We just wanted to make it know that the DKR blog will now be continuing at the following web address -
http://dropkickradio.wordpress.com/
Regards
DKR
Monday, 23 August 2010
Friday, 2 July 2010
Just Cause 2 - Xbox 360/PS3 - review
Just Cause 2
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 23rd 2010]
Just Cause 2, is not shockingly, the sequel to Avalanches 2006 hit game Just Cause. The games are very similar, and people who did not like the original may look at this game and decide it's not for them, but to do so would be to themselves an injustice. This game is everything the 2006 game should have been, with a ton of improvements being made.
First of all, the graphics are noticeably slicker. OK, they're not going to be giving God of War 3, and Final Fantasy 13 a run for their money, but for this sort of game they're impressive. There's a hell of a lot going on all the time, the map is huge, and the range of environments is impressive. Given how much there is to see and do, you can forgive Avalanche for the cars in their game looking somewhat like cars from a PS2 game. They are basically textured boxes. Bikes, planes and Helicopters don't have the best details or textures either, but with visible damage modelling, dozens of on screen characters and vehicles it's not shocking that we're not looking at models with millions of polygons. It's also no shock that if you ride a certain vehicle, there's going to be a hell of a lot of that vehicle suddenly spamming your view with little variation until you change for something else, which will then suddenly create an influx of that car.
The civilians are also a bit rough looking. Many of them are repeated, as are the army, and the various Generals you hunt down all look the same. But the main characters look decent enough. The missions, were they written out would also all be very similar. It's generic, go here, kill everyone, steal this and leave the area. If you've played the demo, or even if you played Just Cause 1, then you'll have already experienced one mission at least and in doing so, you've unwillingly experienced pretty much every mission.
So I'm sure you're now thinking that the game lacks originality, but that's not the case at all. Whilst every character may look the same, the 104 vehicles are limited to only about a dozen in your area of view, and each mission in similar, every time you do something you will do it different. It's almost impossible not to just to this truly being an open world. For example, I had to go free a spy from a base. The first time, I went in guns blazing as the game does not lend itself to stealth very well. I got near to where I needed to be, and died via sniper fire. Next time, I called air support to give me an attack helicopter and I just blew everyone up before carefully parachuting down to save the spy. Had I chosen to, I could also have grappling hooked my way along the roof tops, shooting the grapple at each and every guard before pulling them to their doom.
OK, so maybe you can't do everything you may want to. You can't disguise yourself as the enemy for example, and as soon as you start a mission the local army are on alert and will shoot on sight meaning a tactfully slow approach is normally a mistake. But there is enough variety that I'd played a couple of dozen missions before it set in just how samey the missions were, and even then that only proved to drive me into trying harder to variate my methods. Some missions aren't as easy to do this with though, stronghold takeovers require you to lead a small group of men to the middle of a stronghold and then have a gunfight with a helicopter or a tank as you take it over. You're forced to stay in proximity to your team mates and if you leave, you have 10 seconds before you die. This limits your creativity slightly, but for some reason I often found these missions to be the most enjoyable.
Most missions though give you plenty of options, and that sense of freedom does spread over the whole world of Just Cause 2 quite evenly. You're free to go and do what you want, any time. If I wanted to get from one side of the map to the other, which could take upwards of 20 minutes using the main roads and water ways in order to do so, I could choose to have air support give me a lift. Or better yet, why not steal a motorbike and drive as fast as I can off the top of a mountain road, plummet towards the ground only to pull out my parachute and gently glide over a river, grapple onto a boat reel myself in and hijack it, drive down the river, climb on top of my boat as I approach a bridge, hook the bridge, reel in, let go and open my parachute as I launch into the air, grapple onto a plane, hijack it, fly to my destination and parachute safely down. It might still take me ten minutes, but I'll be damned if it's not fun doing it.
The grappling hook is actually, probably, the main source of fun in the game. Be it using it to drag yourself up mountains, or yanking people off passing motorbikes it's always fun to use and versatile too. You can shoot gas canisters which launch into the air like rocket packs, grapple onto one and you have yourself an escape vehicle, albeit one that blows up after 5 seconds so be sure to jump off. Are you a bit scared of riding the explosive gas cannister? Do you, maybe, want someone else to experience that fun? No problem, if you hold down the grapple button you can attach things to other things. Like, a gas cannister to, lets say, a passing soldier. Shoot the cannister and watch as the soldier is dragged unwillingly into the air and violently flung around before blowing up with the cannister. Other creative kills would include using the grapple hook to hang someone from a tree, and then beating them like a piñata, or tying someone to the back of a car, getting in the car and dragging them down the road. Or why not tie them to a chopper, fly 1000 feet in the air, and then release them and let them fall to the death. Killing an enemy has rarely been so creative.
PS3 users will be able to show their kills and stunts off to the world as well, as the PS3 has a youtube video feature crafted in which can record the last 30 seconds in a replay of something you did, or if you plan on recording a walk through, you can start it recording manually and then you'll be given a ten minute video instead.
So there we go then, in short, Just Cause 2 is a very open, very big, sand box world full of creative opportunities, just don't expect the game itself to give you diversity, you'll have to add that yourself. Fans of the first, will no doubt enjoy this one every bit as much as they did 4 years ago.
8/10
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 23rd 2010]
Just Cause 2, is not shockingly, the sequel to Avalanches 2006 hit game Just Cause. The games are very similar, and people who did not like the original may look at this game and decide it's not for them, but to do so would be to themselves an injustice. This game is everything the 2006 game should have been, with a ton of improvements being made.
First of all, the graphics are noticeably slicker. OK, they're not going to be giving God of War 3, and Final Fantasy 13 a run for their money, but for this sort of game they're impressive. There's a hell of a lot going on all the time, the map is huge, and the range of environments is impressive. Given how much there is to see and do, you can forgive Avalanche for the cars in their game looking somewhat like cars from a PS2 game. They are basically textured boxes. Bikes, planes and Helicopters don't have the best details or textures either, but with visible damage modelling, dozens of on screen characters and vehicles it's not shocking that we're not looking at models with millions of polygons. It's also no shock that if you ride a certain vehicle, there's going to be a hell of a lot of that vehicle suddenly spamming your view with little variation until you change for something else, which will then suddenly create an influx of that car.
The civilians are also a bit rough looking. Many of them are repeated, as are the army, and the various Generals you hunt down all look the same. But the main characters look decent enough. The missions, were they written out would also all be very similar. It's generic, go here, kill everyone, steal this and leave the area. If you've played the demo, or even if you played Just Cause 1, then you'll have already experienced one mission at least and in doing so, you've unwillingly experienced pretty much every mission.
So I'm sure you're now thinking that the game lacks originality, but that's not the case at all. Whilst every character may look the same, the 104 vehicles are limited to only about a dozen in your area of view, and each mission in similar, every time you do something you will do it different. It's almost impossible not to just to this truly being an open world. For example, I had to go free a spy from a base. The first time, I went in guns blazing as the game does not lend itself to stealth very well. I got near to where I needed to be, and died via sniper fire. Next time, I called air support to give me an attack helicopter and I just blew everyone up before carefully parachuting down to save the spy. Had I chosen to, I could also have grappling hooked my way along the roof tops, shooting the grapple at each and every guard before pulling them to their doom.
OK, so maybe you can't do everything you may want to. You can't disguise yourself as the enemy for example, and as soon as you start a mission the local army are on alert and will shoot on sight meaning a tactfully slow approach is normally a mistake. But there is enough variety that I'd played a couple of dozen missions before it set in just how samey the missions were, and even then that only proved to drive me into trying harder to variate my methods. Some missions aren't as easy to do this with though, stronghold takeovers require you to lead a small group of men to the middle of a stronghold and then have a gunfight with a helicopter or a tank as you take it over. You're forced to stay in proximity to your team mates and if you leave, you have 10 seconds before you die. This limits your creativity slightly, but for some reason I often found these missions to be the most enjoyable.
Most missions though give you plenty of options, and that sense of freedom does spread over the whole world of Just Cause 2 quite evenly. You're free to go and do what you want, any time. If I wanted to get from one side of the map to the other, which could take upwards of 20 minutes using the main roads and water ways in order to do so, I could choose to have air support give me a lift. Or better yet, why not steal a motorbike and drive as fast as I can off the top of a mountain road, plummet towards the ground only to pull out my parachute and gently glide over a river, grapple onto a boat reel myself in and hijack it, drive down the river, climb on top of my boat as I approach a bridge, hook the bridge, reel in, let go and open my parachute as I launch into the air, grapple onto a plane, hijack it, fly to my destination and parachute safely down. It might still take me ten minutes, but I'll be damned if it's not fun doing it.
