Fighters Uncaged

Fighters Uncaged
Developer(s) AMA Studios
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release November 18, 2010
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player

Fighters Uncaged is a fighting video game for the Xbox 360 Kinect system. It was developed by AMA Studios and published by Ubisoft in November 2010. Fighters Uncaged was one of the first twelve games released for the Kinect. The game has the player control Simon, a man who is attempting to win an illegal fighting tournament to help get his father out of trouble with a crime lord. It has one game mode and features many different fighting moves and different settings and opponents. Simon is able to go up in leagues by obtaining certain numbers of points, which in turn unlock more scenarios and opponents. Following its release, Zuffa filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft for the usage of a trademarked term. Fighters Uncaged received poor reviews from critics, with many criticizing the tutorial and visuals, and citing its motion control system as the biggest issue they had with the game, which many considered to be broken.

Gameplay

Screenshot of the gameplay in Fighters Uncaged

Fighters Uncaged is a single-player-only fighting game controlled using the Kinect, a motion sensing input device. The player controls the protagonist of the game, Simon, through his attempts to win an illegal fighting tournament to help get his father out of trouble with a crime lord.[1] The game features one gamemode called "Fight" which is only accessible after completing the tutorial.[2] Fighters Uncaged is played in an over-the-shoulder perspective, with the opponent being on the opposite side.[2] Simon is able to do a range of different actions, including short and long punches, kicks, blocks, dodges, and headbutts.[1] The player can execute special moves via shouting in the direction of the Kinect, once the corresponding bar is full.[3] Fighting consists of looking for telegraphs in the movements of one's opponents to figure out when to dodge or block attacks, then hitting them while they are vulnerable. In the early stages of Fighters Uncaged, it is made less difficult to read the telegraphs of the opponent, but as the player progresses, they become increasingly imperceptible. The moves Simon can complete depend on where the opponent is at the time, and therefore only certain moves will land hits at particular moments.[1] Fighters Uncaged features different leagues, with higher leagues being reached by having a certain number of points. Points are obtained by defeating the opponent, while having a good score. Good scores are attained by accomplishing counter attacks, exploiting the enemies' weak spots, and correctly completing combos. If a good score is not secured at the end of the fight, no points are rewarded.[3]

Development and release

Fighters Uncaged was announced by Ubisoft at Gamescom 2010, three months before its official release.[4][5] There, people were allowed to preview the game.[6][7] The game was developed by AMA Studios and published by Ubisoft exclusively for the Xbox 360 Kinect. Because the announcement came suddenly and close to the release date, video game journalists such as Christopher Grant of Engadget and Jamin Smith of VideoGamer were not intrigued.[8][7] Grant was unimpressed by the game's announcement, criticizing the concept and its character designs and noted a misspelling in the preview.[8] The game was originally planned to feature a multiplayer mode,[9] though this was cut later on in development.[1]

The game was released on November 4, 2010, and was one of the twelve games released on day one of the Kinect's launch.[4][10] In December, Ultimate Fighting Championship's parent company Zuffa filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft based on the usage of the phrase "ULTIMATE FIGHTING", a term which Zuffa had trademarked, on the back of the game's box.[11] Zuffa claimed that the "use of the ULTIMATE FIGHTING name and mark is identical or confusingly similar to the use of the UFC marks, including the ULTIMATE FIGHTING name".[12] Zuffa wanted Ubisoft to be prevented from using the term in the future as well as having all uses of it destroyed,[12][13] and sought all of Ubisoft's profits off the game, along with triple the normal fees for trademark violation. Zuffa also wanted Ubisoft to pay for their attorneys, exemplary damages and compensatory damages. Ubisoft did not publicly comment on the issue.[12]

Reception

Fighters Uncaged
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic32/100[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer2/10[15]
GameSpot2/10[2]
GamesRadar+[16]
IGN3/10[1]
VideoGamer.com2/10[3]
Metro1/10[17]
The Telegraph1/10[18]

