UFC UNDISPUTED REVIEW
OK where to start... I'm a huge MMA fan and I'd pride myself at having above average knowledge of the subject matter so if you wanted to have a conversation with me on this, we could actually have an enjoyable one.
UFC 2009: UNDISPUTED is (in a word) ?incomplete?. I will not whore my dignity out just because I am a fan of the franchise and neglect to mention the torrent of developer errors and developmental short comings of this video game, so to start:
The loading times are in abundance. Just to select ?options? is made long and drawn out, this really does detract from the frantic pace of the constantly looping BGM ?rock music? that quickly becomes monotonous, I guess I can blame that on the developers ambivalence, lack of variety and rather 'crude' taste.
The Sheer lack of options as well is criminal. There is absolutely no way to change the (frankly annoying) control system. Speaking of which I will dissect this annoyance right now as a message to future video game developers: Having to control the RIGHT ANALOGUE STICK [RS] and press the face buttons is not only annoying, but it slows down the exchange rate and action, given I have to literally reposition my hands on the controller. I have practised this game for weeks and I am saddened to say that no matter how much I try: the control scheme doesn't feel natural, intelligent, intuitive or even in my best interests. This gimmick-ridden, seemingly western philosophy of having to use the right analogue stick in every facet of gaming has long been proven to not work in fighting games. Def Jam Icon literally set a brand new bar for unintuitive control schemes, then there was the horrible rumours that Fight Night ROUND 3 which almost every player rushed to the control settings to reverse the silly [RS] reliant default controls. I could give suggestions on how to correct that but that will come later should I get enough requests.
The [RS] isn't ALL bad though, the use of the RS to block take downs isn't so annoying however this could have easily been the L2 button, in fact every single grapple block, transition block, transition lock (basically any move that required you to tilt the RS towards the right or left) could have been a simple hold or flick of the L2 button.
The block system is also laughable, given that you get almost no frame advantages from blocking an opponents attack. If you were a fighting game fanatic like me you'd know what I'm talking about when I say 'frame advantages from blocking'. Video games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken are very reliant on such things. Just like actual MMA is reliant on blocking certain attacks in order exchange or lull opponents into a false sense of security. There's also no deflecting attacks, no ?ghost blocking?, the parry system is reliant on the [RS] and there's no variety within that system, just standard clinching or take downs. Performing a body shot seem to have amazing priority when in fact attempting a body should be one of the most riskiest things to do. Alternating between high and mid/low blocking is also tedious and unintuitive. In this fighting game: body shots do rather large damage and leg kicks do barely anything although they do stifle the animation of the attacking character should you tilt the [LS] towards your opponent when performing one. Having blocking high and mid alternate buttons (R1/R2) and given the quick succession you can perform these moves I can only express complete dismay for such a developmental over-sight.
Manoeuvring your character is also clunky,not very responsive, and reliant on the [LS]. There's no double flick feature (only a silly single flick feature) and you cannot move the [LS] controls to the D-PAD, a shame really because the [LS] makes the movement feel somehow less personal despite a menial faster or slower ?hobble? towards your opponent. Clicking in the L3 button gives you a generic jog towards your opponent however nobody would be caught dead performing this because it really is a waste of time since accessing the move is tricky given the fact you need to push in the same control you will almost always be tilting towards one side or the other. There are also some generic taunts that do not give anybody any reason to perform, they don't embarrass your opponent and they don't feel personal either. They are just there...
The music is monotonous, lacks variety and there's no way of implementing your own sound tracks, that's a shame really but given that there are no entrances, no end fight music,and only a generic highlight reel looping track, I can't help but feel it would have been a waste anyway. I recognize some of the music from WWE Smackdown VS. RAW 09, I guess the developers were trying to save money, I know it's a recession but you can't expect a good net profit return if you are providing a mediocre at best product to a consumer who is becoming rather picky as the years toll by.