The grappling hook is actually, probably, the main source of fun in the game. Be it using it to drag yourself up mountains, or yanking people off passing motorbikes it's always fun to use and versatile too. You can shoot gas canisters which launch into the air like rocket packs, grapple onto one and you have yourself an escape vehicle, albeit one that blows up after 5 seconds so be sure to jump off. Are you a bit scared of riding the explosive gas cannister? Do you, maybe, want someone else to experience that fun? No problem, if you hold down the grapple button you can attach things to other things. Like, a gas cannister to, lets say, a passing soldier. Shoot the cannister and watch as the soldier is dragged unwillingly into the air and violently flung around before blowing up with the cannister. Other creative kills would include using the grapple hook to hang someone from a tree, and then beating them like a piñata, or tying someone to the back of a car, getting in the car and dragging them down the road. Or why not tie them to a chopper, fly 1000 feet in the air, and then release them and let them fall to the death. Killing an enemy has rarely been so creative.
PS3 users will be able to show their kills and stunts off to the world as well, as the PS3 has a youtube video feature crafted in which can record the last 30 seconds in a replay of something you did, or if you plan on recording a walk through, you can start it recording manually and then you'll be given a ten minute video instead.
So there we go then, in short, Just Cause 2 is a very open, very big, sand box world full of creative opportunities, just don't expect the game itself to give you diversity, you'll have to add that yourself. Fans of the first, will no doubt enjoy this one every bit as much as they did 4 years ago.
8/10
Dante's Inferno - xbox 360 - review
Dante's Inferno - Xbox 360 - review
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 7th 2010]
I'm not sure how common this phrase is, but in my household, the term “getting on my tits” is often used when something is irritating. Dante's Inferno is a chance for you to get on someone elses tits, and hell why you're there, why not hack them up too? We'll get back to that later but first a bit about the story.
Dante's Inferno is loosely based on the book 'Inferno' which is the first book in an epic poem called 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri. In the game, you control a character called Dante. A knight from the crusades, who upon returning home finds his lover Beatrice murdered. This is all shown in a beautiful cut-scene which easily rivals the best seen on any generation to date, it's also the first time the game shows you a breast. As Dante mourns the loss of his beloved, he is stabbed in the back and end up in limbo where Death comes to collect his soul. A brief battle ensues, which acts as a tutorial, and ends with you stealing Deaths Scythe, which becomes your weapon for the game. You soon find out that Beatrice, despite being heaven bound, has been sent to hell. Your story then revolves around your descent through the 9 circles of hell as you track her down to free her and let her soul go to heaven.
The game is very well realised, with each of the 9 circles taking on a slightly different look. Whilst you can still tell you're in hell, certain factors make each level individual. Bet it the phallic surroundings in Lust, the intestine looking worms in Gluttony, or the golden gleams in the rocks of Greed. The combat is enjoyable too, slowly allowing you to purchase new skills as you progress. Depending on how you play the game, and whether you choose to punish or absolve your enemies of sin, you will be able to unlock powers in two flavours. Holy and Unholy. For every enemy you kill, and from some fountains in the game, you will be able to gain souls, and it is these that act as currency to purchase your new skills. Sometimes you will also find a well known person from history, whom has a back story to help you decide their fate. Absolving or Punishing these will lead to a large boost to the corresponding holy or unholy ladder.
It's a good way of making the game feel different as time goes on, in fact a lot of your best attacks are unavailable until the end of the game. They're not required mind you, you can pretty much complete the game with jumping and slashing, but it's nice that the variety is there. The variety applies to the enemies as well. Again, they usually fit in with their circle. Whilst you get undead everywhere, and some of the larger enemies appear on every stage too as you pass some levels you'll unlock new bad guys, who will reappear on each subsequent level. People like the troll looking creature in Gluttony who pukes and shits on you, or the succubus like women in the lust circle who walk around with their breasts out, likely to distract you from the massive attacking tentacle that they yield should they open their vagina. I'm not even making that up, in the lust level you will also be attacked by a giant woman as you raise up in a lift. You can see her outside, her boobs hanging free trying their best to distract you but they too hold a nasty surprise. As you stop on one level, she reaches in to attack you, before showing that her nipples aren't nipples, but extra mouths with tongues. Not too scary, until unbaptised babies with scythes for arms crawl out of them to come and attack you. We've come a long way since Silent Hill was edited to remove the babies who carried knives.
Never have I seen so many breasts in a game, all ready to be hacked up. Maybe it's a social commentary on the use of plastic surgery, more than likely the creators of the game wanted to make it slightly sexual, the second option seems most likely seen as how there's a breast in almost every cut-scene, which are done in beautiful cartoon animation, and take place on the shroud that is sewn to Dante's chest. Furthermore, every cut-scene, be it in game or beautifully rendered CGI that features Beatrice features her topless. Too be honest, it's something that by half way through is a little bit annoying, but not enough to take away from the game. The only thing that does take away from the fun really, is that it does feel a little too repetitious. Toward the very end of the game, you have enter the 8th circle of hell, which itself has 10 inner circles. These are represented as 10 small fights, for each fight you have a goal, such as hit 15 people with air combos. Succeed, and you go to the next level. Do it within a time limit, and you get bonuses. This is something that perhaps would have been nice to have throughout the main game, tasks which are pretty much impossible to fail, but reward you for doing them in time limits. In fact with how well it works in that one level, I'm shocked that when the game was play tested, they never thought to add something similar throughout.
Visceral games do seem to want to change some things though, there will soon be released a piece of Downloadable Content called the Trials of St. Lucia. Which adds a multi player level to the game, where the player is able to control Dante, as well as St Lucia who is some form of Guardian Angel to Dante. Not only that, but it will also come with a level editor. Opening up the option for players to share their levels with other gamers. Something common on PC's, but not so much on consoles. It will be interesting not only to see how powerful the editing tools are, but how easy they are to use, as they could potentially increase the life of this game dramatically, which is nice as the main story can be hacked through in roughly 7-8 hours. I imagine though, that the levels that are first uploaded will be people seeing how many breasts they can possibly fit into one level.
As I wind down the review, I feel it only necessary to mention God Of War, as this game is clearly very similar to the style associated with Sony's blockbuster. There has been a lot said in reviews, with people comparing Dantes game to that of God of War, and whilst it only makes sense to always go to the game that leads it's field when it comes to comparisons, I feel it might be a little unfair to do so, as whilst Dante doesn't quite measure up to Krato's adventure to compare the two would leave Dante's Inferno looking like a cheap rip off that doesn't measure up, which says far more about the success of God of War than it does about Dante. Indeed, if God of War did not exist, this game would be ahead of most of the field. It's got action by the bucket load, the same goes for blood. It's well presented, beautifully realised, easy enough for button mashers and at the same time deep enough to appease those who want more from both their fighting and difficulty. Whilst the game has quite a few minor issues, it's only major issue is that it's simply not God of War.
Having said that, God of War is exclusive to the PS3. If you only have an Xbox, I highly recommend this game. If you have a PS3, I'd still rent this however, as something to pass the time and get you warmed up for when Kratos returns.
7/10
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 7th 2010]
I'm not sure how common this phrase is, but in my household, the term “getting on my tits” is often used when something is irritating. Dante's Inferno is a chance for you to get on someone elses tits, and hell why you're there, why not hack them up too? We'll get back to that later but first a bit about the story.
Dante's Inferno is loosely based on the book 'Inferno' which is the first book in an epic poem called 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri. In the game, you control a character called Dante. A knight from the crusades, who upon returning home finds his lover Beatrice murdered. This is all shown in a beautiful cut-scene which easily rivals the best seen on any generation to date, it's also the first time the game shows you a breast. As Dante mourns the loss of his beloved, he is stabbed in the back and end up in limbo where Death comes to collect his soul. A brief battle ensues, which acts as a tutorial, and ends with you stealing Deaths Scythe, which becomes your weapon for the game. You soon find out that Beatrice, despite being heaven bound, has been sent to hell. Your story then revolves around your descent through the 9 circles of hell as you track her down to free her and let her soul go to heaven.
The game is very well realised, with each of the 9 circles taking on a slightly different look. Whilst you can still tell you're in hell, certain factors make each level individual. Bet it the phallic surroundings in Lust, the intestine looking worms in Gluttony, or the golden gleams in the rocks of Greed. The combat is enjoyable too, slowly allowing you to purchase new skills as you progress. Depending on how you play the game, and whether you choose to punish or absolve your enemies of sin, you will be able to unlock powers in two flavours. Holy and Unholy. For every enemy you kill, and from some fountains in the game, you will be able to gain souls, and it is these that act as currency to purchase your new skills. Sometimes you will also find a well known person from history, whom has a back story to help you decide their fate. Absolving or Punishing these will lead to a large boost to the corresponding holy or unholy ladder.
It's a good way of making the game feel different as time goes on, in fact a lot of your best attacks are unavailable until the end of the game. They're not required mind you, you can pretty much complete the game with jumping and slashing, but it's nice that the variety is there. The variety applies to the enemies as well. Again, they usually fit in with their circle. Whilst you get undead everywhere, and some of the larger enemies appear on every stage too as you pass some levels you'll unlock new bad guys, who will reappear on each subsequent level. People like the troll looking creature in Gluttony who pukes and shits on you, or the succubus like women in the lust circle who walk around with their breasts out, likely to distract you from the massive attacking tentacle that they yield should they open their vagina. I'm not even making that up, in the lust level you will also be attacked by a giant woman as you raise up in a lift. You can see her outside, her boobs hanging free trying their best to distract you but they too hold a nasty surprise. As you stop on one level, she reaches in to attack you, before showing that her nipples aren't nipples, but extra mouths with tongues. Not too scary, until unbaptised babies with scythes for arms crawl out of them to come and attack you. We've come a long way since Silent Hill was edited to remove the babies who carried knives.
