UFC Undisputed 3
The first I ever heard of UFC was when I was at an American friend's house, he had an American iTunes account and has just downloaded the latest episode of UFC. He desperately wanted to show me one particular KO, I wasn't all the keen, but didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm so went along for the ride. Of course, I mocked him mercilessly as he tried to find the right point in the video, stopping occasionally on same very gay looking cuddling on the mat - er, I mean wresting. But then we got to the clip he was wanting to show me - and I can't remember if it was a kick or punch to the head, but the guy went down and you could literally see his eyes roll back as he went dark.
Holy cow Batman, that was intense. We watched it a number if times and it never got old. The half naked sweaty gay wresting I could do without, but this cage fighting had some balls.
So when the second game in the UFC franchise came out in 2010 I had to get a piece of the action.
No we've skipped a year and UFC Undisputed 3 is here, and better than ever. There's more moves, more ways to fight and a much more in-depth career mode. The time between games certainly wasn't spent resting on their laurels, THQ certainly did a lot of work.
One of the first things you'll notice is that you have two different control options, basic and advanced depending on what level you think your at. Then you get to decide if you just want to jump in the cage and start hitting someone, or create your own fighter and see where you can take his career. If you go for career you in for many long nights and a lot of work, but you'll have help along the way, and it will be worth every second you put into it.
Brutal is what got me into UFC and brutal is what this game offers. I, as you can probably guess, go for more of a brawler character and try for the beat down, and with the new finishing moves, the game had me hooked all over again.
Graphically the game is impressive and it draws you in. The presentation makes it feel real, and once you submerge your self in the career mode and get a couple of wins under you belt, you'll be hooked.
UFC as a sport has attained something that WWF never could; respect. Even Hollywood shines a good light on it in Warrior. Now it feels like UFC the game franchise has come of age and can proudly say that it's a legitimate sporting franchise, on par - hell, exceeding - some of what EA is currently putting out.
Unlike the tired old sport of boxing and the fake world of WWF, UFC has a fresh feel to it, whilst retaining a gritty streett brawling fantasy - and THQ gets this, and delivers a first class game.
White Is The New Black
For a limited time only, New Zealanders can purchase the best-selling console of 20111, in a new, glossy white special edition.
Released as part of the Xbox 360 Special Edition Family Action Bundle, the console and Kinect sensor add a striking sense of style to the Xbox 360 range.
The $499 bundle represents exceptional value and comes complete with the special edition console & Kinect sensor, Kinect Sports and Kinect Adventures4 games as well as a three-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription5.
The Xbox 360 Special Edition Family Action Bundle features everything the family needs to jump right into the action.
Children and parents alike can enjoy the controller-free fun of Kinect with great titles such as Dance Central 26 or Kinect: Disneyland Adventures7. Alternatively players can use the glossy white, wireless controller to play blockbuster games such as Forza Motorsport 48 or Gears of War 39.
When it’s time for movies or social media, users can log on to Xbox LIVE and access entertainment3 apps such as Youtube, Dailymotion and Zune video marketplace. With the latest Xbox LIVE updates, users can even control their entertainment using only their voice!
The Xbox 360 Special Edition Family Action Bundle is available only as long as limited stocks last and can be purchased at major New Zealand retailers.
Warp Kicks Off XBox House Party
Trapdoor and EA have announced that the sci-fi stealth-action puzzler, Warp, is now available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points. Warp was praised by IGN.com as being, “fun and as dark as you want it to be,” and is the first title to kick off Microsoft’s third-annual Xbox LIVE Arcade ‘House Party’ for Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, a line-up of this season’s best downloadable games coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Warp puts players in control of Zero, a loveable – yet lethal – little orange alien with a big score to settle. After being captured and taken prisoner in an underwater facility, Zero is subject to torturous research experiments by cruel scientists. But Zero’s powerful and deadly abilities help him break loose and gamers must guide him through the laboratory to safety.
Warp has been praised for its dynamic gameplay, giving players the choice to take bloody revenge on every human they encounter or hide and plan their way through each level for a no-kills, stealth game. Bending the traditional rules of videogames, Warp features clever and intuitive puzzle-based gameplay where players decide how to traverse obstacles and combine abilities to master challenge rooms and top online leaderboards.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
There used to be nothing more entertaining than watching your kids play with the Xbox 360 Kinect. Now that title has been replaced with the introduction of Kinect Disneyland Adventures. The sheer joy and excitement your family will have when they journey through Disneyland and meet their favorite characters is priceless.
So what is this little bundle of joy?
Feel the Force this April
Xbox today announced that the Kinect Star Wars game and the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars console bundle will both be available on April 5, 2012 in New Zealand for $69.95 NZD RRP and $649.00 NZD RRP respectively. Star Wars fans of all ages will soon be able to bring the Star Wars universe home and become part of the films like never before with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360.
With five dynamic modes – Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing, Rancor Rampage, Galactic Dance Off and Duels of Fate – Kinect Star Wars makes it possible for Star Wars fans of all ages to delve into immersive Star Wars experiences. In addition to the previously announced Jedi, Podracing and Rancor modes, Xbox 360 and LucasArts have today unveiled new additions to the game, including:
New experiences within Jedi Destiny Mode, including:
Space battles: As you travel the Galaxy to face an evil that threatens to undermine the fabric of the Republic, you’ll engage with forces of the Empire in intense space battles
Speeder Bikes and Landspeeders: Pilot iconic Speeder Bikes and Landspeeders on your epic journey
New duels: Battle opponents like Count Dooku and Darth Vader on your journey to become a Jedi
New Duels of Fate mode, a battle-by-battle experience to sharpen your Jedi skills against the Dark Side.
