Hmm, not sure I agree with your summary as the original was hardly a poor-man's UT, especially as it was running on a modified Quake engine and relied heavily on movement physics which UT lacked but that's digressing from where it is now.
Ignoring all that, the game is currently running CryENGINE 3 and looks pretty shiny. There are certainly hints of UT in the couple of maps I played and the lack of bunny hopping, strafe and rocket jumping due to a controller as an input device emphasises this. It's quick, especially so for a console game, and makes me think this is how Halo multiplayer should have been done. Love the power up twists you can pick up and apply to all players in a match which really set Nexuiz apart from everything else I've played in some time, these can range from the mundane infinite ammo to the much more interesting removal of all map items and colour-blind mode. This certainly livens up the traditional TDM and CTF game modes, which are solid but uninspiring.
Best of all is that there's a massive gap in the current market when it comes to competitive shooters, all the current crop pander to the lowest common denominator so Nexuiz fills this void nicely. My only concern is that not enough numbers will take to the game due to the COD effect, and newbies to this type of game will get smashed pretty hard. There is a bot training mode I've not touched due to the demo being online-only, but it should ease the learning curve. There are plenty of options in the menu too from aim assist to separate adjustable sensitivity for each axis.
Personally I'm going to shell out for it in XBL later today, but I'm really interested in the Steam version as it's practically begging for a mouse and keyboard. Nexuiz should scratch an itch I've had for some time. I'll report back with a more coherent post (need more coffee) when I've had a further play.