Never have I seen so many breasts in a game, all ready to be hacked up. Maybe it's a social commentary on the use of plastic surgery, more than likely the creators of the game wanted to make it slightly sexual, the second option seems most likely seen as how there's a breast in almost every cut-scene, which are done in beautiful cartoon animation, and take place on the shroud that is sewn to Dante's chest. Furthermore, every cut-scene, be it in game or beautifully rendered CGI that features Beatrice features her topless. Too be honest, it's something that by half way through is a little bit annoying, but not enough to take away from the game. The only thing that does take away from the fun really, is that it does feel a little too repetitious. Toward the very end of the game, you have enter the 8th circle of hell, which itself has 10 inner circles. These are represented as 10 small fights, for each fight you have a goal, such as hit 15 people with air combos. Succeed, and you go to the next level. Do it within a time limit, and you get bonuses. This is something that perhaps would have been nice to have throughout the main game, tasks which are pretty much impossible to fail, but reward you for doing them in time limits. In fact with how well it works in that one level, I'm shocked that when the game was play tested, they never thought to add something similar throughout.
Visceral games do seem to want to change some things though, there will soon be released a piece of Downloadable Content called the Trials of St. Lucia. Which adds a multi player level to the game, where the player is able to control Dante, as well as St Lucia who is some form of Guardian Angel to Dante. Not only that, but it will also come with a level editor. Opening up the option for players to share their levels with other gamers. Something common on PC's, but not so much on consoles. It will be interesting not only to see how powerful the editing tools are, but how easy they are to use, as they could potentially increase the life of this game dramatically, which is nice as the main story can be hacked through in roughly 7-8 hours. I imagine though, that the levels that are first uploaded will be people seeing how many breasts they can possibly fit into one level.
As I wind down the review, I feel it only necessary to mention God Of War, as this game is clearly very similar to the style associated with Sony's blockbuster. There has been a lot said in reviews, with people comparing Dantes game to that of God of War, and whilst it only makes sense to always go to the game that leads it's field when it comes to comparisons, I feel it might be a little unfair to do so, as whilst Dante doesn't quite measure up to Krato's adventure to compare the two would leave Dante's Inferno looking like a cheap rip off that doesn't measure up, which says far more about the success of God of War than it does about Dante. Indeed, if God of War did not exist, this game would be ahead of most of the field. It's got action by the bucket load, the same goes for blood. It's well presented, beautifully realised, easy enough for button mashers and at the same time deep enough to appease those who want more from both their fighting and difficulty. Whilst the game has quite a few minor issues, it's only major issue is that it's simply not God of War.
Having said that, God of War is exclusive to the PS3. If you only have an Xbox, I highly recommend this game. If you have a PS3, I'd still rent this however, as something to pass the time and get you warmed up for when Kratos returns.
7/10
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - review
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - review
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 6th 2010]
Battlefield Bad Company 2 follows the exploits of a rag tag group of soldiers from the B unit of 222nd army battalion. Commonly referred to as Bad Company, the soldiers are comprised of criminals and troublemakers, sent to war as cannon fodder to lower the enemies resistance before the real soldiers take to battle.
Those who played Bad Company 1 will be familiar with the characters. You play the protagonist, Preston Marlowe and are one again joined by your leader Redford, tech geek sweetwater, and trigger happy pyromaniac haggard. Those who did play the first game, will be happy to have the cast back as they were pretty well developed in the first game, and the sequel follows suit. The team share little bits of banter, that show an amount of personality missing from games like Modern Warfare, even if it is missing the humour of the first game.
In fact the game as a whole is missing the humour of it's predecessor. Whilst the first game was set in a very possible war in the near future between America and Russia, B Company spent their time hunting down gold reserves. They did what was asked of them as well, but the gold was always the attraction and banter was amusing. This time around, we start off in World War 2 showing what happened on a special mission that was top secret. By the 3rd mission, you're back with B Company and in the thick of the war with Russia once again, only this time there's no gold. Everything in this game is selfless defending of America, with the one goal being that if the team are successful they can go home.
This is probably why the humour is missing, it's not a tale that lends itself to slapstick or shenanigans. The interaction between the characters in cut-scenes is the only real time we get to see any humour, and it's these scenes that do the most for the game in my opinion as they blend the humour with a creative depth not often seen in first person shooters giving each of your squad a distinct personality. Modern Warfare had a great story, but the jumping from character to character often took me out of it, in Bad Company 2 I constantly want to know if Marlowe and Co will make it home, if they'll be released from their ties and allowed to go back to civilisation.
But whilst the characters between Modern Warfare and Battlefield are so different, the actual games feel quite similar. Similar settings for levels are even included. Graphics are of a similar quality, the more serious story fits in with Modern Warfare too. In fact main meat of the story, the actual war itself, is dull and uninspiring. But the 4 lead characters are entertaining enough to let me see past that... especially since this game is no more guilty of 'obvious plot syndrome' than 90% of the FPS games that have come out since Medal of Honour arrived 11 years ago. However, along with the cast of characters, the destructible environments help this game win out any comparisons that may be had. As impressive as Modern Warfare is, it feels quite linear. In Bad Company, if someone is in a building and you cant see him, simply blow it up and watch him fall down dead in the rubble. It's something that can be really quite pleasing, and truly makes you think you're in control. That is until your rocket which just took down a whole building, is suddenly unable to damage a similar building which is blocking your path, because as smart as your route may be, you're simply not allowed that way. It's a bit of a shame the first time you find a building like this, but once you realise your bound in to a certain play area, you can plan around this sort of annoyance and the game continues to constantly entertain.
Whilst I obviously don't want to ruin anything of the story, I will state that theirs an open ending leaving room for Bad Company 3. Which I'm looking forward to more than Modern Warfare, I just hope they let us see a bit more of the humour that made the first game so appealing.
Multiplayer in BC2 is limited to just 4 modes, revolving around teams. However rumours of a deathmatch mode have yet to be denied. Multiplayer is actually quite addictive, and the destructible environments lend way to strategies not used in other games. The games can be quite fast faced, especially when a team manages to get a tank, which basically leaves everyone else crapping themselves for fear of a building dropping on their head, the game also includes a ranking system so you feel like you're achieving something through constantly playing, there are even achievements linked to it, which is good news for Gamerscore and Trophy whores. But perhaps the best news is that the multiplayer servers run on dedicated servers, something Infinity Ward decided not to do with Modern Warfare, meaning that the games suffer from far less lag, and far fewer dropouts. It would be nice is more companies followed suit and did this.
Be warned though, to get the most it is best to buy this game brand new. DLC has been announced, to enhance multiplayer with new classes and new maps. But all DLC will be linked to the first account that activates it. If you buy your disc second hand, you may well find that your DLC has already been downloaded, a sneaky move by EA to combat second hand sales which will no doubt annoy a lot of fans. This is something btw, which will not apply to the PC version.
Overall Bad Company 2 is a pretty great game. Multiplayer could do with an extra mode or two, and single player could maybe have used an extra level or two, as the ending seems to come somewhat suddenly after a discovery in the desert. But what we have here is a game that should sit happily in any FPS fans collection.
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on March 6th 2010]
Battlefield Bad Company 2 follows the exploits of a rag tag group of soldiers from the B unit of 222nd army battalion. Commonly referred to as Bad Company, the soldiers are comprised of criminals and troublemakers, sent to war as cannon fodder to lower the enemies resistance before the real soldiers take to battle.
Those who played Bad Company 1 will be familiar with the characters. You play the protagonist, Preston Marlowe and are one again joined by your leader Redford, tech geek sweetwater, and trigger happy pyromaniac haggard. Those who did play the first game, will be happy to have the cast back as they were pretty well developed in the first game, and the sequel follows suit. The team share little bits of banter, that show an amount of personality missing from games like Modern Warfare, even if it is missing the humour of the first game.
In fact the game as a whole is missing the humour of it's predecessor. Whilst the first game was set in a very possible war in the near future between America and Russia, B Company spent their time hunting down gold reserves. They did what was asked of them as well, but the gold was always the attraction and banter was amusing. This time around, we start off in World War 2 showing what happened on a special mission that was top secret. By the 3rd mission, you're back with B Company and in the thick of the war with Russia once again, only this time there's no gold. Everything in this game is selfless defending of America, with the one goal being that if the team are successful they can go home.
This is probably why the humour is missing, it's not a tale that lends itself to slapstick or shenanigans. The interaction between the characters in cut-scenes is the only real time we get to see any humour, and it's these scenes that do the most for the game in my opinion as they blend the humour with a creative depth not often seen in first person shooters giving each of your squad a distinct personality. Modern Warfare had a great story, but the jumping from character to character often took me out of it, in Bad Company 2 I constantly want to know if Marlowe and Co will make it home, if they'll be released from their ties and allowed to go back to civilisation.
