At the end of last year, I reviewed THQ and Yuke’s WWE 12, their annual wrestling release. Whilst I praised aspects of the game that were marginally improved, I was also left with a sour taste that the improvements were just a new wrapping on game that felt otherwise exactly the same.
In 2008, THQ bought the rights to another fighting game which would see an annual release, that being the UFC game which they titled Undisputed. 2009′s offering was a great debut for the series, and 2010′s sequel was just as good albeit with more to do. It did feel like it was going to go the way of WWE’s games though and become more of a yearly roster update than a new game. Then something changed. Opting to miss out on a 2011 title, THQ and Yukes waited nearly two years to release Undisputed 3, and those two years have done the game a world of good.
It should be noted that I was already a fan of the Undisputed series, but it did have it’s flaws, namely an unforgiving submission system which seemed to almost entirely work on luck, this along with many others parts of the game, is where the big improvements have come in to the game. The fighting itself feels smoother, whilst you’re still presented with character models that seem to be similar to those of the previous two outings, they move more fluidly now. Swaying out of the way of a barrage of punches and countering with a face kick can actually make you feel like Anderson Silva, and not like a robot version of him as we had in years past. It’s still not perfect, there are still some jerky movements, but for the most part the game looks and runs how you would want it to.
So what to do when you’ve kicked someone in the head and they go down? In the past years, the answer for many would be to ground and pound so as to avoid the confusing submission system, but that’s gone this year and instead we have a graphical display to help us along. When the submission is locked in, a large circle appears on the screen with two bars, one inside and one out. The person initiating the hold has to put their bar so as that it overlaps their opponents bar (not the whole of it, just some) meanwhile the opponent has to move out of the way, both are done by spinning the right stick. It’s a very simple game, and as the attackers bar shrinks the longer the hold is applied, it can still be quite hard to get that submission locked in tight especially against a difficult CPU opponent, a bar in the middle of the screen lets you know how close you are to tapping out, or gassing out. If the hold is broken more often than not the fighter on the defensive will gain the offensive position, meaning that working a body part before going into the submission (which provides you with a larger chase bar) is still important.
Another minor improvement in the fighting, is the cut back of Flash KO’s. Flash KO’s are great, they can literally change a fight in an instant, but in 2010′s game I went through a career where I was getting Flash KO’s every 2 matches. They’re much rarer now, it’s far more common to see an opponent staggered repeatedly before the eventual KO blow hits their head. But the Flash KO is still there. I lost my light heavyweight title to a battered Lyoto Machida due to a mistimed jumping knee, which met with front kick that ended my night. It was only his second hit on me, and as annoying as it was to lose a match I’d been so dominant in, it felt right.
Outside of the other minor improvements to the fighting in the Octagon, the presentation is what has had the next big overhaul. Fighters are given full entrances, they get their gloves checked, Goldberg and Rogan talk them up and it actually feels like PPV coverage. Especially if your in a main event match, where they have little in game graphic video packages of both fighters, where Rogan and Goldberg will tell you about their past, what they’ve been up to recently and what their style is. Its not a massive leap ahead from 2010, but it’s enough that you notice and it feels better for it.
Career mode has also had a revamping too. You can take any fighter from any division, or create your own using a simplified rendition of the WWE CAW feature, and you start off in the WFA having a few fights to get your name out there. During this time, you can train at any of the camps available in the game, you’ll earn sponsorship, and you can complete training games to earn skill points. After a short WFA run, the UFC will come knocking and you continue your journey.
Rick Rude gets ready to dominate UFC
In the UFC, things change little, you still train the same, but in time you are forced to choose just one camp to train at. Their trainers will then accompany you to the Octagon, and you will have their banner behind you in the intros. You also open up the option for Game Plans which is new to this years game. The Game Plans are simple, you choose from a handful of them, including ground and pound, wrestling, brawling, counter attack and others. You then execute this game plan in a sparring match. In your next UFC match, if you use the game plan as you should do, you get huge bonuses (and some reductions) to your stats. It’s a great way of levelling up skills early on, but be weary of the stats that get knocked down. They’re a really great way of improving stats and add to the game as they give you tasks to perform, from your second playthrough onwards the game plan option is available from the very start allowing even more time to develop your perfect fighter.
As your career continues, you get to fight for titles, options become available to fight in a new divisions, either as a one off, or occasionally as a full time move. The basic structure is the same as 2010, just with a few improvements, and it’s definitely more streamlined and focused on getting you to the fights. You’re not asked to go to attend other events, you simply turn off that request right at the start, and you’re not asked to do photo shoots or promo work either. You stick to the important things. Training, planning, putting far too many sponsor logos on your tiny shorts and then kicking ass.
One big difference in career though, is actually another game mode entirely, that being Pride mode. At random points in your career you will be offered a chance to fight in Pride. Accepting the fight, and winning, will see you receive another invitation this time for a tournament where you will compete in 3 matches to win the title of your weight class.
