First off, let me say I was terribly dissappointed by chucks loss the other night, but if he was going to lose I am glad it was against shogun. Ive always liked shogun, and the fact he is only 27 makes him a huge player in the lhw division if he continues to look as good as he did against chuck. Chuck I thought looked fine and he just got caught, but shogun looked alot like the shogun of pride, so hopefully he will continue his upward spiral.
that being said, on to the game. for those of you who didnt know at some gamestops you get a download code to download the demo early (comes out on LIVE and ps3 online thursday) with a reservation of the game (which comes out april 19th). I didnt reserve it, so I just went and downloaded the game from megaupload, burned it to a disc, and now Ive got the demo. You can find those directions here:
Help With UFC Game Please - Page 5 - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums
In the demo, the two fighters you have a choice from are Chuck Liddell and Shogun Rua. Which works out good for me because Liddell is my all time favorite, and Im a shogun fan. I also believe shogun has the potential to be the future of the UFC lhw division. Anyway, they have two differing styles of fight, so that is also cool to see.
Alot of people were worried (as was I) that the fighting would be jerky, there would be clipping in the game, and it wouldnt capture the spirit/experience/speed of MMA. But I was wrong. The game plays just like watching an intense MMA matchup. The "beginner" difficulty not so much, as you can basically have your way with the computer as far as striking, but as you go up in difficulty you really have to watch your ass.
For instance when I moved up to the level 3 difficulty, I was getting my ass handed to me every time for about 6-7 fights. I then figured out how to differentiate between low and high kicks/punches, and strong and weak blows. This way I was able to keep shogun at bay, or he would get kicked or spinning back fisted in the grill. The biggest issue for me was that as soon as shogun would take me down in the hardest difficulties, it was pretty much over. I could stall him ground and pounding me for a bit, but eventually (unless I was saved by the bell), he was going to knock me out via full mount GNP.
Which is where I learned how to maneuver on the ground using the control stick, moving shogun from full mount, to half mount, etc etc. Im pretty much able to keep him out of full mount, but if he gets full mount on me from the hardest difficulty, he usually is able to finish me. On expert I am able to win about 50% of the fights by brutal chuck style KO via high kick, superman punch, or overhand right.
So after learning how to use the high kicks, superman punch, spinning back fist, I was able to keep shogun away from me enough to where if he shoots, I am usually able to stuff it in true liddell style. The coolest thing about the game to me though is it really feels like you are watching an intense UFC fight as you play. If you just go in and try to throw combo after combo on the harder difficulties, your opponent will take you down, eventually get full mount, and pound your face. Its not just a straight up brawl, you have to use your head or youre going to get your shit rocked. IMO if you are an MMA fan, youll love the game because of this. It really is like a chess game, but with alot of ass being beat.
I do feel the computer cheats a bit on expert, as there is no way you can get full mount on someone that fast and every time you are taken down. However, it doesnt cheat to the point it pisses you off or make you want to throw the controller ala a NHL '09 on the hardest difficulties (I played hockey for 12 years and am awesome at NHL games, but Ill be damned if that wasnt the most cheating bullshit I have ever seen in a videogame suddenly your goalie dominik hasek should be playing middle school roller hockey and everyone on the other team is wayne gretskyx11).
I digress. The graphics are also the shit. There really isnt anything else that needs to be said about them. Its just the demo so they didnt have any ring entrances or anything (im not sure if they are in the regular game or not). The biggest thing for me was the gameplay and I know alot of people were worried about it seeing them comment on MMA forums, but it truly is awesome. It captures the spirit of an MMA fight, and the control setup (while is somewhat awkward to get used to) is really great. There isnt much point in going into detail on it because its easier to just figure out for yourself in the game. There is a good tutorial that comes with the demo that goes through how to do everything, which was really helpful.
The submissions remain hard as hell to get on the computer in really any of the difficulties outside of beginner, but supposedly those that have played with another human say that they are alot easier to get on non-computer controlled players. That being said, Its also hard for the computer to sub me, even on expert.
There are a few minor things that are a bit ridiculous, like everytime you get a knockout the opponents mouth piece flies out, etc, but nothing that really detracts from the game. I will say usually when I play a demo (even other fighting and sports games), I play it once and decide whether Ill get it or not. I have played this game for several hours, to the point where I took probably 5 breaks from work today to go pound on shogun for a few rounds. Im a bit scared to say that when the actual game comes out, Im not going to get shit done for a week. Im not a huge gamer (I probably buy maybe 3-4 games a year, rent maybe 10), but the mix of my favorite sport and a truly badass game make this awesome.
Ive never been good at games like Madden because I dont know shit about football and Ive never played, and I was awesome at the EA NHL series but no one really gives a shit about hockey compared to other sports. But I actually think Ill be damn good at this game and MMA is huge right now, and I think it will be for a long time.
