We get to grips with arcade-style mechanics and manic quick-time events in our hands-on look at Kung Fu Factory’s latest MMA fighter.
Developer Kung Fu Factory is taking a stand against the likes of EA’s MMA series. Rather than attempting to fully simulate the sport, its upcoming fighter MMA Supremacy is taking cues from classic arcade fighters such as Tekken and Virtua Fighter to make it more accessible and more fun to play. That’s not to say characters will be launching fireballs at the opposition and performing impossible flying kicks–far from it. The visceral no-holds-barred fighting style that MMA is famed for will remain, albeit with a number of tweaks that make performing combos, grapples, and dodges natural to anyone that’s played an arcade fighter.
Each character’s basic moves–kicks, punches, and clinches–are easily performed using three face buttons on the pad. When combined with directional movements or multiple buttons, more powerful attacks are performed, with each character having his own unique set of moves. A color-coded body diagram shows where your opponent has been hit the hardest. Concentrating on those areas ensures quick knockouts, but even if you’re on the ropes, you have the option of using your adrenaline bar. Pushing both triggers together activates a slow-motion mode, giving you more time to avoid attacks and unleash specials. The forth face button is reserved for parries. Pushing up and down on the analog stick performs a high or a low block, but when combined with the parry button, if your timing is right, you can deflect your opponent’s attack and follow up with one of your own. Though we initially found it difficult to get the timing right, with practice, we were able to perform a flurry of brutal counters.
Though well-timed parries are impressive, we found ourselves having the most fun with clinches. After you’ve grabbed your opponents, you can wrestle them to the ground and launch a barrage of punches. If you’ve got a quick opponent, those hits can be blocked and the situation reversed, so you’re on the receiving end of attacks. You can also perform a special move, which launches a manic quick-time event where you have to rock the right analog stick from left to right. If you do it faster, you perform the move, but should your opponents do it faster, they are released from your clinch and get the opportunity to launch a counter attack.
Certain characters are better at clinch moves but tend to move slower, while others are better at basic kicks and punches but tend to move faster. This is intended to foster strategic combat, but it also means that you can’t create your own character for the fights to remain balanced. There are plenty of characters to choose from, though. Five of them are officially licensed, with each having his own narrative that runs throughout the Supremacy Stories Career mode. Each fighter’s story is told via a stylized motion comic. One comic we were shown featured a bulky ex-SAS soldier, who was having a fight with his manager. In what was clearly a take on the cockney gangster antics made famous by the likes of Lock Stock, they exchanged a number of expletive-filled jibes, complete with some rather amusing cockney rhyming slang.
As you progress through Supremacy Stories, your character earns experience points, which you can use to unlock new moves and abilities for your character. Those abilities can be used in online fights and tournaments, though your overall strength remains the same in another bid to ensure fights remain as balanced as possible. As well as Career and online modes, there are local multiplayer tournaments to compete in, a training gym for practicing moves, and a Femmes Fatales mode where female fighters do battle. Whatever mode you’re fighting in, you have a number of different arenas in which to fight. These range from massive spectator arenas to smaller rings, inspired by unofficial underground fights. All share a dark and gritty look. The fighters themselves look detailed, and without an official license, there’s a lot more in the way of blood and sweat on show during a fight.
Supremacy MMA is due for release on June 7 in the US and June 3 in Europe. Look out for a full review on GameSpot soon.
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