But whilst the characters between Modern Warfare and Battlefield are so different, the actual games feel quite similar. Similar settings for levels are even included. Graphics are of a similar quality, the more serious story fits in with Modern Warfare too. In fact main meat of the story, the actual war itself, is dull and uninspiring. But the 4 lead characters are entertaining enough to let me see past that... especially since this game is no more guilty of 'obvious plot syndrome' than 90% of the FPS games that have come out since Medal of Honour arrived 11 years ago. However, along with the cast of characters, the destructible environments help this game win out any comparisons that may be had. As impressive as Modern Warfare is, it feels quite linear. In Bad Company, if someone is in a building and you cant see him, simply blow it up and watch him fall down dead in the rubble. It's something that can be really quite pleasing, and truly makes you think you're in control. That is until your rocket which just took down a whole building, is suddenly unable to damage a similar building which is blocking your path, because as smart as your route may be, you're simply not allowed that way. It's a bit of a shame the first time you find a building like this, but once you realise your bound in to a certain play area, you can plan around this sort of annoyance and the game continues to constantly entertain.
Whilst I obviously don't want to ruin anything of the story, I will state that theirs an open ending leaving room for Bad Company 3. Which I'm looking forward to more than Modern Warfare, I just hope they let us see a bit more of the humour that made the first game so appealing.
Multiplayer in BC2 is limited to just 4 modes, revolving around teams. However rumours of a deathmatch mode have yet to be denied. Multiplayer is actually quite addictive, and the destructible environments lend way to strategies not used in other games. The games can be quite fast faced, especially when a team manages to get a tank, which basically leaves everyone else crapping themselves for fear of a building dropping on their head, the game also includes a ranking system so you feel like you're achieving something through constantly playing, there are even achievements linked to it, which is good news for Gamerscore and Trophy whores. But perhaps the best news is that the multiplayer servers run on dedicated servers, something Infinity Ward decided not to do with Modern Warfare, meaning that the games suffer from far less lag, and far fewer dropouts. It would be nice is more companies followed suit and did this.
Be warned though, to get the most it is best to buy this game brand new. DLC has been announced, to enhance multiplayer with new classes and new maps. But all DLC will be linked to the first account that activates it. If you buy your disc second hand, you may well find that your DLC has already been downloaded, a sneaky move by EA to combat second hand sales which will no doubt annoy a lot of fans. This is something btw, which will not apply to the PC version.
Overall Bad Company 2 is a pretty great game. Multiplayer could do with an extra mode or two, and single player could maybe have used an extra level or two, as the ending seems to come somewhat suddenly after a discovery in the desert. But what we have here is a game that should sit happily in any FPS fans collection.
Bioshock 2 - Xbox 360 - review
Bioshock 2 - Xbox 360 - Review
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on February 19th 2010]
Before I review BioShock 2, I feel it important to state that despite it's massive critical success I was never a massive fan of the original. Whilst I thought the narrative was great, and there was plenty of originality in the overly dark, atmospheric location and in the gameplay too. By the time I was half way through, I felt like repetition had long since set in. It is important to remember that, when I say that I wasn't exactly thrilled too find that the majority of my traipse through BioShock 2 would take place in the inside of Rapture once more.
Set 8 years after the original, the similarities in the game are obvious, and bound to exist in any sequel. But I was immediately left feeling that I was in a mod, as opposed to a new game. In the first game you'd be finding tapes and recordings of Andrew Ryan strewn around the areas on your travels, talking about Rapture and it's creation. Now you find the same tapes by Sofia Lamb, the new leader of Rapture who has seemingly gone crazy and looks set to destroy Rapture in order to purge it of it's evil. It should be something that makes you think the story has moved on, but I just felt it was the same thing. Crazy person records vocal diary, you listen to their insanity. Perhaps if the beautifully realised Dystopia that is Rapture was different to the original game it would have more impact. Had the first game featured a city that was lively, then the bleak destroyed world of the sequal would allow us to see the torment of the last 8 years of the games world. However the first game featured a destroyed city, that despite new locations, looks very very similar to this one. It features splicers, which look incredibly similar, and the Big Daddys return too, again looking similar.
In fact, in using the aging Unreal Engine 2.5 instead of moving on to the full Unreal 3 engine. 2K games have taken a shortcut which made sure that a lot of stuff from the first game was able to be carried over. It's a shame then that the hard work put into the first game, leaves us now with characters that look like games from the 1st wave of the current systems game releases, with faces on splicers that return from the first game looking like they were sculpted with silly putty. The new enemies are slightly better, but appear less frequently.
The same physiques engine and core game play are used too. if you want to electrocute someone, but only have enough energy for a quick shot? make your enemy chase you into water, and then send the electic bolt into the water and fry them. You can do the same with fire on oil too. It's something that never really gets old, but it also feels a little underused. Perhaps if it was around more though, It would indeed outstay it's welcome.
Plasmids of course return. Plasmids are the special Xmen like powers available in the game. Normally given to you by Eleanor Lamb, the daughter of the protagonist who has a very special link to yourself. The only notable difference is the Hypnotize plasmid In the first game you could hypnotise a Big Daddy, now you can hypnotise anyone.
The main differences in the game are new enemies. Big Daddies return, but now have different variations which essentially just means a weapon change, but it's nice that each one requires a different strategy. Brute Splicers are tough guys who look like mob hitmen, they have move sets which look like they're stolen from the Left 4 Dead tanks, but they're far easier to deal with than their zombie horde counterparts. The last enemy is the Big Sister. A lightning quick, very mobile version of a Big daddy who comes at the end of every level if you harvest or save all the little sisters.
The new enemies are characters that if I was playing the first game, I'd feel they were incredibly tough, but in the sequel it's not so. In the sequel, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, you play the part of one of the Big Daddys. In fact, one of the original Big Daddys. You come equipped with a massive drill, which kills many people very quickly as long as you have fuel which you come by often... and you can duel wield your drill, or indeed any of your weapons including the rivet gun and grenade launcher, at the same time as your choice of the 11 plasmids. Making you twice as powerful as you ever were in the first game.
In the first game, when you wanted to save a little sister, a fight with a Big Daddy was required and it was terrifying. In this sequel, you again have to fight. But you can spam electroshock and use your drill at the same time(provided you have fuel) to take them down with minimal effort. The same applies to Big Sisters too. On each level you normally find 2-3 little sisters to save, I never once thought about leaving them whilst I heeled or got ammo, as it was so easy to just take them down. Thanks to saving them all, I was led to more ADAM which is the games upgrades currency, and made sure I stayed overly powerful.
In fact, Overly powerful is probably the saviour of the game as well as a downfall. The fact the game looses a lot of it's scares thanks to enemies being easier to take down now, it may turn some people off. For me, being super powered was quite fun. It's just a shame that throughout playing the game for a solid 12 hours and completing it, I felt like I'd just gone through Bio Shock 1 again with a cheat mode on. The Ocean bottom segments that a big deal was made about early on in the games development are also a disappointment. I was under the impression this would be something big, however, it serves more as a loading screen. A very linear 100 yard walk from one drainage room, across the sea bed to another drain sees no fighting, no puzzles or anything. Very poor incorporation indeed.
There is one new addition that is good though, and thats multiplayer mode. I've not had long with it, but enough to know that It'll hold my interest for a short while at least. The multiplayer mode is actually set before the first game, in 1959 and you fight in the civil war of Rapture as a splicer. Modes are of the generic nature, capture the flag, king of the kill, one for all and others all appear with their own Bioshock themed names. One thing the game has that others dont though, is the big daddy suit the main game is based around. In every game, one big daddy suit is spawned. First one to get it, gets to wear it and improve their strength.. it does remove your plasmid powers though. Still it's fun to chase around a group of people screaming 'come to daddy'
So there you have it. BioShock 2 to me was too much of the same thing, and whilst I stuck with it this time due to reviewing it, I cant help but think had I stopped playing I'd have struggling to build up the urge to put it back in my xbox, not because it's bad. But simply because I feel like I've already done it all before.
With the same graphics, same core gameplay with only slight improvements and changes, and a new multiplayer mode. I'm going to give the game 7/10. However, if you're a BioShock fan who really enjoyed the first game and would like a chance to take a slightly different look at Rapture, then add an extra point to that score.
By Martyn Licchelli
[originally published on February 19th 2010]
Before I review BioShock 2, I feel it important to state that despite it's massive critical success I was never a massive fan of the original. Whilst I thought the narrative was great, and there was plenty of originality in the overly dark, atmospheric location and in the gameplay too. By the time I was half way through, I felt like repetition had long since set in. It is important to remember that, when I say that I wasn't exactly thrilled too find that the majority of my traipse through BioShock 2 would take place in the inside of Rapture once more.