Now, as long as I can access the create a fighter in the real game and make a Fedor mockup and armbar the shit out of everyone, Ill be happy.
shitty cameraphone pic
that being said, on to the game. for those of you who didnt know at some gamestops you get a download code to download the demo early (comes out on LIVE and ps3 online thursday) with a reservation of the game (which comes out april 19th). I didnt reserve it, so I just went and downloaded the game from megaupload, burned it to a disc, and now Ive got the demo. You can find those directions here:
Help With UFC Game Please - Page 5 - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums
In the demo, the two fighters you have a choice from are Chuck Liddell and Shogun Rua. Which works out good for me because Liddell is my all time favorite, and Im a shogun fan. I also believe shogun has the potential to be the future of the UFC lhw division. Anyway, they have two differing styles of fight, so that is also cool to see.
Alot of people were worried (as was I) that the fighting would be jerky, there would be clipping in the game, and it wouldnt capture the spirit/experience/speed of MMA. But I was wrong. The game plays just like watching an intense MMA matchup. The "beginner" difficulty not so much, as you can basically have your way with the computer as far as striking, but as you go up in difficulty you really have to watch your ass.
For instance when I moved up to the level 3 difficulty, I was getting my ass handed to me every time for about 6-7 fights. I then figured out how to differentiate between low and high kicks/punches, and strong and weak blows. This way I was able to keep shogun at bay, or he would get kicked or spinning back fisted in the grill. The biggest issue for me was that as soon as shogun would take me down in the hardest difficulties, it was pretty much over. I could stall him ground and pounding me for a bit, but eventually (unless I was saved by the bell), he was going to knock me out via full mount GNP.
Which is where I learned how to maneuver on the ground using the control stick, moving shogun from full mount, to half mount, etc etc. Im pretty much able to keep him out of full mount, but if he gets full mount on me from the hardest difficulty, he usually is able to finish me. On expert I am able to win about 50% of the fights by brutal chuck style KO via high kick, superman punch, or overhand right.
So after learning how to use the high kicks, superman punch, spinning back fist, I was able to keep shogun away from me enough to where if he shoots, I am usually able to stuff it in true liddell style. The coolest thing about the game to me though is it really feels like you are watching an intense UFC fight as you play. If you just go in and try to throw combo after combo on the harder difficulties, your opponent will take you down, eventually get full mount, and pound your face. Its not just a straight up brawl, you have to use your head or youre going to get your shit rocked. IMO if you are an MMA fan, youll love the game because of this. It really is like a chess game, but with alot of ass being beat.
I do feel the computer cheats a bit on expert, as there is no way you can get full mount on someone that fast and every time you are taken down. However, it doesnt cheat to the point it pisses you off or make you want to throw the controller ala a NHL '09 on the hardest difficulties (I played hockey for 12 years and am awesome at NHL games, but Ill be damned if that wasnt the most cheating bullshit I have ever seen in a videogame suddenly your goalie dominik hasek should be playing middle school roller hockey and everyone on the other team is wayne gretskyx11).
I digress. The graphics are also the shit. There really isnt anything else that needs to be said about them. Its just the demo so they didnt have any ring entrances or anything (im not sure if they are in the regular game or not). The biggest thing for me was the gameplay and I know alot of people were worried about it seeing them comment on MMA forums, but it truly is awesome. It captures the spirit of an MMA fight, and the control setup (while is somewhat awkward to get used to) is really great. There isnt much point in going into detail on it because its easier to just figure out for yourself in the game. There is a good tutorial that comes with the demo that goes through how to do everything, which was really helpful.
The submissions remain hard as hell to get on the computer in really any of the difficulties outside of beginner, but supposedly those that have played with another human say that they are alot easier to get on non-computer controlled players. That being said, Its also hard for the computer to sub me, even on expert.
There are a few minor things that are a bit ridiculous, like everytime you get a knockout the opponents mouth piece flies out, etc, but nothing that really detracts from the game. I will say usually when I play a demo (even other fighting and sports games), I play it once and decide whether Ill get it or not. I have played this game for several hours, to the point where I took probably 5 breaks from work today to go pound on shogun for a few rounds. Im a bit scared to say that when the actual game comes out, Im not going to get shit done for a week. Im not a huge gamer (I probably buy maybe 3-4 games a year, rent maybe 10), but the mix of my favorite sport and a truly badass game make this awesome.
Ive never been good at games like Madden because I dont know shit about football and Ive never played, and I was awesome at the EA NHL series but no one really gives a shit about hockey compared to other sports. But I actually think Ill be damn good at this game and MMA is huge right now, and I think it will be for a long time.
Now, as long as I can access the create a fighter in the real game and make a Fedor mockup and armbar the shit out of everyone, Ill be happy.
shitty cameraphone pic
