Posted 07/25/09 at 12:35:13 AM by Nathan Grayson

For Unreal Tournament, the third time wasn’t quite a charm. So after the less-than-amazing Unreal Tournament 3, Epic has decided to give its old dog a break, instead hoping to teach some new tricks to its more youthful franchises. So said Epic Games co-founder Tim Sweeney, speaking with G4.

“Unreal Tournament is certainly a major long-term priority but we’re planning not to release a major retail game in the series for several years.  So we have that effort somewhat on hold while we work on a few other initiatives,” he explained.

He also added, however, that the Unreal Tournament community produces so much content on its own that “we almost solve the Unreal Tournament 4 and 5 problem ourselves by just making this toolset available.”

Don’t let the series gather space dust for too long, though, Epic. In “several years,” intergalactic battles fought over respawn machines that are somehow powered by flags won’t seem so far-fetched.

Actually, no. That plot will always be ridiculous. Forever. Take all the time you need, Epic.

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Posted 03/31/09 at 03:49:26 AM by Nathan Grayson

And you thought the majority of today’s first-person shooters were only easy on the eyes. As it turns out, playing a fast-moving, state-of-the-art action game might be less like a warm glass of milk for your poor peepers, and more like a monolithic can of Monster.

According to a study conducted by Daphne Bavelier of the University of Rochester in New York, a few rounds of games like Call of Duty or Unreal Tournament may be enough to improve your eyes’ contrast sensitivity. Translated into the hip vernacular you kids have grown so accustomed to: Capping fools, punks, or whatever these are could save you from dying in a fire.   

“People who used a video-game training program saw significant improvements in their ability to notice subtle differences in shades of gray, a finding that may help people who have trouble with night driving,” noted the study.
 
While undoubtedly cool, the study’s results were far from expected. Apparently, contrast sensitivity doesn’t typically undergo significant change without an alteration to the optics of the eye -- glasses or surgery, for example.

The games played by each group, for those interested, were Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004 for the “action” group, and The Sims 2 for the non-action group. The first group saw a 43 percent improvement in contrast sensitivity, while the second saw none – possibly due to blindness or some other malady that our cruel universe has chosen to afflict upon those who are not truly hardcore.

Don’t sit too close to the screen, huh? Oh how the tides have turned.

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Posted 02/22/08 at 02:35:42 PM by Norman Chan

Since the last Unreal Tournament game was released four years ago, no worthy contender has managed to dethrone the now-classic shooter as the best game for online deathmatches. With the much-delayed Unreal Tournament 3, we get the uneasy feeling that Epic Games has grown a bit complacent with its multiplayer crown. The game’s brand-new graphics engine and glut of maps mask some very familiar weapons and gameplay mechanics. And while we appreciate that the developers haven’t broken from a proven design formula, we’re disappointed by the lack of innovation in this long-awaited sequel.

Click Read More for more. 

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Posted 08/08/07 at 12:53:48 PM by Tom Edwards

The Maximum PC staff traveled to Comic-Con in San Diego to meet readers and teach people how to kick ass at games

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Posted 06/01/04 at 12:00:00 AM by The Maximum PC Staff

In the PDF archive of the June 2004 issue, you can find:

• Speed Matters
• Power Supply Primer
• Geek Quiz
• Awesome Game Reviews, including Unreal Tournament 2004 and Far Cry!
• Ask the Doctor
• Rig of the Month
• The Watchdog
• And a whole lot more!

Click the flippin sweet cover image to the right to download the PDF archive today!

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