Set 8 years after the original, the similarities in the game are obvious, and bound to exist in any sequel. But I was immediately left feeling that I was in a mod, as opposed to a new game. In the first game you'd be finding tapes and recordings of Andrew Ryan strewn around the areas on your travels, talking about Rapture and it's creation. Now you find the same tapes by Sofia Lamb, the new leader of Rapture who has seemingly gone crazy and looks set to destroy Rapture in order to purge it of it's evil. It should be something that makes you think the story has moved on, but I just felt it was the same thing. Crazy person records vocal diary, you listen to their insanity. Perhaps if the beautifully realised Dystopia that is Rapture was different to the original game it would have more impact. Had the first game featured a city that was lively, then the bleak destroyed world of the sequal would allow us to see the torment of the last 8 years of the games world. However the first game featured a destroyed city, that despite new locations, looks very very similar to this one. It features splicers, which look incredibly similar, and the Big Daddys return too, again looking similar.
In fact, in using the aging Unreal Engine 2.5 instead of moving on to the full Unreal 3 engine. 2K games have taken a shortcut which made sure that a lot of stuff from the first game was able to be carried over. It's a shame then that the hard work put into the first game, leaves us now with characters that look like games from the 1st wave of the current systems game releases, with faces on splicers that return from the first game looking like they were sculpted with silly putty. The new enemies are slightly better, but appear less frequently.
The same physiques engine and core game play are used too. if you want to electrocute someone, but only have enough energy for a quick shot? make your enemy chase you into water, and then send the electic bolt into the water and fry them. You can do the same with fire on oil too. It's something that never really gets old, but it also feels a little underused. Perhaps if it was around more though, It would indeed outstay it's welcome.
Plasmids of course return. Plasmids are the special Xmen like powers available in the game. Normally given to you by Eleanor Lamb, the daughter of the protagonist who has a very special link to yourself. The only notable difference is the Hypnotize plasmid In the first game you could hypnotise a Big Daddy, now you can hypnotise anyone.
The main differences in the game are new enemies. Big Daddies return, but now have different variations which essentially just means a weapon change, but it's nice that each one requires a different strategy. Brute Splicers are tough guys who look like mob hitmen, they have move sets which look like they're stolen from the Left 4 Dead tanks, but they're far easier to deal with than their zombie horde counterparts. The last enemy is the Big Sister. A lightning quick, very mobile version of a Big daddy who comes at the end of every level if you harvest or save all the little sisters.
The new enemies are characters that if I was playing the first game, I'd feel they were incredibly tough, but in the sequel it's not so. In the sequel, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, you play the part of one of the Big Daddys. In fact, one of the original Big Daddys. You come equipped with a massive drill, which kills many people very quickly as long as you have fuel which you come by often... and you can duel wield your drill, or indeed any of your weapons including the rivet gun and grenade launcher, at the same time as your choice of the 11 plasmids. Making you twice as powerful as you ever were in the first game.
In the first game, when you wanted to save a little sister, a fight with a Big Daddy was required and it was terrifying. In this sequel, you again have to fight. But you can spam electroshock and use your drill at the same time(provided you have fuel) to take them down with minimal effort. The same applies to Big Sisters too. On each level you normally find 2-3 little sisters to save, I never once thought about leaving them whilst I heeled or got ammo, as it was so easy to just take them down. Thanks to saving them all, I was led to more ADAM which is the games upgrades currency, and made sure I stayed overly powerful.
In fact, Overly powerful is probably the saviour of the game as well as a downfall. The fact the game looses a lot of it's scares thanks to enemies being easier to take down now, it may turn some people off. For me, being super powered was quite fun. It's just a shame that throughout playing the game for a solid 12 hours and completing it, I felt like I'd just gone through Bio Shock 1 again with a cheat mode on. The Ocean bottom segments that a big deal was made about early on in the games development are also a disappointment. I was under the impression this would be something big, however, it serves more as a loading screen. A very linear 100 yard walk from one drainage room, across the sea bed to another drain sees no fighting, no puzzles or anything. Very poor incorporation indeed.
There is one new addition that is good though, and thats multiplayer mode. I've not had long with it, but enough to know that It'll hold my interest for a short while at least. The multiplayer mode is actually set before the first game, in 1959 and you fight in the civil war of Rapture as a splicer. Modes are of the generic nature, capture the flag, king of the kill, one for all and others all appear with their own Bioshock themed names. One thing the game has that others dont though, is the big daddy suit the main game is based around. In every game, one big daddy suit is spawned. First one to get it, gets to wear it and improve their strength.. it does remove your plasmid powers though. Still it's fun to chase around a group of people screaming 'come to daddy'
So there you have it. BioShock 2 to me was too much of the same thing, and whilst I stuck with it this time due to reviewing it, I cant help but think had I stopped playing I'd have struggling to build up the urge to put it back in my xbox, not because it's bad. But simply because I feel like I've already done it all before.
With the same graphics, same core gameplay with only slight improvements and changes, and a new multiplayer mode. I'm going to give the game 7/10. However, if you're a BioShock fan who really enjoyed the first game and would like a chance to take a slightly different look at Rapture, then add an extra point to that score.
Aliens vs. Predator - Xbox 360 - review
Aliens vs. Predator - Xbox 360
By Martyn Licchelli
[Originally published on 19th February 2010]
I was asked about this game quite a bit, so i decided to upload my review that I did on this weeks DKR pre show 'Button Mashing' (Available at Dropkickradio.com from the 21st of Feb).
enjoy.
-------------
Aliens vs Predator is the latest in a long series of games made my Rebellion based on the idea of two of the worlds deadliest alien races clashing in an all out war, and dragging humans in to it. Technically the series should read Aliens vs Predator vs Colonial Marines. But since the Marines are generally little else than fodder, those no reason to hold a grudge on that. The Original AVP game was released in 1994 on the Atari Jaguar. I had this game. I played it relentlessly, with the Jaguars pad having a a megadrive style layout alone with a digital telephone like key system at the bottom there was a lot of remember control wise however it never felt a chore. 15 years on, the game still feels the same. I feel like I'm playing a series that despite obvious evolutions in graphics and sounds, really hasn't improved. In fact in some ways it feels like a devolution, and those controls? now mapped to the 8 xbox buttons and the 4 dpad directions, they feel strange. In the Predator, or Hish, sections Placing a mine and then detonating involves a down on the dpad, then right trigger, then hold down the down button. Which makes it awkward if you dont want to blow it up right away and want to use your laser disc, which requires a left on the Dpad to select. Jumping is also an issue, requiring you to hold left trigger and press A to jump any sort of decent distance, and even then it's only where the games lets you do it. There is a standard jump, but it's quite useless.
Playing as an Alien is the part that suffer the most devolution in my opinion. 15 years ago, the Alien was quite dull, you couldn't even run up walls. It was saved by the ingenious lives system, that relied on you laying an egg in a human, so as that when you died you would come back alive from the egg. The devolution however comes from the 1999 Rebellion game AVP on the PC, in which you could control a facehugger to attack humans and lay your egg... you would then assume control of a chest buster, and feed for a certain time until you'd morph into a full alien. It was only a small section of the game, but it added something that really seems to be missing now. The controls for the alien are irritating too, moving as fast as you do you'll often end up running up walls you dont intend to, or overrunning on walls you do intend to and getting disorientated. Take away the boyish joy of being an alien or a predator and we're left with a game, that for both alien races, features game play that at it's core is kinda stealthy as a hunting game should be, but the clunky controls ruin a lot of the fun.
The last part of the game is the Marine sections. SAved for last, cause there's really not much to say. You use generic weapons, in a very very generic setting. Some nice set pieces see your fellow marines get dragged away, but you rarely have more than 1 marine fighting with you so you know any others are food anyway so there's no shock when they die. Indeed the only shock really, is that Rebellion thought the best way to make the Marine levels scary was to make you do repetitive turning on and off of lights and leaving you with a tiny pointless torch as your only light. In on level you hunt for a fusebox to give power to all the lights, only to then walk 100 yards through a fight, to turn the same lights off again to reroute power somewhere else. Leaving you wondering what the point was anyway.
The game does have some good points, general fandom will allow a lot of people to see past the many problems. Hell, it helped me through. For gorehounds, the close up kills will always please, as they are both violent and creative, especially for the Predators. The final levels of each mode are the most fun, as you're fully powered. But as each story only lasts 3 hours across 6 levels, you basically spend 150 minutes building up to the decent 30 minutes.
Multiplayer is also slightly disappointing. The controls issues move into the multiplayer modes, and ruin any enjoyment that could have been had. Only having played this mode for an hour before giving up on it, I can't give a full opinion, but from what I saw I highly doubt this will be on the top 5 of anyone's Xbox live play list.
Overall AVP is a game that does decent fan service, but not much else and instead chooses to play safe. A shame that a series that was once pretty good, is now nothing special at all. I hope that if we do get another predator game, we get the Batman vs Predator series. Not only was the comic thoroughly enjoyable, but hopefully Rocksteady games would be able to somehow help Rebellion find their feet with this series of games. Even if they have to remove one of the main characters to start the rebirth.
6/10
By Martyn Licchelli
[Originally published on 19th February 2010]
I was asked about this game quite a bit, so i decided to upload my review that I did on this weeks DKR pre show 'Button Mashing' (Available at Dropkickradio.com from the 21st of Feb).
enjoy.
