Adding lots of new

Sports are a part of who we are as humans. Almost all of us either play them, used to play them, know someone who plays them, or cheer for them like our lives depend on it. In fact, with sports such as basketball, football, soccer, and more ingrained into our society as deeply as they are, it’s hard to imagine how a new one could ever be born and reach a similar level of popularity. Well, it seems the best way to do it is to birth yourself from the ashes of another sport. Boxing isn’t dead, but it’s certainly on the down lately, and like a phoenix from the ashes MMA has risen to fill many people’s need for one on one combat. A brutal mixture of strikes, pounds, and submission locks, mma pits fighters of any number of fighting styles against each other one on one to see which can prevail, and the world seems to love it. With the rise of the sport’s popularity, THQ decided to turn it digital, releasing UFC: Undisputed 2009. Now, three years later, the franchise is looking to come back bigger and badder than ever before.

As is often the case with sports game franchises, UFC Undisputed 3 isn’t looking to completely re-invent itself from the earlier entries in the franchise. Instead, utilizing the extra development granted from breaking its former annual release schedule (a trend I wish other franchises would follow) Undisputed 3 is adding new fighters, more moves, new ways to play, and a good deal of polish and tweaks to the already solid foundation build by Undisputed 2009 and 2010.

Mechanics

The raw gameplay mechanics will be familiar to veterans of the franchise. Face buttons control strikes, the bumpers and triggers act as strike modifiers, and combinations of face buttons and joystick rotations control takedowns and ground positioning. If that sounds a bit intimidating, it is. While I think the controls are quite intuitive and easy to understand once used to them, there is definitely a steep learning curve to mastering the timing all the quick presses and flicks required to succeed. Understanding that this may scare newcomers off, Undisputed 3 will also have a simplified beginner control scheme that will handle most of the finer points letting the player focus on learning the basics of what buttons and combination do what. I’m normally not huge on games that include simplified control scheme options as it can really hurt the game, but I believe that here it will be a welcome addition.

The only real significant change to the mechanics of how the game is played comes in the submission system. In previous titles, once a submission was attempted both players would have to mash their controller to either lock the hold in, or break free. In Undisputed 3 this system is replaced with a mini game of sorts. An octagon-shaped icon comes up on the screen, along with two bars: one for the offensive fighter and one for the defense. The fighter attempting the lock must try to cover the other fighter’s bar for a given amount of time to lock in the hold. On paper I think this sounds like an idea. Certainly it will involve a bit more strategy than simply mashing. However, I’m skeptical that this system will break one of the franchises biggest positives: immersion. The Undisputed franchise has done a great job of making making the player feel like they are part of the fight. There are no health or stamina bars, no lines of text, nothing to take your focus off of the action. This mini-game system will constantly remind me I’m playing a game, especially against submission fighters that may be attempting locks a dozen times in a match. I can’t pass judgement on the system until I use it for awhile, but at this point it’s the only change in the game that I see being one for the worse.

Actual audio clips

Presentation looks to be the best the series has seen yet. While the visuals have received a decent upgrade, it is the audio that really makes the game come alive. I’ve been saying for years that UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are the best in the business. Not only do they have an expert understanding of the sport, but they have both great chemistry with each other and energy that is infectious to anyone listening. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to carry their charisma and charm into the realm of the digital. To attempt to solve this, Undisputed 3 is trying a few new techniques to bring the commentary up a few notches. The problem with commentators is that they aren’t actors. They may sound great when on the job, but that’s because they’re saying things as they feel them, and posses a great skill to transfer their feelings and emotions to us through language.