E3 2004: Unreal Engine 3.0 emerges

News - First images from Epic's latest available

With Doom 3's "summer" debut fast approaching, it doesn't need a betting man to put money on a something of a re-write of the game graphical rules, especially if what the footage and images suggests proves an accurate reflection of Carmack's latest engine codings. It is little wonder then that Epic Games felt the need to do a spot of work on their own engine offering, sprucing up the licensable technology in the hope of being able to compete with rival id's new equipment. The new Unreal engine 3.0 is of course what will be pushing the latest instalment in the popular FPS series, and probably a myriad of third-party games too if Epic get their way.

An impressive list of new features is included in this third incarnation, including full support for DirectX 9.0 and therefore bleeding edge PC hardware as well as next-generation consoles. All manner of top-notch AI, physics, animation and customisable game content will also be supported, and with games like Splinter Cell, Thief: Deadly Shadows and Star Wars: Republic Commando already to its name, there's little wonder the future looks so bright for version 3.0.

We hope you enjoy the first images created using this technology, too.