-------------
Aliens vs Predator is the latest in a long series of games made my Rebellion based on the idea of two of the worlds deadliest alien races clashing in an all out war, and dragging humans in to it. Technically the series should read Aliens vs Predator vs Colonial Marines. But since the Marines are generally little else than fodder, those no reason to hold a grudge on that. The Original AVP game was released in 1994 on the Atari Jaguar. I had this game. I played it relentlessly, with the Jaguars pad having a a megadrive style layout alone with a digital telephone like key system at the bottom there was a lot of remember control wise however it never felt a chore. 15 years on, the game still feels the same. I feel like I'm playing a series that despite obvious evolutions in graphics and sounds, really hasn't improved. In fact in some ways it feels like a devolution, and those controls? now mapped to the 8 xbox buttons and the 4 dpad directions, they feel strange. In the Predator, or Hish, sections Placing a mine and then detonating involves a down on the dpad, then right trigger, then hold down the down button. Which makes it awkward if you dont want to blow it up right away and want to use your laser disc, which requires a left on the Dpad to select. Jumping is also an issue, requiring you to hold left trigger and press A to jump any sort of decent distance, and even then it's only where the games lets you do it. There is a standard jump, but it's quite useless.
Playing as an Alien is the part that suffer the most devolution in my opinion. 15 years ago, the Alien was quite dull, you couldn't even run up walls. It was saved by the ingenious lives system, that relied on you laying an egg in a human, so as that when you died you would come back alive from the egg. The devolution however comes from the 1999 Rebellion game AVP on the PC, in which you could control a facehugger to attack humans and lay your egg... you would then assume control of a chest buster, and feed for a certain time until you'd morph into a full alien. It was only a small section of the game, but it added something that really seems to be missing now. The controls for the alien are irritating too, moving as fast as you do you'll often end up running up walls you dont intend to, or overrunning on walls you do intend to and getting disorientated. Take away the boyish joy of being an alien or a predator and we're left with a game, that for both alien races, features game play that at it's core is kinda stealthy as a hunting game should be, but the clunky controls ruin a lot of the fun.
The last part of the game is the Marine sections. SAved for last, cause there's really not much to say. You use generic weapons, in a very very generic setting. Some nice set pieces see your fellow marines get dragged away, but you rarely have more than 1 marine fighting with you so you know any others are food anyway so there's no shock when they die. Indeed the only shock really, is that Rebellion thought the best way to make the Marine levels scary was to make you do repetitive turning on and off of lights and leaving you with a tiny pointless torch as your only light. In on level you hunt for a fusebox to give power to all the lights, only to then walk 100 yards through a fight, to turn the same lights off again to reroute power somewhere else. Leaving you wondering what the point was anyway.
The game does have some good points, general fandom will allow a lot of people to see past the many problems. Hell, it helped me through. For gorehounds, the close up kills will always please, as they are both violent and creative, especially for the Predators. The final levels of each mode are the most fun, as you're fully powered. But as each story only lasts 3 hours across 6 levels, you basically spend 150 minutes building up to the decent 30 minutes.
Multiplayer is also slightly disappointing. The controls issues move into the multiplayer modes, and ruin any enjoyment that could have been had. Only having played this mode for an hour before giving up on it, I can't give a full opinion, but from what I saw I highly doubt this will be on the top 5 of anyone's Xbox live play list.
Overall AVP is a game that does decent fan service, but not much else and instead chooses to play safe. A shame that a series that was once pretty good, is now nothing special at all. I hope that if we do get another predator game, we get the Batman vs Predator series. Not only was the comic thoroughly enjoyable, but hopefully Rocksteady games would be able to somehow help Rebellion find their feet with this series of games. Even if they have to remove one of the main characters to start the rebirth.
6/10
Thursday, 1 July 2010
[Archived Review] UFC 82 'Pride Of A Champion' DVD
UFC 82 'Pride Of A Champion'
by Angelina Licchelli
[Review originally released in September of 2008]
Price - £8.99 (correct as of July 1st 2010)
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
Fight Card
Pride and UFC Middleweight Unification Bout
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
DVD Extras:
30 minute BONUS BEHIND THE SCENES FEATURETTE!
DVD motion menus with fight card stats
Exclusive prelim fights not seen on TV
As with previous releases the Extras contain a very informative and insightful look into UFC 82 and the days leading up to
the fight, featuring contributions from fighters such as Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Heath Herring and Cheick Kongo this is a fascinating insight into the preperations these gifted athletes have to endure before the UFC shows. Which is a welcome touch to these releases.
Preliminary Matches:
Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
This is an almost identical pairing for this match, with only the ages differing. Halverson starts out with some leg strikes to the head and Gurgel responding with strikes of his own. Gurgel has a beautiful strategy of Legstrike/left hook/dodge. He's extremely quick and his fight plan is paying in dividends. Halverson sees an opening and lands some swift shots, they tie-up for the first time, trading kneelifts. Halverson drops him with a Guillotine but the hold is broken and the young Brazillian lands some nice head shots. Halverson manages to defend himself and the round ends.
Round two begins with some leg strikes connecting for Gurgel, unfortunately one connects all too painfully with Halverson's Mummy and Daddy department. It was an accidental groin kick and although the Ref stops the match until Halverson is ready, no penalty is given to Gurgel, which is a good decision by the official. Once the American regains his composure they return to the quick contest we were enjoying beforehand.
Gurgel finds himself in a headlock which he unsuccessfully turns into a takedown, instead finding himself in a Gogoplata, which he breaks free from, although still trapped in a bodyhold. Gurgel hits him with a flurry of head shots which eventually loosens the hold around his waist, although never breaking it. He swivels himself attempting freedom then stands up eventually breaking free. He's on top now and Halverson is bruising badly from the inside leg strikes the Brazillian landed on him. He holds Halverson in a head scissors but he wasn't in correct position, he lost it before grabbing an Arm-Bar and Halverson ends the round in the Male Position.
We enter the final round with some brutal head strikes by Halverson. They lock-up and a nice takedown by Gurgel is reversed by his opponent, the lock-up continues and both men appear fatigued. The Ref breaks it up and we see them enter into a striking contest. Gurgel is swinging wildly and realising he is not doing himself any favours, he mounts and takesdown Halverson and begins striking him about the head. Finding himself in another bodyscissors he continues the headstrikes but receives some elbows from Halverson. The Referee again seperates them but he goes again for the clinch. Match ends in a show of respect between the contestants and we go to Judges Decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Jorge Gurgel
Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Another even pairing in this contest. Diego Sanchez is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1 and Bielkheden is making his UFC debut in this Welterweight Bout. We start out with a furious takedown by Sanchez, they stay grounded as Bielkheden attempts to fight out and they trade blows. Sanchez isolates David's arm but fails to put him in a submission hold, Bielkheden manages to control Sanchez but it is quickly broken. Sanchez has him in a mount and strikes his head, although blocking a massive amount of blows connect and the Referee is forced to stop it in the closing moments of the first round.
Winner by Tap-Out - Diego Sanchez
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
Another UF1 Alumni, Josh Koscheck takes on the youthful Hazelett in the next match. Hazelett comes out like a Bat out of Hell striking and shaking Koscheck. Koscheck's body shots are effective but with a much shorter reach he is having to dodge Dustin, which he does successfully. Hazelett gets a Guillotine on a standing opponent, but he doesn't get all of it and Koscheck escapes. Trading blows evenly until Koscheck dazes Hazelett with a furious takedown, but Dustin proves himself to be dangerous on the floor.
Round two sees an aggressive trade of leg strikes and a body kick by Hazelett. Koscheck then kicks Dustin hard in the head taking him down then jumps on him and flurries headshots until it is over.
Winner by TKO - Josh Koscheck
Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
The two 27 year old welterweights come out striking. Luigi connects and they are soon in a takedown with Fioravanti on top. Now back on their feet, Luigi takes control and is on top of another takedown. Nasty headstrikes again cause Luke to lose his guard and Luigi takes advantage. Fioravanti ends the round in pole position with Cummo getting no advantage at all.
Fioravanti finds himself easily in the Male position again early in the second round. After a messy exchange Cummo finds himself on top for the first time, though Luigi quickly turns it into another takedown. We enter the final minute of the round with Luigi back on top, although Luke is on top he is victim to an attempted Gogoplata, it's not successful but he then ends the round with yet another takedown to secure the round with the judges. Cummo is never feeling like a threat.
Round Three finds us in familiar territory as the much stronger Fioravanti attempts a takedown, after some to-ing and fro-ing Luigi gets him down again. He's in control and Luke is mounting no defense. Referee seperates them and it leads to ANOTHER takedown by Luigi. Luke has had none of this fight and the crowd are beginning to boo very loudly. They are up, but for how long? Oh, not long it turns out, Luigi is just manhandling him, there is little entertainment to be found here. Up and Down AGAIN. Cummo attempts futile elbows and Luigi stays in control. This will go to Judges decision. I expect an unanimous victory for Mr Fioravanti...
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Luigi Fioravanti
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Arlovski starts out with a headlock and maintains control. O'Brien finally connects with his takedown attempt but the former champ defends excellently. One of Arlovski's elbows split O'Brien's head open badly. The second round is a feeling-out process, but Arlovski's headlock grounds Jake again. Back to their feet O'brien takesdown Arlovski but doesn't capitalise. Arlovski finds himself on top and pounds him around the head with vicious strikes. The referee ends it.