Fighters Uncaged was released to "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, where it garnered a rating of 32/100, based on 38 critics.[14]

The tutorial was criticized by reviewers for different reasons. Tom Hoggins for The Telegraph described the tutorial as being "mind-numbing".[18] The reviewers for Metro's Game Central wrote that the tutorial was the most notable part of the game, though ultimately nonessential. They wrote that because of its length it may have been an "attempt to protect [the player] from the awful reality of the real game".[17] Ellie Gibson of Eurogamer described it as being "the most boring tutorial sequence in the history of the world".[15] Jamin Smith of VideoGamer.com criticized the tutorial for "insisting on explaining each and every move in the game before forcing you to repeat it three times".[3]

Critics believed that the motion control system in Fighters Uncaged did not work and that the fighting mechanic was poorly made. Mark Walton of GameSpot wrote that he found it to be "immensely frustrating", saying that the controls were "simply broken".[2] Wyatt Fossett for Gamesradar abhorred the system, disparaging Ubisoft and AMA Studios for the poorly optimized game, saying that they "didn’t drop the ball on this title; they weren’t even invited to the sport in which the ball exists". In regards to the motion detection, Fossett wrote that "Every third punch thrown is recognized and every block you attempt is either exaggerated or completely ignored".[16] Smith compared the combat to that of the luck in rock, paper, scissors, noting that "90% of the time" the attack will be avoided or blocked, while for the other 10%, the character "just stands there like a lemon, refusing to acknowledge the command".[3] Jack DeVries thought that when in a fight, the moves become a "series of desperate flails" in an attempt for the game to notice the player's actions.[1]

The visuals were disliked by reviewers, with Smith saying the game was "plagued with bizarre design choices and lacklustre visuals" and attributed this to the rush of the development.[3] Walton wrote that the game was a good example for how to not make fighting games for the Kinect, continuing on to say that the presentation was sub-par.[2] Gibson believed that "everything about this game is incorrect".[15] She said that her enthusiasm for the game diminished with the intro movie, and criticized the "static images of ugly men with stupid names rolling across the screen".[15] DeVries described the game as being rushed, hence the static and unflattering visuals.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DeVries, Jack (November 9, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged Review". IGN. Future plc. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Walton, Mark (November 12, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged Review". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith, Jamin (November 12, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged Review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Thorsen, Tor (October 18, 2010). "Kinect launching with 17 titles in Nov". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ Harris, Craig (August 19, 2010). "Gamescom: Fighters Uncaged is a Kinect Fight Club". IGN. Future plc. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (August 18, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged Hands-On". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Smith, Jamin (August 23, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged Hands-on Preview". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Grant, Christopher (April 21, 2017). "Ubisoft announces Fighters Uncaged for Kinect ... why were they caged in the first place?". Engadget. AOL. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ Hopper, Steven (September 27, 2011). "Ubisoft Announces Fighters Uncaged For Kinect for Xbox 360". Gamezone. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ Sinclair, Brendan (August 18, 2010). "Ubisoft throws down with Fighters Uncaged". Gamespot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  11. ↑ Bradford, Matt (December 11, 2010). "UFC suing Ubisoft for misleading use of the phrase 'Ultimate Fighter'". GamesRadar. Future plc. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 Thorsen, Tor (December 14, 2010). "UFC parent sues Ubisoft". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  13. ↑ Good, Owen (December 10, 2010). "UFC Sues Ubisoft Over Two Words On The Back Of A Bad Game". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Fighters Uncages for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Gibson, Ellie (November 4, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Fossett, Wyatt (November 24, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged review". Gamesradar. Future plc. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Games review – Fighters Uncaged". Metro. DMG Media. November 11, 2010. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Hoggins, Tom (November 18, 2010). "Fighters Uncaged review". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  19. ↑ Phillips, Tom (September 20, 2013). "Ubisoft leaks next-gen successor to Fighters Uncaged". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
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