It may not sound like a big deal, but Pride mode is so different to the UFC mode it feels like a different game and even looks like one. There’s no sombre entrances to the ring in Pride mode. There’s a huge video screen, smoke, pyrotechnics, and an over the top announcement from Lenne Hardt. When you get to the fight itself, it’s no longer in a cage but in a ring instead, all brightly lit up in a ‘big show’ atmosphere that actually makes the graphics look better than they do in the Octagon.
Alberto Del Rio (Dos Caras Jr) returns to Pride to right a wrong
When the match starts, commentary kicks in from Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros who offer a welcome break from Rogan and Goldberg, especially as Rutten is so maniacally enthusiastic. The fights themselves are as different as the presentation. Fights start with a 10 minute round, followed by two five minute rounds, and in those 20 minutes almost anything is legal. Except Elbows and groin attacks.
Ok, so elbows are ok in the UFC, but not in Pride. This must not be as violent, right? Not quite. With the exception of elbows, groin attacks and headbutts, everything else goes, including kicks to the head of a downed opponent, knees to a downed opponent and foot stomps to the head too. Like so much of the game it’s a small change that makes a huge difference to how you play. If you go lunging in for a double leg takedown, and you miss, you WILL be rewarded with a kick to the face whilst you lie down prone. Defensive fighters who like to take guard are also at a loss here, pulling guard can very easily be turned to pulling someones foot out of your mouth. The rest of the mechanics of pride mode are the same, but those tiny rule changes and the big show feel of the mode really help it stand out, and it will likely be the mode of choice for most peoples online matches.
Outside of career mode, Pride mode gives you something else as well in that is gives you 30 new fighters, including Pride exclusives like Nakamura and Bob Sapp, as well as Pride variations of Rampage and Chuck Liddell. They’re essentially the same fighters, but with slightly different variations in their offence and their stats are more reflective of the time when they were in Pride.
Pride isn’t the only way that the roster increased though, as thanks to the UFC and WEC coming together under one company, we also have the featherweight and Bantamweights in the game too, meaning guys like Urijah Faber and Leonard Garcia are now available, Strikeforce signees Jake Shields and Nick Diaz also join the roster, along with Alistair Overeem for those who joined the facebook fan page of UFC Undisputed 3.
With a much bolstered roster, and improved gameplay, a whole new mode and refined career mode you’d be forgiven for thinking that UFC had little else to offer. But you’d be wrong. Title mode returns, in which you have 5-10 quick matches in which to climb ranks and win titles. Title Defense mode also returns, a constant stream of matches in which you defend the belt as long as you can for up to 100 matches without a chance to break or save, and with a percentage of your damage carrying over in each match.
Ultimate Fights also returns, and includes some Pride Matches in it too (only 5 fights are initially available, extras have to be downloaded. Mostly for free, but some cost a small amount) Improved over the previous years outing, you have to perform a list of objectives and this time you are on a schedule. It makes it much tougher, and in some ways a little bit annoying, but if you give it a chance it can become really addictive.
The fights are given difficulty ratings, a two star ratings for Rampage Jackson will see a set of goals all about brawling in round 1 and winning. But an 8 star rating from GSP later on, will require you to carry out 6-8 goals in every round of a 5 round match, which can be fun to do as you try and recreate his battle with Dan Hardy but also a bit of a pain when a simple Jab in round 4 can KO your opponent who you’ve worked over for 3 previous rounds exactly the way you’ve been told to. Thankfully, not all goals have to be completed in one sitting, and any that you complete in one attempt, will still be completed when you go back allowing you to make adjustments to your strategy and make sure the matches reach the all important Championship rounds.
Try to take down the Axe Murderer as Rampage Jackson in Ultimate Fights
Tournament mode also returns this year, allowing tournaments in both promotions, and Events mode is back too allowing you to either create events or replay selection of 10 of the best from the last few years. There’s also a nice highlight video editor, where you can mix your replays up to create a nice video package showing the world what you can do. Be warned though, your last 50 replays are by default saved to your hard drive and they can be quite large, if you’re not interested in this feature turn it off in the options.
Of course there is also online mode, which allows you to set up a camp, training with friends, enter ranked matches and tournaments, and upload your highlight reels, tattoo designs, created fighters and custom events all to be reviewed by other players. I was only able to play a handful of a fights during my time with the review copy of the game, and whilst it is definitely less laggy than before the game did still suffer a bit from jerky animation and delayed response time. As more people jump online to play though, I expect this to level out, especially if you use the handy search function which searches only for people who have a strong connection, thus limiting the chances of lag.
Overall, UFC Undisputed 3 is a marked improvement on it’s predecessor. It’s not a massive change, but it’s lots of small changes that improve it all over that make this game feel fresh and new, and help it retain it’s crown as the best MMA game available today.
9/10
Competition!
For those of you who are now salivating over the idea of getting your hands on UFC 3, the kind folks over at THQ have given us 2 copies of the game on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
For a chance to win, simply answer the following question.
Anderson Silva is known by what nickname?
a) The Spider
b) The Tarantula
c) The woodlouse
Send all answers to Dropkickradio@hotmail.com, have your answers in by Midday on the 20th February, and the winners will be drawn have their prizes sent out that very same day.
All prize decisions are final, and no exchange is available.
Good luck everyone!
