The holidays just perked up for PlayStation 3 owners. Along with being able to snag quality first-party games, out comes another viable must-have with Midway's Unreal Tournament III. Even though the PC version slightly excels, this port is a fine continuation of the long-running first-person shooting series, with more than enough battle action to go around.

If you've played Unreal Tournament before, then you'll have a good idea of what to expect. The action is mostly the same, as you go through multiple maps and shoot at anything that moves (except your own teammates). The gameplay is tight, functioning properly with the SIXAXIS controller. You'll have no problem winding around corners with a Bio-Rifle, entering a battle while shooting lethal balls of goo at opponents. Don't expect weak competition, though -- the artificial intelligence adjusts accordingly. Very rarely will you encounter a stupid character.

There are notable new additions. Vehicles play a large part in Unreal Tournament this time around. You can climb into a variety of transports with the push of a button (ala Halo), such as a slow-moving tank with immense firepower or a near-weightless hovercraft with quick firing ability. This gives you a significant jump on enemies, whether they're on foot or cruising in their own heavily armored vehicle. Over the course of various levels, you'll also have access to a Back To the Future-like hoverboard. With it, you increase your acceleration and mobility, which is beneficial when returning to your base with an enemy's flag. However, it has disadvantages. While riding it, you're unable to shoot back at enemies. Once hit, you need a few seconds to recover from damage, leaving yourself wide open for a brutal attack. In one scene, we thought we were home free with the enemy's flag until a tank blast knocked us out. Following its attack, it closed in for the kill and ran us over. Ouch.

One thing to note about the vehicular action -- you can control movement of these vehicles using the SIXAXIS tilting function if you wish. It's manageable, but in the heat of combat, you may prefer analog movement instead.

As one might expect, Unreal Tournament III's frame rate on the PlayStation 3 is slightly less than the PC version. However, that doesn't make it any less noteworthy. The attention to detail is quite startling, too. Whether you're roaming around an outside map as waves crash against the rocks or rummaging through an indoor facility with a limited amount of lighting, you'll find yourself mesmerized by the stunning (albeit slightly confusing) map layouts.

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