Fans
of mixed martial arts have had it pretty good in the last few years.
The days of harking back into console gaming lore for their MMA fix
became a distant memory upon the release of THQ's UFC:Undisputed
2009. Hot on it's heels, EA sports MMA fattened up the buffet by
providing an intuitive and alternative control system while drawing
on a wider, while possibly less well known, roster of fighters.
UFC:Undisputed 2010 proved to be the most complete MMA release to
date and the chaps in suits at THQ will surely be salivating at the
prospect of big numbers for their third instalment, due in early
2012.
Worming
it's way into the, newly pulsating, mixed martial arts video game
arena is 505 games 'Supremacy MMA'. Make no mistake, not only is this
the worst MMA product available on current gen consoles, it is also
among the most dire and uninspired in the beat 'em up genre as well.
Supremacy
MMA presents itself as a no holds barred, bone breaking, skull
cracking, underground slugfest, where only the loss of blood and
consciousness will determine a winner. Mind you, it also boasts that
it is the first MMA game to have female fighters. It does, two of
them, and they make up two of just twelve playable fighters overall.
If
popular outdoor varnish 'Ronseal' was a superhero, it's arch nemesis
would be Supremacy MMA. The most grating element of the game should
be that it drags MMA back into the dark ages by embracing a decidedly
misguided standpoint of 'fighting to the death' or some other similar
twaddle. It's most repugnant stench however is emitted from the fact
that this is merely what it claims to be, when in fact, it is
a wet, bare bones beat 'em up on the very bottom rung of the
championship ladder.
Initially,
Supremacy MMA presents itself quite well. Opening cinematics, cheap
and cheerful though they are, look quite edgy and cool. Sketchy and
cell shaded, supported with unrelenting metal audio, the opening does
it's best to get your blood boiling, ready for war. The quality of
visuals deteriorates as soon as you step in to the cage, however. You
can choose from several different kinds of venue, from cage to ring
to dojo canvas but each environment is as bland as the last.
Surrounded by a generic and largely motionless crowd, you and your
opponent, exchanging rigid blows, resemble rock em sock em robots
rather than ripped, rugged cage warriors.
'Supremacy'
furnishes itself with a small variety of modes, each one as brief and
bland as the next. Story, tournament, training and femmes fatales –
unfortunately the mode most bare of all of Supremacy MMA's anaemic
bones.
You
can play as one of two female fighters, each story mode lasts two
fights. Actually, less than that if you play as the champ, defend
your title once and, well that's it, job done.
It's
disappointing and deflating and the theme reoccurs throughout. Your
success in the cage is dictated by filling a power meter, allowing
you to unleash your most devastating attacks when full. Every time
you counter a move, it fills up a little more and tapping the
shoulder button will utilise a special move specific to your
characters fighting style, the fuller the bar, the more effective it
will be. This is rarely needed as fights are often over far too
quickly, it is very rare to find a fight that makes it out of round
one. This is largely because of the indiscriminate nature of the way
damage is absorbed. Essentially, your body becomes one large punching
bag, where a kick to the leg will contribute to your overall damage
taken just as much as say, a kick to the face.
There's
a good nod to some of martial arts most decorated and it is a
surprise to see playable pugilists such as Jerome LeBanner and Jens
Pulver, a fighter under the UFC banner not too long ago. Sadly the
story modes available, which should embellish your favourite
fighter's back story, are just five fights long and are broken up
with some truly bizarre interludes.
Such
as, for example, where former UFC champion, Jens Pulver talks about
how his father held a gun in his mouth as a child. This kind of story
is absolutely unsuited to an international sport. Imagine such a
story mode in a popular football game, perhaps Thierry Henry could
give a candid interview about being flogged as a child or David
Beckham could tearfully lament his experience of being made to force
read prose. It's entirely unnecessary and quite fictional.
So
Supremacy MMA lacks substance and story, no surprise, to be fair no
current gen (or old gen) mixed martial arts game has quite given us
an 'Uncharted' narrative quite yet and nor should we expect it.
However,
Supremacy MMA should absolutely be expected to deliver rewarding
combat. After all, there is serious quality to be enjoyed in modern
MMA games, every other recent MMA release has had great combat and an
extensive roster of licensed pros.
'Supremacy'
fails to deliver anything even close. Aside from the mis-marketing,
the lack of good game modes available and the bizarre stories, the
combat is awful.
Each
fighter carries his or her own fight style from boxer or kick boxer
to jiu jitsu, judo and others and with it their own individual move
set. While stood up, you can throw punches and kicks as you might
expect but beyond that, the combat is built around tedious counter
mashing in what ultimately feels like a far too drawn out quick time
event.
In
an attempt to avoid a given attack, you will need to counter with a
timed button press. Sometimes this might be a take down, whereas with
other fighters it may be a right hook. Each press will determine the
next stage the combat reverts to. The problem with this is that any
element of strategy is completely removed, instead of adopting a
winning game plan, you rely almost entirely on luck and circumstance,
not to mention the hilariously inconsistent in game AI. The system is
designed to make the experience of playing as a wrestler different
from that of a boxer, for example, instead it creates a series of
imbalanced and irritating contests. The button press required varies
too. It may be one to defend that pesky takedown, then another to
defend the same move, pressing the appropriate button as it pops up
on screen determines your success or failure.
It
can be quite satisfying to drop increasingly emphatic hammer fists on
a freshly mounted opponent but getting there is as soft as that
fighters' freshly mashed cranium. It pays to be reckless, throw with
abandon and you will find yourself countered and escorted to the
canvas. No matter, as the over simplified ground game mechanic will
restore you to an advantageous position within micro seconds. Simply
flick your analogue up or down (whichever you prefer) and you'll
advance your position. From stand up to ground to full mount and
knock out in fifteen seconds. The teeth grinding pleasure that you
should feel, instead comes over more like a lazy, quick win.
The
fact that Supremacy MMA has included online as a game mode is like a
cruel joke. Attempting to connect at all is essentially futile. If
you do get on, you are in for more of the same as the stifled single
player experience. Online should be avoided like an Anderson Silva
front kick.
Supremacy
MMA represents everything that a Mixed Martial Arts game should not
be. Selling itself on a worn out stereotype, promoting the myth of
cage fighters being from violent backgrounds, participating only
because they had no other choice. The derived narrative is fitting as
'Supremacy MMA' does it's best to drag the beat 'em up genre back to
the bad old days, relying on limp and imbalanced combat coated with a
wafer thin layer of content to endure rather than enjoy. 'Supremacy'
brings with it neither an MMA experience nor does it deliver even
remotely enjoyable play.
If
it had launched four years ago, with no other MMA releases out there,
it would have been wise to avoid Supremacy MMA completely. Launching
with three quality offerings already available and a fourth on the
way, 'Supremacy MMA' should be ducked, by everyone, like a spinning
back fist.
Mecha
Score 4.8
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