aliens.
• Mutant — Mutant is very similar to a “Juggernaut” or a “King of the Hill” type of gameplay. The first person to make a kill becomes the mutant, which gives them unlimited ammo, camouflage, and super speed. The mutant then tries to get as many kills as he can until he’s killed. The person who kills the mutant then becomes the mutant.

The game has single-player mode that mimics multiplayer gaming by featuring AI-bots.

Plot

In 2291, consensual murder is legalized, opening the way for a previously underground event. Smaller mining companies have been running smaller matches to channel aggression, but now the Liandri Mining Corporation established a professional league, which quickly proves to be an extremely lucrative way of public entertainment. Liandri entered into the Tournament, as it is officially called, sponsoring their own team, the Corrupt. The Corrupt’s leader, Xan Kriegor, quickly achieved champion status and held it for two years. In 2293, a human named Malcolm dethroned him and became champion himself. A huge media figure, Malcolm is hailed as the biggest star in human history and is worshipped as a god. His success nets great rewards for his sponsoring corporation, attracting the attention of jealous rivals both in the arenas of the Tournament and in the corridors of power a galaxy away. Liandri attempted to win back the champion title with Xan MK2 but failed (unknown to the other contestants, each member of the Corrupt is purely robotic, including Xan).

Now it is 2302. The Tournament is undergoing a massive overhaul. The aging Sniper Rifle (a relic of centuries past) is removed from the Tournament as is “Assault” – a team-based event that forms a part of the competition. Many fans of the Tournament complain at these changes, with some combatants refusing to participate in the new format. Malcolm, shortly after his victory, hired two of his former opponents (Brock and Lauren, members of the former Iron Guard team) as teammates in his reformed Thunder Crash team. But the Axon Research Corporation, another of the four great corporations, entered the Tournament as well, sponsoring the geneboosted Juggernaut team, led by the brutal and savage Gorge.

Game modes

Similar to the prior entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes, including large-scale Warfare, Capture-the-Flag, and Death match. It also includes an extensive offline single-player game with an in-depth story, beginning with a simple tournament ladder and including team members with unique personalities. The following game modes are included:

• Deathmatch
• Team Deathmatch
• Capture the flag
• Duel – A one versus one game mode. It uses a queuing system: the winner stays, and the loser goes back to the end of the queue. A typical match lasts fifteen minutes with the winner being the player with most kills.
• Warfare – A mix of Onslaught and Assault game modes. While basic game rules are equal to those of Onslaught, Warfare adds countdown nodes (which, after being captured and defended for a certain period of time, create a vehicle or trigger an event helpful to the capturing team) as well as the orb, which can be used to instantly capture and defend nodes.
• Vehicle Capture the Flag – Capture the Flag, with vehicles as part of the map; this game mode is distinct from the standard Capture the Flag mode. Also, players are given a hoverboard rather than a translocator.
• Betrayal – This game type places freelance players on teams, and when the members of each team kill enemies, the pot for that team grows. Anybody on a team with a pot can betray the rest of the team by shooting them, thus taking the pot, but they must defend themselves from the betrayed teammates for 30 seconds after that, or the teammates receive extra points.
• Greed – Greed is a game that (like the UT2004 mod of the same name) focuses on collecting skulls dropped from dead players and capturing them in the opposing team’s base. For Greed, the game uses all Capture the Flag and Vehicle Capture the Flag maps.

Modes not returning from the prior Unreal Tournament games include Invasion, Mutant (having been later on partially replaced by the Titan mutator in the UT3 Titan Pack), Onslaught (replaced by Warfare), Bombing Run, Last Man Standing, Domination, Double Domination, and Assault; Assault was removed from the game during production.^[8]

Vehicles

In this installment of Unreal Tournament, the vehicles are split into two factions, the Axon vehicles and Necris vehicles. The Axon vehicles are the same vehicles from UT2004, but several have significant game play changes. In addition, on vehicle maps every player is equipped with a personal hover board, a skateboard-like device that allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other team-mates’ vehicles. The hover board is very vulnerable to attack, and any hit will knock the player off the board and disable him or her for several seconds, leaving the player exposed and vulnerable. The player cannot use any weapons while on the board.

Teams

Unlike the prior Unreal Tournament games, the single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, and therefore several of the teams within Unreal Tournament 3 are not Tournament competitors.

The five playable factions are: Iron Guard, a team of human mercenaries led by former Tournament champion Malcolm; the Ronin, a band of four survivors of a Skaarj attack on a human colony; Liandri, a series of advanced humanoid robots custom-built or retrofitted for combat; the Krall, a warlike race of aliens formerly under the leadership of the Skaarj, returning from their initial appearance in the originalUnreal; and the Necris, warriors who have undergone the process of the same name, making them stronger at the expense of replacing their biological processes with “Nanoblack”, effectively turning them into undead soldiers (hence the name, Necris).

In the Campaign, players control members of the Ronin, and the Necris serve as the chief antagonists.

Plot

In 2307, some years after UTD2003, a Skaarj attack occurs on a colony on unknown planet, releasing armed Kralls on the humans. The colony is defenseless, but a group of Ronins arrives on the scene, defending the survivors. Reaper, the group’s leader, advises his second-in-command warrior Othello and his sister Jester to destroy the Skaarj blockade with a fighter, and orders team’s sniper expert, Bishop, to provide cover as he swarms to save the colony. Suddenly, he is caught in the explosion of an incoming rocket missile and passes out, but not before seeing an unknown woman shooting a soldier next to him.

Reaper is rescued by Othello and Jester and wakes up in the base of the Izanagi, a guerrilla force that fights against Necris and Liandri, and he meets with the leader, revealed to be Malcolm, who also leads the Iron Guard as the Izanagi’s army. He explains that the Skaarj attack was masterminded by Liandri, who also turn some of the Krall, Skaarj aliens, into Necris, controlled undead soldiers. The unknown woman who Reaper saw turns out to be Lina, the Liandri operative who destroyed the colony and also leads the Necris forces. Reaper wants to kill her, but Malcolm tells him that he needs to prove himself first.