The promised "Unreal Tournament 3" beta demo has been released, giving players a chance to try out the highly anticipated follow-up in development at Epic.

"The beta demo consists of three different action-packed Deathmatch and Vehicle Capture the Flag maps: HeatRay, ShangriLa and Suspense. All maps in the demo can be played locally against bots, or online against human opponents. Unreal Tournament 3 is currently slated to ship in November for PC. Get ready to get your frag on!

HeatRay (Deathmatch):

This battle takes place in a night-time urban setting. Players battle over who gets to use a Dark Walker super weapon after it is spawned by a passing drop-ship. If you manage to get it, be sure to rack up the kills quickly since everyone will be gunning for you. The Dark Walker is like a giant piñata -- when it dies it drops a U-Damage and a Berzerk power-up. If you want to stay hidden from the Dark Walker keep an eye out for the Invisibility power-up.

ShangriLa (Deathmatch):

A stark contrast to HeatRay's moody setting, ShangriLa is a sunny, tranquil map set high in the Izanagi Mountains. This map is designed in the traditional style of big Team Deathmatch maps, so it should please the most hardcore UT Deathmatch players. Fight over the U-damage in the central courtyard, or try to control the Shield-belt alley. You can find jumpboots in a vulnerable spot at the end of a dock, but the risk is worth the reward as they will go a long way toward helping you control the map.

Suspense (Vehicle Capture the Flag):

Set on a massive suspension bridge deep in Axon territory, this map is a playground of gameplay possibilities. It's a favorite in Epic office playtests because you can find almost all the Axon vehicles, as well as the Redeemer super-weapon. Whether you are sniping from the bridge towers, camping with the tank, towing hover-boarding flag-runners from your Raptor, controlling the redeemer from underneath the bridge, bombarding from afar with Hellfire SPMA artillery, or doing fast attacks with Manta's and Scorpions, everyone will find something they love doing in Suspense.

Unreal Tournament 3 marks the return of the world's premiere first-person shooter to the PC, and its debut on the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay, and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense battles with other human players online, or against Unreal artificial intelligence that sets the industry standard. With the most powerful futuristic weapons and vehicles available, this is FPS action at its best!"

The 741MB demo can be downloaded from 3dDownloads, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer's Hell, GameUpdates (torrent), or Worthplaying.