Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 is coming this Summer (June 30th in the States and unannounced in Europe) and it looks like us loyal Microsoft fans will be getting five exclusive maps, two new characters, and split-screen action for two players. Hit the jump to find out why this bonus content doesn’t really mean diddly.

While I definitely appreciate Epic’s effort in trying to make the 360 version up to par, it’s still the inferior version due to the PS3’s and PC’s ability to play mod maps (using mod characters like Master Chief). And I don’t think it will be very long before some crafty PC wielder recreates the exclusive 360 maps and characters for use with the PC and PS3 versions of the game.

So when you break it all down, the 360 fans basically get exclusive split-screen. Which is still something, I guess.

Source: IGN

Current and future UE3 clients will be eligible to witness these latest upgrades and enhancements within Epic’s expo suite at GDC.

The first presentation on February 20th will see Epic Games’ Programmer Martin Sweitzer dropping some programming edu-mi-cation on your ass, followed by an Unreal Tournament 3 postmortem two days later presented by President Michael Capps and Producer Jeff Morris.

You can look forward to GDC ’08 coverage as it happens here on Ripten.

Source: Next-Gen.biz

Many of you will have heard the buzz about user created maps making their way to the Playstation version of the game, but you might have thought that this first time console modding was probably not that good. Well, you’ll be pleased to know you’re completely wrong, folks. Unreal Tournament’s modding system has changed the way console FPSs are presented.

Since the game’s release, there have been over 16 fully functional user created maps made available for download to the PS3, and it doesn’t stop there. You can also throw in two new camera angles (an over the shoulder “Gears of War style” view, and a distant Third Person “SOCOM style” view), an improved visual color, and new game modes. And here is the kicker: it’s completely free of charge.

All you need is an external memory unit for your PS3, whether it’s a USB Jump drive or a Memory stick. This has got to be by far the best rendition of Downloadable Content.

The support behind modding for the PS3 is simply amazing, with modders hard at work creating new maps, game modes and mutators. They have placed themselves as the number one reason to go out and pick up a copy of Unreal Tournament 3 for the PS3. Strong, engaged communities have made UT3 a must buy.

The beauty of Unreal Tournament 3 is that the PC community can create maps for PS3 owners to play. It’s such a revolutionary setup for consoles, that you’re really getting a lot of bang for your buck with this insane multiplayer experience.

Now a Halo map has been created from scratch for the game:

This is a remake of the Halo map named Wizard. This was a great close quarters map and I felt it would be right at home with Unreal Tournament 3.

This also has full bot pathing so you can play singleplayer without having to find a server with someone hosting this map.

Enjoy the screenshots below, but most importantly enjoy this new map, which can be found here.