Fighters Uncaged
A Kinect fighting game with motion controls and a tournament story.
Fighters Uncaged, a fighting game for the Xbox 360 Kinect, launched in November 2010. Developed by AMA Studios and published by Ubisoft, it was among the first dozen Kinect titles. Players control Simon, who enters an illegal tournament to free his father from a crime lord. The game was widely panned by critics, who found its motion controls unresponsive and its visuals and tutorial lacking.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- AMA Studios
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Platforms
- Xbox 360
- Released
- November 4, 2010 (NA)
- November 10, 2010 (EU)
- November 18, 2010 (AU)
- Genre
- Fighting
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Fighters Uncaged puts players in the role of Simon, a man entering an illegal fighting tournament to free his father from a crime lord's grip. It is a single-player fighting game that relies entirely on the Kinect motion sensor for control. After a mandatory tutorial, the only game mode, "Fight," becomes available. The action is shown from an over-the-shoulder view, with the opponent facing the player. Simon can throw short and long punches, kick, block, dodge, and headbutt. When a special meter fills, players can unleash a special move by shouting toward the Kinect. Combat revolves around reading the opponent's tells to block or dodge at the right moment, then striking when they are open. Early fights make these tells obvious, but later opponents hide them almost completely. Which moves land depends on the opponent's position, so timing and positioning are key. The game uses a league system; advancing requires earning enough points. Points come only from winning with a good score, which is built by landing counterattacks, hitting weak spots, and completing combos. If the player wins without a strong score, no points are awarded.
Development and release
Fighters Uncapped was first shown to the public at Gamescom 2010, just three months before it hit store shelves. Developed by AMA Studios and published by Ubisoft, it was made exclusively for the Xbox 360 Kinect. The sudden announcement so close to launch left some video game journalists cold. Christopher Grant from Engadget and Jamin Smith from VideoGamer.com were not impressed. Grant took issue with the concept, the character designs, and even pointed out a spelling mistake in the preview material. The game was initially meant to include a multiplayer mode, but that feature was dropped during development. It came out in November 2010 as one of twelve launch titles for the Kinect. That December, Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, sued Ubisoft. The lawsuit centered on the phrase "ULTIMATE FIGHTING" printed on the back of the game’s box, a term Zuffa had trademarked. Zuffa argued that this use was identical or confusingly similar to its UFC marks. The company demanded that Ubisoft stop using the phrase, destroy any existing uses, hand over all profits from the game, pay triple the standard trademark violation fees, and cover attorneys’ fees, exemplary damages, and compensatory damages. Ubisoft never publicly responded to the lawsuit.
Reception
The game was met with "unfavorable" scores on Metacritic. In Japan, Microsoft Game Studios handled the port and release on May 26, 2011, where Famitsu rated it 24 out of 40 and Famitsu X360 gave it three sevens and a six, totaling 27 out of 40. Reviewers had various complaints about the tutorial. Tom Hoggins of The Daily Telegraph called it "mind-numbing." David Jenkins of Metro felt it was the game's most memorable part but ultimately pointless, suggesting its length might have been an "attempt to protect [the player] from the awful reality of the real game." Ellie Gibson of Eurogamer deemed it "the most boring tutorial sequence in the history of the world." Jamin Smith of VideoGamer.com criticized it for "insisting on explaining each and every move in the game before forcing you to repeat it three times." Critics agreed the motion controls were broken and the fighting mechanics poorly executed. Mark Walton of GameSpot found the experience "immensely frustrating," calling the controls "simply broken." Smith likened the combat to rock, paper, scissors, noting that 90% of attacks are dodged or blocked, while the other 10% sees the character "just stands there like a lemon, refusing to acknowledge the command." Jack DeVries observed that during fights, players resort to a "series of desperate flails" hoping the game registers their actions. The visuals also drew criticism. Smith said the game was "plagued with bizarre design choices and lacklustre visuals," blaming a rushed development. Walton described it as a textbook example of how not to make a Kinect fighting game, with sub-par presentation. Gibson stated that "everything about this game is incorrect," losing enthusiasm during the intro movie and panning the "static images of ugly men with stupid names rolling across the screen." DeVries attributed the static, unflattering visuals to the game being rushed.
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