Winner by TKO - Andrei Arlovski
Main Card Matches:
Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
This evenly balanced contest starts slowly but Wilson attempts some vicious looking kicks which although not connecting look very dangerous. He catches Fitch with some great strikes and uppercuts, which Fitch blocks with a clinch. Fitch gets a takedown but Wilson attempts a Gogoplata, he doesn't get it all and switches to a guard. Round ends with Fitch on top.
The second round begins evenly with exchanges of attempted takedowns. Fitch is back on top overpowering Wilson and maintains position until round end. Round Three starts out more excitingly than the last round ended, with attempted leg strikes from Fitch. Wilson is avoiding another takedown very well. They exchange leg kicks halfway through the final round. Nothing much is connecting and they end up in a double takedown, Fitch has the upper hand again. Round ends in a double choke-style hold. Match ends with Judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Jon Fitch
Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami
Evan Tanner returns after a Two Year abscence from UFC to take on the 11 year younger Japanese wrestler in this Middleweight Bout. Physical start to this match as both men try head strikes and leg strikes. Okami hits and pounds on Tanner's head but it is reversed and the American takes him down. In a clinch with Tanner in control we see that Evan is bleeding already. They split and are quickly back in a clinch against the fence. Again they are split and exchange strikes until round's end.
A tentative second round sees the fighters exchanging but not often connecting a series of leg kicks and head strikes. Okami catches him with a strong left knee to the head to end the contest.
Winner by Knockout - Yushin Okami
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Physical bout as both men get the upper hand in the early going. Leben is aggressive at the outset and hits with a flurry of uppercuts. And it's over, despite being bloodied he is victorious over the Italian. Sakara is disapponted with the stoppage.
Winner by TKO - Chris Leben
Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Heavyweight match now as two 6'4" fighters go toe to toe. The big Frenchman is rocked within 5 seconds of the opening round by the aggressive Heath Herring. Kongo in turn takes him down and connects with some big shots. Heath dodges the knee but is taken down once more. Kongo grounds him and swings and misses, Herring is back up but is quickly taken back down by the dominant Kongo.
Round Two starts with a scramble, they hit the ground and Kongo gets on top, Herring connects with a strong Up-Kick but is unable to get up as Kongo kicks at him. The ref calls for them to seperate and they clinch against the fence, delivering knee shots. Herring is downed with a strong headshot and stays dominant until Heath flips over and grounds Kongo. They stay grounded until Round's end and it's even going into the final round. Which starts off with Kongo kicking and falling, Heath took control but it is quickly reversed and Cheik is on-top again with kneeshots to the American's sides. Heath takes control with shots to the ribs of the fallen Kongo. Heath stays in control until match end. Judge's decision will decide the outcome.
Winner by Split Decision - Heath Herring
Pride and UFC Middleweight Unification Bout
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Slow start with kicks attempted but not connecting. Henderson is blocking everything being thrown at him and finally takes down Silva. Round one belongs to Henderson. Henderson goes in strong in the second of the scheduled five rounds. Despite this, Silva takes control on the takedown. They are clinched against the cage and bodyshots are thrown by the big Brazillian, Dan tries to throw him but it doesn't work and they start to exchange fist strikes. Silva takes him down and goes in for the kill. Body shots are thrown but Henderson is defending well. Going into the closing seconds of the second round he locks in a Rear-Naked Chokehold and finishes it.
Winner by Tap-Out - Anderson Silva
Overall:
As with all UFC releases, the strong card is done justice by a great package. Strong extras, great aesthetic presentation and crisp audio and video compliment the excellent show perfectly. Recommended.
This is also an opportune time to say RIP and Godspeed to Evan Tanner who lost his life earlier this month
by Angelina Licchelli
[Review originally released in September of 2008]
Price - £8.99 (correct as of July 1st 2010)
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
Fight Card
Pride and UFC Middleweight Unification Bout
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
DVD Extras:
30 minute BONUS BEHIND THE SCENES FEATURETTE!
DVD motion menus with fight card stats
Exclusive prelim fights not seen on TV
As with previous releases the Extras contain a very informative and insightful look into UFC 82 and the days leading up to
the fight, featuring contributions from fighters such as Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Heath Herring and Cheick Kongo this is a fascinating insight into the preperations these gifted athletes have to endure before the UFC shows. Which is a welcome touch to these releases.
Preliminary Matches:
Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson
This is an almost identical pairing for this match, with only the ages differing. Halverson starts out with some leg strikes to the head and Gurgel responding with strikes of his own. Gurgel has a beautiful strategy of Legstrike/left hook/dodge. He's extremely quick and his fight plan is paying in dividends. Halverson sees an opening and lands some swift shots, they tie-up for the first time, trading kneelifts. Halverson drops him with a Guillotine but the hold is broken and the young Brazillian lands some nice head shots. Halverson manages to defend himself and the round ends.
Round two begins with some leg strikes connecting for Gurgel, unfortunately one connects all too painfully with Halverson's Mummy and Daddy department. It was an accidental groin kick and although the Ref stops the match until Halverson is ready, no penalty is given to Gurgel, which is a good decision by the official. Once the American regains his composure they return to the quick contest we were enjoying beforehand.
Gurgel finds himself in a headlock which he unsuccessfully turns into a takedown, instead finding himself in a Gogoplata, which he breaks free from, although still trapped in a bodyhold. Gurgel hits him with a flurry of head shots which eventually loosens the hold around his waist, although never breaking it. He swivels himself attempting freedom then stands up eventually breaking free. He's on top now and Halverson is bruising badly from the inside leg strikes the Brazillian landed on him. He holds Halverson in a head scissors but he wasn't in correct position, he lost it before grabbing an Arm-Bar and Halverson ends the round in the Male Position.
We enter the final round with some brutal head strikes by Halverson. They lock-up and a nice takedown by Gurgel is reversed by his opponent, the lock-up continues and both men appear fatigued. The Ref breaks it up and we see them enter into a striking contest. Gurgel is swinging wildly and realising he is not doing himself any favours, he mounts and takesdown Halverson and begins striking him about the head. Finding himself in another bodyscissors he continues the headstrikes but receives some elbows from Halverson. The Referee again seperates them but he goes again for the clinch. Match ends in a show of respect between the contestants and we go to Judges Decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Jorge Gurgel
Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Another even pairing in this contest. Diego Sanchez is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 1 and Bielkheden is making his UFC debut in this Welterweight Bout. We start out with a furious takedown by Sanchez, they stay grounded as Bielkheden attempts to fight out and they trade blows. Sanchez isolates David's arm but fails to put him in a submission hold, Bielkheden manages to control Sanchez but it is quickly broken. Sanchez has him in a mount and strikes his head, although blocking a massive amount of blows connect and the Referee is forced to stop it in the closing moments of the first round.
Winner by Tap-Out - Diego Sanchez
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
Another UF1 Alumni, Josh Koscheck takes on the youthful Hazelett in the next match. Hazelett comes out like a Bat out of Hell striking and shaking Koscheck. Koscheck's body shots are effective but with a much shorter reach he is having to dodge Dustin, which he does successfully. Hazelett gets a Guillotine on a standing opponent, but he doesn't get all of it and Koscheck escapes. Trading blows evenly until Koscheck dazes Hazelett with a furious takedown, but Dustin proves himself to be dangerous on the floor.
Round two sees an aggressive trade of leg strikes and a body kick by Hazelett. Koscheck then kicks Dustin hard in the head taking him down then jumps on him and flurries headshots until it is over.
Winner by TKO - Josh Koscheck
Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
The two 27 year old welterweights come out striking. Luigi connects and they are soon in a takedown with Fioravanti on top. Now back on their feet, Luigi takes control and is on top of another takedown. Nasty headstrikes again cause Luke to lose his guard and Luigi takes advantage. Fioravanti ends the round in pole position with Cummo getting no advantage at all.
Fioravanti finds himself easily in the Male position again early in the second round. After a messy exchange Cummo finds himself on top for the first time, though Luigi quickly turns it into another takedown. We enter the final minute of the round with Luigi back on top, although Luke is on top he is victim to an attempted Gogoplata, it's not successful but he then ends the round with yet another takedown to secure the round with the judges. Cummo is never feeling like a threat.
Round Three finds us in familiar territory as the much stronger Fioravanti attempts a takedown, after some to-ing and fro-ing Luigi gets him down again. He's in control and Luke is mounting no defense. Referee seperates them and it leads to ANOTHER takedown by Luigi. Luke has had none of this fight and the crowd are beginning to boo very loudly. They are up, but for how long? Oh, not long it turns out, Luigi is just manhandling him, there is little entertainment to be found here. Up and Down AGAIN. Cummo attempts futile elbows and Luigi stays in control. This will go to Judges decision. I expect an unanimous victory for Mr Fioravanti...