New Galactic Dance Off mode loaded with Star Wars-themed pop tunes where those still honing their Jedi skills can take a break to battle Darth Vader on the dance floor or bust a move “Solo style.”
Additionally, the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars console bundle will feature an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for Dance Mode. With these new reveals and the ability to play in 3D, Kinect Star Wars adds to the growing popularity of the family-friendly gaming portfolio for Kinect for Xbox 360.
Forza 4 Jalopnik Car Pack
Last month saw the release of the January Jalopnik car pack for Forza Motorsport 4. Its a fairly random collection of vehicles with the draw card for most people being the Pagani Huayra. I took each of the cars through its paces with some fairly surprising results. I am a competent driver usually posting Leader board times in the top 30% with all driving aids turned off. Where possible I took each of the cars around a track or two with no modifications and then played around with them upgrading & changing settings but sadly I didn't have sufficient in game credits to buy the Huayra or the Lola. I was pleasantly surprised to be offered the #08 Gallardo as a level increase prize which is a higher than expected level of integration between the car pack & the main game. If not specifically mentioned here you can assume each of the vehicles was average/appropriate for its style and rating.
One of the stand out vehicles is the 2012 Honda Civic Si. It shows just how good the attention to detail, car dynamics and physics are in this game. The second it pulled sensibly away from the line I realised what I was in for and each corner was met with grudgingly slow understeer. I felt just like I do in real life driving my Toyota Corolla in rush hour traffic. This raises my biggest concern about car packs; why?! Why do I want to spend money to drive a 2012 Honda Civic when I could be driving any number of exciting classic or exotic cars that are available free in the game? It’s not like there is a shortage of cars or even a shortage of Honda Civics so what is it doing here? I have 2 (equally cynical) suspicions; 1 it is part of the usage agreement requiring Turn 10 to include the latest real world vehicle releases (which also explains the Inclusion of the Audi RS5 in an already incredibly cramped market place of A-spec 4wd Audi) or it was one of the easiest ways to fill up the numbers.
So if that is the bad what is the good?
Well naturally it must be the Pagani! But sadly no. The Pagani Huayra is as hard to drive as it is to pronounce! It’s slippery under braking and cornering and able to power slide whilst doing 250kph in a straight line... Trying to get this thing off the line with any kind of purpose was incredibly tough and the drive around one of my favourite tracks (Road America) was fraught with tension as I wrestled it to stay straight under brakes and not power slide out of every corner. Given the long straights on this track the Huayra should have performed quite well with a top speed rating of 10 but in fact by comparison the #08 Gallardo went around 7 seconds faster with exactly the same settings. The Gallardo was (unlike the Pagani) a joy to drive around Road America as you can brake incredibly late into the corners and jam it in to the apex for some hugely satisfying cornering. Sadly after upgrading it to an R2800 the Gallardo didn't perform quite as well on the larger sweeping corners of Sedona Raceway Park as it became much more slippery too. Possibly I would have found them both comfortable to drive with the assists on but then all cars drive the same with the assists on so what is the point?
The 2 absolute gems in this game pack are the Audi RS5 and the 1973 Ford Pinto. It isn't really surprising that the RS5 is a good drive what surprised me is how good. My first race out with the stock Audi I knocked out a lap time in the top 3% of the Leader board. That is my highest result ever (previous personal best was 5%). I was mentally scathing of the inclusion of the Audi as it simply isn't required in the game due to the high number of very similar Audi already available however I must confess it has won me over. It handles brilliantly and is also a great looking euro-coupe.
But I've saved the best to last the absolute stand-out performer in this car pack is the '73 Ford Pinto. It seems strange that a small size American runabout introduced to compete with Jap imports of the 70's would be the stand-out performer of a thoroughbred racing game but I guess that is the wonder of Forza. I took the little F100 out to compete in an F-level race at Sebring and won. Easily. On Hard. Against cars that hugely outclassed me. Not to mention I did it in style! As soon as I looked at the car it appeared to have a touch higher quality about the car model, I don’t know if it was the particular metallic green paint I chose but the car seemed to be smoother than the others in the car pack. Also it is the only one that has model specific manufacturer body kit and even the Forza body kit which usually just comes as a huge front and rear wing is modified specifically to this model. The whole look of the car is something special and the sound?! It's not a huge V8 rumble but it sounds wicked, it is unique enough that it caught my attention through the usual in game sounds. I cranked the Pinto up to its max (R2750 ish) with all racing modifications, 4 wheel drive, 6L V8 etc and although I won the race quite comfortably the car lost some of its magic. I could probably play with the vehicle settings to get it back but to be fair the Pinto does start to become outclassed when matched with Ferrari F430GT racing cars and the like. I can’t help but wonder if the '73 Ford Pinto represents a special memory for someone in the development team as it just seems to have a bit more polish about it.
So overall the January Jalopnik pack is a bit of a bust, the Huayra is a lemon (or at least didn't match with my driving style), the Audi RS5 is an excellent drive and the '73 Ford Pinto is just superb in all respects. Overall rating for the car pack is hurt because the concept of spending money for 10 additional cars to do the same thing you can do anyway is pointless and I personally believe these DLC should be free and used as a way to keep interest in the game ticking over rather than generating revenue.
Here’s a full rundown of the cars included in the Forza 4 January Jalopnik Pack:
2012 Pagani Huayra
2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2011 Lambourghini #08 West Yokohama Gallardo LP560-4
2011 Honda #33 Level 5 Motorsport Lola
2011 Audi RS5
2000 Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo
1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
1986 Dodge Shelby Omni GLHS
1973 Ford Pinto
1970 Alfa Romeo Montreal