The animations... Where to start, although sweat, injuries, cuts, bruises and blood look quite well all of these things do not mask the callous, clumsy, robotic character animations that those elements are pinned to. The lack of punching techniques, the lack of GNP techniques, the lack of kicking techniques, knees, elbows etc. is a testament to the obviously lazy developing that went into this. I imagine I wasn't playing as Anderson Silva (one of the best fighters on the planet, with the variety of a kung fu film at his disposal) and in fact I was playing as the trademark green demo character that allows you to see what action you're performing when creating a character in the Smackdown VS. Raw franchise. Imagine if you were just playing as those ?demo-men? but with different colours and generic names like ?green 01?. This game wouldn't impress you, yes there is some skill needed, there is some technique needed, yes stats are important and yes this game can potentially be fun but well and truly it feels rushed, It feels like (for the lack of a better word) an ENDLESS DEMO.
The ONLINE on the PSN network is jumpy, the frame rate slows down every so often and you literally span certain attacks without worry. On-line will not be a big feature, not this outing anyway. There's a lack of people to play against and since everybody feels pretty identical due to the lack of variety in fighting styles I must say that you'd be wasting your time pitting characters against each other.
ONLY 6 fighting styles made it into this product. BJJ, JUDO, WRESTLING, KICK BOXING, BOXING, AND MUAY THAI. "Is that REALLY it"? you ask. Yes, that's entirely it... Despite these individual styles having almost unlimited amounts of potential within them it seems like the developers only picked 4 moves from each and then decided that it was enough to make a game around that. Save yourself a lot of money and just download the demo.
The Create a Fighter is in a word "limited". There's very little you can do, they will end up feeling very generic, a wash in a sea of similar clones akin to making an ORC in World of War craft actually. The variety instantly dies as you notice the 14 or slightly more announcer names at your disposal. I could talk volumes about this but what's the point? there's very little content to talk about, just what they DIDN'T do.
I almost can't bring myself to call this a fighting game let alone a simulator game or sports title because it is none of those, it is the first attempt at what is most likely a slew of titles that are going to give only minor updates, while only wall papering over the cracks in the foundations.
I have a system of marking and it's from -3 to +3
-3 is the lowest you can possibly get, it's where your product is unfixable. +3 is excellence, barely any titles ever make it there.
This game is on -1.
Oooo
OK where to start... I'm a huge MMA fan and I'd pride myself at having above average knowledge of the subject matter so if you wanted to have a conversation with me on this, we could actually have an enjoyable one.
UFC 2009: UNDISPUTED is (in a word) ?incomplete?. I will not whore my dignity out just because I am a fan of the franchise and neglect to mention the torrent of developer errors and developmental short comings of this video game, so to start:
The loading times are in abundance. Just to select ?options? is made long and drawn out, this really does detract from the frantic pace of the constantly looping BGM ?rock music? that quickly becomes monotonous, I guess I can blame that on the developers ambivalence, lack of variety and rather 'crude' taste.
The Sheer lack of options as well is criminal. There is absolutely no way to change the (frankly annoying) control system. Speaking of which I will dissect this annoyance right now as a message to future video game developers: Having to control the RIGHT ANALOGUE STICK [RS] and press the face buttons is not only annoying, but it slows down the exchange rate and action, given I have to literally reposition my hands on the controller. I have practised this game for weeks and I am saddened to say that no matter how much I try: the control scheme doesn't feel natural, intelligent, intuitive or even in my best interests. This gimmick-ridden, seemingly western philosophy of having to use the right analogue stick in every facet of gaming has long been proven to not work in fighting games. Def Jam Icon literally set a brand new bar for unintuitive control schemes, then there was the horrible rumours that Fight Night ROUND 3 which almost every player rushed to the control settings to reverse the silly [RS] reliant default controls. I could give suggestions on how to correct that but that will come later should I get enough requests.
The [RS] isn't ALL bad though, the use of the RS to block take downs isn't so annoying however this could have easily been the L2 button, in fact every single grapple block, transition block, transition lock (basically any move that required you to tilt the RS towards the right or left) could have been a simple hold or flick of the L2 button.
