It's not hard to understand why this game undersold UFC Undisputed 2010 - the branding alone ensured that. But there are a few other things that make this game suffer in comparison.
The clinching mechanics on the surface seem ok...until you get to the point where the AI gets your fighter into a clinch that you simply can't escape from. My fighter kept getting kneed in the ribs, while my trainer is shouting "throw an elbow" or "throw a knee", which is great advice...if my fighter could actually do either of those. Every time the input was put in to throw a knee or elbow, however, nothing happened. My stamina went down the drain in no time flat, and then I was knocked out. The only solution, therefore, is to never, ever, under any circumstances let your fighter get into a clinch with an AI at the premier league level. It's frustrating and broken game mechanic.
Another issue is the submission game. I appreciate the effort in trying to remove the button-mashing aspect of escaping a submission attempt. But the approach EA took is completely non-intuitive and confusing. Finding the "sweet spot" to escape choke holds when you're red is difficult because the colouring they chose to use as an indicator is too faded to see properly. And every time I've tried escaping joint submissions, it doesn't seem to matter when I try to counter it. My fighter submits, every single time. I'm not sure if it's because I started off with a brawler, or if my stats aren't padded enough. What I do know is that the game is frustrating to the point where I'm more inclined to turn it off instead of trying to improve.
There is a core of a good game here, but with the recent acquisition of Strikeforce by the UFC, it's not very likely that this game will see a second iteration.
Just so I don't have to rush through it tomorrow, here's my advance picks for the card:
Silva over Belfort - I really, really want to be wrong on this one. The Sonnen-Silva fight showed first-hand that Silva isn't perfect and has vulnerabilities, but Belfort is primarily a striker, and Silva is has excellent stand up. Add in that Belfort has been off for over a year due to injury, and I just don't see him winning.
Franklin over Griffin - I like Griffin, but the former Light Heavyweight Champion hasn't exactly been shining lately, with only a split decision over Tito Ortiz is his last 3 fights. Franklin's been more impressive as of late, putting the nail in Chuck Liddel's career last year. Plus, I think Franklin is an overall better fighter.
Ellenberger over Rocha
Bader over Jones - Jones relies too much on unorthodox striking, in my opinion. I think he'll be a tough opponent for Bader, and I think this fight may go the distance.
Cerrone over Kelly
I honestly haven't seen enough of the other fighters on the card to make calls on the rest. I'm just hoping Silva loses - he still hasn't paid for the disgrace he put on in Abu Dhabi, and he deserves a blemish on his UFC career. His training buddy Lyoto Machida just recently lost his aura of invincibility, and Sonnen put a serious dent in Silva's. With any luck, Belfort can put the finishing touches on it, and take Silva's ego down a peg.
Silva over Belfort - I really, really want to be wrong on this one. The Sonnen-Silva fight showed first-hand that Silva isn't perfect and has vulnerabilities, but Belfort is primarily a striker, and Silva is has excellent stand up. Add in that Belfort has been off for over a year due to injury, and I just don't see him winning.
Franklin over Griffin - I like Griffin, but the former Light Heavyweight Champion hasn't exactly been shining lately, with only a split decision over Tito Ortiz is his last 3 fights. Franklin's been more impressive as of late, putting the nail in Chuck Liddel's career last year. Plus, I think Franklin is an overall better fighter.
Ellenberger over Rocha
Bader over Jones - Jones relies too much on unorthodox striking, in my opinion. I think he'll be a tough opponent for Bader, and I think this fight may go the distance.
Cerrone over Kelly
I honestly haven't seen enough of the other fighters on the card to make calls on the rest. I'm just hoping Silva loses - he still hasn't paid for the disgrace he put on in Abu Dhabi, and he deserves a blemish on his UFC career. His training buddy Lyoto Machida just recently lost his aura of invincibility, and Sonnen put a serious dent in Silva's. With any luck, Belfort can put the finishing touches on it, and take Silva's ego down a peg.
Recently, I've been doing some exploratory searching for replacements of books that I've owned since....actually, I can't remember a time when I didn't own them. I'm not really talking about children's books exactly, because those tend to stay readily available (or at least the good ones do). I'm talking about the entry level science books, or the hobby books that you obsessed over growing up, reading and learning as much as you can, but always coming back to that one book (or two) that made you love the subject in the first place.
Looking back at these now...they're outdated, inaccurate, and falling apart. Dust jackets are missing, the bindings are in tatters, and pages have fallen out. And in some cases, the information inside hasn't fared much better - science has expanded our knowledge beyond what was known when these books were written. They don't get reprinted - there's no market for them anymore. Anyone else would have tossed these or given them away years ago.
I can't even begin to imagine doing something so callous.
Looking back at these now...they're outdated, inaccurate, and falling apart. Dust jackets are missing, the bindings are in tatters, and pages have fallen out. And in some cases, the information inside hasn't fared much better - science has expanded our knowledge beyond what was known when these books were written. They don't get reprinted - there's no market for them anymore. Anyone else would have tossed these or given them away years ago.
I can't even begin to imagine doing something so callous.
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