On February 17th, UFC Undisputed 3 was simultaneously released to a cacophony of adrenaline-fuelled, furrowed-brow gamers and harmoniously positive reviewers across the world. Yet for me, UFC Undisputed 3 promised to be an altogether more interesting experience for the simple fact that I was a complete and utter UFC twonk (a word here which means “novice”). Yes readers, this was to be my first soiree into the multi-million-dollar gaming experience that is MMA Fighting, and boy did I feel battered and bruised trying to tackle (no pun intended) the various different control schemes and methods available in order to essentially kick the shit out of somebody. I can genuinely appreciate the execution and longevity in UFC Undisputed 3, as it’s a holistic fighting simulator/experience that looks nice, plays relatively well and possesses some genuinely entertaining moments throughout each mode of play – yet at the same time, I can honestly tell you that this is not a game for everybody. And I mean it.
Rather than write this analysis conventionally, I’m going to discuss my experiences and drawbacks exactly as they came to me – from the moment I loaded the disc into the tray to the time I put down the controller a few hours later. This isn’t because I don’t know how to approach the game but moreso due to it being the momentous occasion that this is the only stone that I’d, till this point, left unturned (perhaps with the exception of a golfing simulator or Barbie dress-up, but let’s be honest… they’re not proper games.)
The disc entered the machine, and that same machine began to whizz and brr. As soon as I had downloaded two pretty mandatory UFC packages from Xbox Live, I was thrust into the vibrant archive footage of UFC and Pride which serves to form the introduction to the game. I was immediately reminded of the finale of the film “Bruno”, but that’s probably because I know little to nothing about professional mixed martial arts. After calibrating my settings (which included a nice ‘amateur’ setting for performing grapples), I noticed the simplistic menu system which works well for a game like this. The soundtrack also accompanies the atmosphere perfectly; rock beats and distorted electric guitar successfully blasting their way out of the television speakers and into my intimidated little ears. What I also noticed was the very FIFA-like scrolling bar at the bottom of the menus, which informs players of real events that are occurring in the world of UFC. Good addition, and I’m sure if I followed MMA religiously that this would be a helpful tool.
I was soon offered a tutorial and I accepted (what with this being my first time and all). Yet my interest soon rocketed to dismay as the sluggish load times, constant fades to blacks and lengthy waffle all prevented me from breezing through the tutorial in the way in which I’d hoped. There are 17 items to tick off in order to finish the tutorial and each one genuinely takes a good few minutes to complete – not due to payer skill, but because the pacing and constant fade-to-blacks make it a sluggish experience. I gave up after 10 segments before realizing that there were three other tutorials that players can complete – varying from beginner to pro – and by this point I became very concerned about who exactly would play through a tutorial that probably clocks in at around an hour and a half.
I soon decided enough was enough and decided to blindly enter my first round of UFC; it was time to meet Bruce Buffer. And what a sterling job he does at announcing! But it’s not just Brucey who surprised me; all the voice talents in the game are exceptional –extending from Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros to Lenne Hardt, who announces the fighters in Pride. They’re all convincing, entertaining and are clearly giving 100% in the recording studio – and partnered with well-scripted dialogue, this is certainly a recipe for success.
I selected George St Pierre as my debut fighter, as he clearly seemed to have the best stats on the game. I guess you could say it was the fighting equivalent of selecting Barcelona on FIFA, but I digress. The introductions set the mood well and genuinely flesh out each fighter well. There are also many nice establishing shots of the stadium, crowds, sign-holding bikini babes and of the octagon itself – yet despite all that effort, by my second game I was very glad of being able to skip through them all as they are extremely lengthy. And I was off! Beginner settings seemed almost insultingly easy and I landed rapid knockouts in Round 1 each time, the on-screen tutorial tips helping me make sense of what I was supposed to do (a far easier way of learning the game than actually taking the tutorial – it turned out!) I also soon adjusted to the entertaining mini-game style takedown procedure, in which you have to chase your opponents little graphic around an octagon, essentially capturing it – and executing the takedown. Failure to do so switches the grapple so that you become a defender, a good chance for your opponent to land some shots. The half-time replays are also thrilling and watchable, and being given a few extra seconds to punch your victims in the face whilst they’re knocked out unconscious on the floor is hilarious if a little barbaric. As soon as I switched off the help things got tougher, and by the time I managed to continue my winning streak – I foolishly thought I was ready to head online and check out the multiplayer. Whilst the THQ servers a solid and offer a non-lag experience, I couldn’t quite tell if I was ever being match made to players of a similar level to me. I obviously kept choosing St Pierre and got confused as to why everybody else in the world just wouldn’t go for him – until I realized that player stats probably mean very little, as I’ve still to this day not won a single online game. Regardless of all the losing, I still preferred playing online and whenever I managed to land a certain type of punch which made the opponents screen go hazy to signify a pre-knockout, I was always filled with an overtly masculine sense of pride.
UFC is clearly a detailed game, and whilst it may seem overwhelming for the average gamer, some stats are definitely vital and make for interesting reading for experienced players. Aftermatch reports which alert you to the parts of your game you can improve on, connected punches, stamina, career stats, ratios etc. all help in fulfilling the holistic true fighting experience. There are also a lot of different ways to customize your game, beginning from the standard player maker (in which you can create your own fighter and customize his appearance and gear) to the Call of Duty: Black Ops-esque Highlight Reel, which saves your last 50 games in any mode, offline or online, and offers exciting and intuitive tools for players to edit their fights with fancy effects and transitions. A brilliant bonus and definitely an exciting feature for those pesky showboaters out there
Overall, UFC Undisputed 3 is a solid game for fans of MMA, yet for a more general gamer it may sadly come across as disappointingly average. It’s an aggressive and often entertaining experience, but one that isn’t helped by sluggish pacing, load times and unnecessarily lengthy moments. The style is nailed and it plays as you’d expect, but for a game that critics are calling “more accessible to beginners”, I think you’d struggle to find many beginners that truly connect to the experience in the same way as a hardcore gamer.
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