The honest gamer's straight dope on a game he REALLY wanted to love.
Those who love it, are likely those able to grasp unbelievably complex controls. Maybe I'm just getting too old, but there is just a ton going on, and not in a good way.
The controls are just over the top. I spent 2 hours going through the tutorial. You either breeze through each exercise, or suffer for minutes trying to figure out exactly what they want you to do. OR you know exactly what to do, but can't anticipate the ai. In some exercises you have to counter or block a move, which means some control function before they can finish. Do NOT blink, or you'll miss it.
It was getting so frustrating for me I can't figure out why they didnt' call it "UFC: Psychic Powers Unleashed". You often feel like you need them just to get by.
So 2 hours of tutorial and I try my first practice match. As suspected, the hundreds of combinations and strange controller contortions are utterly lost in the moment. I shut the game off to take a break and haven't looked back since.
Aside from mind raping controls, the game looks immensely promising for UFC fans. My advice is to rent first and make good and sure you know what you're getting into.