Unreal Tournament 3 Strategy from Epic Games

Hey there – I’m Chris Mielke and I’m the Art Production Manager at Epic Games, developer of Unreal Tournament 3, which hits the PLAYSTATION 3 this week.

I’ve been asked to talk about one of my favorite Unreal Tournament 3 Vehicle Capture the Flag (vCTF) maps – Suspense. There are so many good nooks and crannies in this map that I had to highlight a few!

If you haven’t played Suspense – this map is a giant suspension bridge that has a flag base at each end. You can set up killing zones by using the towers as blockers, snipe or infiltrate the base by using the suspension bridge itself or use the various power ups to do flag runs. I’ll go into each one of those below and give a couple random tips at the end.

The main weapon on the map is the Goliath Tank – most people just drive it down the bridge and it usually gets blown up by an AVRiL, but there is a way to maximize your firepower. If you take the tank from its starting position and drive it diagonally across the street to the right to the first large bridge support pillar – then you can use the pillar as a barricade against AVRiLs and tank fire. By poking your turret out around the corner of the pillar and rocking back and forth to avoid incoming fire you can control the whole street and take out snipers on the far side by the SPMA. However, crafty people usually try to flank you in the Manta or by jumping to the building behind you – so be vigilant! If you get good at this maneuver you usually can easily get a Rampage every time.

Next – the bridge suspension cables provide access to the upper reaches of the bridge. To access this area you run up the cables, use your hoverboard to skate up the cables (kind of tricky!), or have a Raptor pilot drop you off on the top platform. Before you journey up to the top – take a Sniper Rifle or the AVRiL! If you want to snipe – on each suspension bridge tower is a UDamage (for a total of two… which you can easily grab one and then the other in a loop using a narrow walkway). The only way people can reach you on the top platforms are the same ways you got up there (which isn’t easy), and you can have some fun while they scramble to reach you. By using the suspension cables to facilitate your getaway is a fast way to get the flag and escape quickly. Usually people are looking on the ground for the stolen flag/flag carrier – not in the air!

When you are doing your flag runs remember to power up using the Body Armor and the Jump Boots (to help you escape). These are located in the “middle” of each bridge support (between the ground and the AVRiL platform). The Body Armor is on the on the right side as you look down the bridge from the base and the Jump Boots are on the left. Once you grab these items you will have a good chance at grabbing that flag and making it back to your base alive.

Finally, some random tips:

· When the Redeemer under the bridge appears, the manhole covers in the center of the bridge open – providing easy access to this weapon.

· Use the “lock on” function with the Rocket Launcher to kill any Mantas or Raptors strafing your base – too many people use the Stinger against aircraft and the results are much more effective with the Rocket Launcher.

· Crouch while grappling to a vehicle on the hoverboard – this keeps you steady, closer to the back end of the vehicle to avoid incoming fire, and doesn’t bounce you around as much.

That’s it for me – have fun and I’ll see you on the battlefield in Unreal Tournament 3!