Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3 coming along just fine

Tucked away on the exhibit floor at the Game Developers Conference, Epic Games has been showing off a demo of its Unreal Engine 3 while simultaneously showcasing an updated version of Unreal Tournament 3 running on the PS3.

The brief demo took place inside an enormous, metallic construct against a few bots who took advantage of the many jump pads located throughout the multi-levelled arena.

The character, being controlled by Epic’s very own Alan Willard, used an assortment of weapons to tear through his opponents, including classics like the bio rifle, flak gun, and the handy link gun. The link gun features a primary firing mode not unlike that of UT’s Pulse gun that unleashes a flurry of energy blasts, with a secondary fire that releases a constant stream of energy. This can be linked to team mates who have also equipped the weapon, enhancing its devastating properties.

Visually the game was on par with our expectations, sporting a highly detailed (and Dino Crisis 3-like reflective) environment littered with particle effects and other eye candy to ogle. Unfortunately the frame rate had a tough time keeping up with the action and took some major hits from time-to-time, though Epic reassured us that the game will be much more polished when it hits store shelves later this year.

Check back soon for an interview with Epic’s vice-president Mark Rein.