Mark Rein: PS3 UT3 graphics better than Gears of War

288w ago - Epic head honcho says "something special" about playing PC shooter on PS3.

PS3 UT3 has better graphics than Gears of War according to Mark Rein, Epic's vice president.

Speaking in an interview with Pro-G at the launch of the PC version of the game, Rein said that he was "really proud" of the PS3 game, which he hoped would be out in the US this year. However, due to certification issues he remained sceptical about a similar release date for the European version, instead suggesting early 2008.

He said: "People are going to be pleasantly surprised. It's a really high end experience that pushes the graphics bar up even higher than Gears of War. There's more polygons, there's more stuff going on, there's more explosions and there's more things happening, so we're just really pleased with the way the game runs on the PS3."

Epic's blockbuster third-person shooter Gears of War has proved a massive hit since its release on the Xbox 360 last year. At the time it wowed audiences with its jaw-dropping graphics and gritty portrayal of war.

When asked about the difficulties some game developers have experienced with Sony's next-gen console, the typically enthusiastic Epic boss said: "Doesn't affect us baby!"

He added: "You know, bringing a game to any new piece of hardware is difficult. That's just the nature of making games. Making games is hard. It's a hard business. I don't think the PS3 was any more of a challenge than any other new piece of hardware that we've used. Remember, we've been making PC games for years and the PC isn't one platform, it's hundreds of platforms. There's no two PCs that are completely identical in many cases. That's just the challenge of making games."

Rein said that there is "something special" about playing UT3 on the PS3, and that while the speed of the game has been reduced by about 20%, "it feels just right to be playing it with a controller".

"The goal in taking the game to PS3 is to make the best PS3 game we can possibly make", he said. "And to do that we had to take into account that most people are playing with the controller. There are certainly differences in some of the parameters of the PS3 version. Maybe the weapon speed is a little different, the turning speed is different, but we have to accommodate and make it a great game. Our goal is to make UT3 the best possible game it could be on every platform it's on. I think we've done a really good job of making it feel just right on the console and that's exciting to us."

UT3 is out on PC on November 23, with a Euro PS3 version scheduled for early 2008. For more information, see our UT3 gamepage, where you'll find a hands on preview soon.