Some of it feels phoned in while other sections you get the idea that somebody was really trying to hard to be a bit edgy. Then new edition just doesn't seem to have the same edge and tone as previous version. Setting and writing wise 2nd edition is the best. So my real recommendation is: Read UA2, play UA3. I think a lot of what UA3 does works best if you're at least familiar with UA2. Plus, I think it's ballsy as fuck to intentionally deconstruct (and then flip) every piece of a game line's setting. I've never cared for metaplot-focused games, and UA3's material and tone fit the present day better than 2nd Edition. Personally, I recommend UA3 (and, full disclosure-I've published a UA3 magick school as part of the "Statosphere" community content program).
PCs in UA3 should be motivated individuals who want to do something, and the game should be the story of those PCs attempting to achieve their goals. The game has extensive (and somewhat fiddly) rules for a Session Zero, where the GM and the PCs collaboratively build a conspiracy. The importance of the metaplot has been all but dropped-instead, UA3 centers the PCs as the driving force of the campaign. Setting-wise, UA3 is a very intentional inversion of UA2-things that used to be important now aren't, or have been changed so fundamentally that they embody the opposite of what they used to. Mechanically, the game ties a PC's mental state directly to their base attributes (so, someone who has seen more "violence" is naturally better at the "struggle" skill, but less naturally inclined towards "connect"). UA3 makes minor mechanical changes to UA2, but has a far different take on the tone and construction of an Unknown Armies campaign.
It's pessimistic, oftentimes edgy just for the sake of being edgy, and chockablock full of late 90s/early Aughts conspiracy theories. UA2 has the "feel" that people associate with Unknown Armies. There's lots of content (both official and fan-made) available for UA2, and the setting material centers many of the iconic characters and organizations in Unknown Armies (the Comte de Saint Germain, the fast food cult Mak Attax, the postmodern MIB of Alex Abel's New Inquisition).
Many UA diehards will recommend 2nd Edition, and there are plenty of good reasons to follow their advice. The choice will come down to UA 2nd Edition or the current 3rd Edition (UA2 featured only incremental changes to the 1st Edition of the game).
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