Supremacy MMA is looking to capitalize on the boom of MMA as the fastest growing sport in the world and the successes of the UFC Undisputed franchise. Supremacy MMA has its own unique feel, starting with the grungy and rough artwork seen throughout the packaging and how it is blended into the game via the way characters have been designed. It meshes well with the brutality of the game, giving players options to break limbs, noses and anything else that can go bad to worse in a street fight. Aiming for a simplistic control system, the game’s engine came off with an arcade feel but at times the dreaded lag monster made special cameos that lead to some frustrating gaming sessions.
Though the game falls short of the complexity and smoothness of the Undisputed franchise and EA MMA, they do provide some familiar elements such as a meter for super-attacks, health bars and grappling moves we have all come accustomed to as MMA fans. The game really stood out to us in terms of how fighters changed when taking punishment. The pretty face of Michelle Gutierrez, a female fighter in the game can start out as smooth as a baby’s butt. Little by little her face bruises and swells and a shower of blood eventually begins as she takes damage from a opposing player and her health bar expires. The knockout animations really add to this and it took us by surprise.
There are a few things with the game that we would love to see in the 2012 edition if 505 games choose to do so. For one, the animations are not the smoothest. The story lines the game features on it fighters lack depth and at times the voice acting can be annoying. We ran the game on the Playstation Network and as we all know it is prone to lag time. It took away from the overall fun factor of the game when playing on the network.
The controls will probably need to make a big overhaul as the biggest grip we have is characters not being responsive enough when buttons are tapped. Though having to pick the right button at the right time to counter a incoming attack keeps the game unpredictable, I still felt overall the controls felt a bit sluggish.
In closing, the game developers really put out some good options in the game, and I enjoyed being able to choose between fighters and their different styles, though more is always welcomed. The exaggeration of blood and broken limbs did make playing the game a lot more enjoyable. So developers if you are reading this, do not tone it down! If the control system were tightened up, less damage was given to ground attacks and the overall smoothness of the game was worked on, it can become a pretty solid franchise.