The block system is also laughable, given that you get almost no frame advantages from blocking an opponents attack. If you were a fighting game fanatic like me you'd know what I'm talking about when I say 'frame advantages from blocking'. Video games like Virtua Fighter and Tekken are very reliant on such things. Just like actual MMA is reliant on blocking certain attacks in order exchange or lull opponents into a false sense of security. There's also no deflecting attacks, no ?ghost blocking?, the parry system is reliant on the [RS] and there's no variety within that system, just standard clinching or take downs. Performing a body shot seem to have amazing priority when in fact attempting a body should be one of the most riskiest things to do. Alternating between high and mid/low blocking is also tedious and unintuitive. In this fighting game: body shots do rather large damage and leg kicks do barely anything although they do stifle the animation of the attacking character should you tilt the [LS] towards your opponent when performing one. Having blocking high and mid alternate buttons (R1/R2) and given the quick succession you can perform these moves I can only express complete dismay for such a developmental over-sight.
Manoeuvring your character is also clunky,not very responsive, and reliant on the [LS]. There's no double flick feature (only a silly single flick feature) and you cannot move the [LS] controls to the D-PAD, a shame really because the [LS] makes the movement feel somehow less personal despite a menial faster or slower ?hobble? towards your opponent. Clicking in the L3 button gives you a generic jog towards your opponent however nobody would be caught dead performing this because it really is a waste of time since accessing the move is tricky given the fact you need to push in the same control you will almost always be tilting towards one side or the other. There are also some generic taunts that do not give anybody any reason to perform, they don't embarrass your opponent and they don't feel personal either. They are just there...
The music is monotonous, lacks variety and there's no way of implementing your own sound tracks, that's a shame really but given that there are no entrances, no end fight music,and only a generic highlight reel looping track, I can't help but feel it would have been a waste anyway. I recognize some of the music from WWE Smackdown VS. RAW 09, I guess the developers were trying to save money, I know it's a recession but you can't expect a good net profit return if you are providing a mediocre at best product to a consumer who is becoming rather picky as the years toll by.
The animations... Where to start, although sweat, injuries, cuts, bruises and blood look quite well all of these things do not mask the callous, clumsy, robotic character animations that those elements are pinned to. The lack of punching techniques, the lack of GNP techniques, the lack of kicking techniques, knees, elbows etc. is a testament to the obviously lazy developing that went into this. I imagine I wasn't playing as Anderson Silva (one of the best fighters on the planet, with the variety of a kung fu film at his disposal) and in fact I was playing as the trademark green demo character that allows you to see what action you're performing when creating a character in the Smackdown VS. Raw franchise. Imagine if you were just playing as those ?demo-men? but with different colours and generic names like ?green 01?. This game wouldn't impress you, yes there is some skill needed, there is some technique needed, yes stats are important and yes this game can potentially be fun but well and truly it feels rushed, It feels like (for the lack of a better word) an ENDLESS DEMO.
The ONLINE on the PSN network is jumpy, the frame rate slows down every so often and you literally span certain attacks without worry. On-line will not be a big feature, not this outing anyway. There's a lack of people to play against and since everybody feels pretty identical due to the lack of variety in fighting styles I must say that you'd be wasting your time pitting characters against each other.
ONLY 6 fighting styles made it into this product. BJJ, JUDO, WRESTLING, KICK BOXING, BOXING, AND MUAY THAI. "Is that REALLY it"? you ask. Yes, that's entirely it... Despite these individual styles having almost unlimited amounts of potential within them it seems like the developers only picked 4 moves from each and then decided that it was enough to make a game around that. Save yourself a lot of money and just download the demo.
The Create a Fighter is in a word "limited". There's very little you can do, they will end up feeling very generic, a wash in a sea of similar clones akin to making an ORC in World of War craft actually. The variety instantly dies as you notice the 14 or slightly more announcer names at your disposal. I could talk volumes about this but what's the point? there's very little content to talk about, just what they DIDN'T do.
I almost can't bring myself to call this a fighting game let alone a simulator game or sports title because it is none of those, it is the first attempt at what is most likely a slew of titles that are going to give only minor updates, while only wall papering over the cracks in the foundations.
I have a system of marking and it's from -3 to +3
-3 is the lowest you can possibly get, it's where your product is unfixable. +3 is excellence, barely any titles ever make it there.
This game is on -1.
Oooo