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Luigi Fioravanti
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien
Arlovski starts out with a headlock and maintains control. O'Brien finally connects with his takedown attempt but the former champ defends excellently. One of Arlovski's elbows split O'Brien's head open badly. The second round is a feeling-out process, but Arlovski's headlock grounds Jake again. Back to their feet O'brien takesdown Arlovski but doesn't capitalise. Arlovski finds himself on top and pounds him around the head with vicious strikes. The referee ends it.
Winner by TKO - Andrei Arlovski
Main Card Matches:
Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson
This evenly balanced contest starts slowly but Wilson attempts some vicious looking kicks which although not connecting look very dangerous. He catches Fitch with some great strikes and uppercuts, which Fitch blocks with a clinch. Fitch gets a takedown but Wilson attempts a Gogoplata, he doesn't get it all and switches to a guard. Round ends with Fitch on top.
The second round begins evenly with exchanges of attempted takedowns. Fitch is back on top overpowering Wilson and maintains position until round end. Round Three starts out more excitingly than the last round ended, with attempted leg strikes from Fitch. Wilson is avoiding another takedown very well. They exchange leg kicks halfway through the final round. Nothing much is connecting and they end up in a double takedown, Fitch has the upper hand again. Round ends in a double choke-style hold. Match ends with Judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Jon Fitch
Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami
Evan Tanner returns after a Two Year abscence from UFC to take on the 11 year younger Japanese wrestler in this Middleweight Bout. Physical start to this match as both men try head strikes and leg strikes. Okami hits and pounds on Tanner's head but it is reversed and the American takes him down. In a clinch with Tanner in control we see that Evan is bleeding already. They split and are quickly back in a clinch against the fence. Again they are split and exchange strikes until round's end.
A tentative second round sees the fighters exchanging but not often connecting a series of leg kicks and head strikes. Okami catches him with a strong left knee to the head to end the contest.
Winner by Knockout - Yushin Okami
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Physical bout as both men get the upper hand in the early going. Leben is aggressive at the outset and hits with a flurry of uppercuts. And it's over, despite being bloodied he is victorious over the Italian. Sakara is disapponted with the stoppage.
Winner by TKO - Chris Leben
Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Heavyweight match now as two 6'4" fighters go toe to toe. The big Frenchman is rocked within 5 seconds of the opening round by the aggressive Heath Herring. Kongo in turn takes him down and connects with some big shots. Heath dodges the knee but is taken down once more. Kongo grounds him and swings and misses, Herring is back up but is quickly taken back down by the dominant Kongo.
Round Two starts with a scramble, they hit the ground and Kongo gets on top, Herring connects with a strong Up-Kick but is unable to get up as Kongo kicks at him. The ref calls for them to seperate and they clinch against the fence, delivering knee shots. Herring is downed with a strong headshot and stays dominant until Heath flips over and grounds Kongo. They stay grounded until Round's end and it's even going into the final round. Which starts off with Kongo kicking and falling, Heath took control but it is quickly reversed and Cheik is on-top again with kneeshots to the American's sides. Heath takes control with shots to the ribs of the fallen Kongo. Heath stays in control until match end. Judge's decision will decide the outcome.
Winner by Split Decision - Heath Herring
Pride and UFC Middleweight Unification Bout
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Slow start with kicks attempted but not connecting. Henderson is blocking everything being thrown at him and finally takes down Silva. Round one belongs to Henderson. Henderson goes in strong in the second of the scheduled five rounds. Despite this, Silva takes control on the takedown. They are clinched against the cage and bodyshots are thrown by the big Brazillian, Dan tries to throw him but it doesn't work and they start to exchange fist strikes. Silva takes him down and goes in for the kill. Body shots are thrown but Henderson is defending well. Going into the closing seconds of the second round he locks in a Rear-Naked Chokehold and finishes it.
Winner by Tap-Out - Anderson Silva
Overall:
As with all UFC releases, the strong card is done justice by a great package. Strong extras, great aesthetic presentation and crisp audio and video compliment the excellent show perfectly. Recommended.
This is also an opportune time to say RIP and Godspeed to Evan Tanner who lost his life earlier this month
[Archived Review] PRIDE 33 'The Second Coming' DVD
PRIDE 33 'The Second Coming'
By Angelina Licchelli
Price - £8.99 (Correct as of July 1st 2010)
Release Date – October 20th 2008
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
NOTE - This review contains spoilers/results of matches.
NOTE - Due to a trchnical issue with the original archive of this review, the main event of this DVD is not included here. We'll try to add that at a later date.
Fight Card:
PRIDE Middleweight Championship Fight
Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz
Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Michael Russow
Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee
Frank Trigg vs. Kazuo Misaki
Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland
DVD Special Features:
Include weigh-ins, pre and post fight press conferences and fighter interviews.
----------------
“Pride 33: The Second Coming” live from Las Vegas, is only the second Pride Main Event to be held outside of Japan. Featuring a headline fight for the Middleweight Title between Wanderlei Silva and challenger, Dan Henderson. Henderson, already the Welterweight Champion, looks to make history as the first Mixed Martial Artist to simultaneously hold a championship in two different weight classes in a major organisation.
The merits and drama of the Diaz/Gomi fight eclipses the post match controversy, as Pride Lightweight Champion and firm fan favourite Takanori Gomo faces Nick Diaz in a non-title fight.
Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland
Ireland takes Hansen down earlier, but after recovery and a time-out to fix Hansen’s glove a more even lock up occurs. Joachim takes control and takes him down into a position of back control. After a type of body triangle, Ireland is up, but the hold has fatigued him and he is soon back into that same position. Ireland manages to regain his vertical stance and attacks a fallen Hansen in the closing seconds of the first round. The bell sees out this action.
Hansen comes out with some vicious leg strikes to the head of Ireland, but is a victim of the takedown. Quickly up Hansen pummels his opponent with knee strikes to the head, Ireland is down and Joachim is in control again. Hansen retains this powerful domination throughout the round. The bell saves a pounded upon Jason Ireland in the dying seconds of the second round.
In the third round Joachim’s knees cause more problems for Jason Ireland, After he seems to take control he ends up in a triangleposition into a brutal armbar, from which Jason Ireland verbally submits.
Winner by Armbar Submission – Joachim Hansen
Frank Trigg vs. Kazuo Misaki
We start with an even lock-up until Trigg succeeds in a takedown, from this position Kazuo seems very comfortable and manages to hold Trigg in place with neither man getting control. This changes as Frank gains back control and hold the Japanese fighter in a body triangle. Trigg maintains control but no progression is made within the hold. It seems Trigg’s plan is to wear down and fatigue Misaki. This hold is maintained to round’s end.
Round two brings us another takedown by the American but Misaki stays calm and stops Trigg from turning him for a back control, and again from maintaining back control by spinning back over quickly. Back on their feet they exchange punches and knees the American is swayed so Frank takes him to the mat again in the last minute of the round. In the third Kazuo keeps it on their feet but not for long, back down with Trigg once again the aggressor, he has side control and Misaki is in danger of a submission hold, although he flips onto his back before this can become reality.
Back control now but Kazuo blocks an attemted Rear-Naked Choke and regains verticality. A knee shot to Frank Trigg gives him the opportunity he needs to take the Japanese fighter back to the floor. As we enter the last twenty seconds of the fight we seem to be at a standstill until the bell. Confident Trigg celebrates prematurely, but it is merely a technicality at this point.
Winner by Unanimous Decision – Frank Trigg
Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee
WOW! It’s over. 39 seconds after Lee First aggressively takes down his opponent he ends him with a Guillotine.
Winner by Tap-Out – James Lee
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Another quickie here. The dangerous Sokoudjou kicks the inner thigh and neck of the Brazilian taking him down with thunderous left hands and knocking him out.
Winner by Knockout – Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou[u]
Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig
Sakurai comes out all guns blazing and delivers a flurry of head blows, rocking him in the ropes. Back in the centre of the ring they exchange shots but the Japanese fighter is in control, connecting with almost every leg kick. An unexpected takedown into an armbar by Danzig, Sakurai gets back on top and after the referee transfers the action from under the ropes into the middle of the ring, it is all Hayato.
An awesome hiptoss by Sakurai sees him back in control, but the clock runs out for this round. We begin the next round with a takedown by the Japanese fighter, Danzig attempts to flip him over for control, but fails. Back on their feet, Sakurai throws leg and body strikes hitting everything, Danzig returns the blows but isn’t connecting.
Sakurai seems very relaxed and the American seems flustered, more shots by Hayato practically floor Mac but he retains his stance and they continue trading shots as we enter the final minute. But the very second we eneter that last minute Sakurai drops him with a strong right hand strike and ends the contest.
Winner by Knockout – Hayato Sakurai
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Michael Russow
Even tie up turns into the big Russian delivering some body shots. Russow gains control and begins to strike at the head of Sergei. It flips over and the Russian is back on top. Control switches again and from the bottom guard Kharitonov puts on an Arm-Bar and defeats him at 3:46 into the first round. Although Russow clearly taps, he contests it after the bell. Very poor sportsmanship by the American Fighter here.
Winner by Armbar Submission – Sergei Kharitonov
Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem
In a rematch from PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, the first round begins in exciting fashion with athletic leg strikes from both men. Overeem trips Rua but sensibly does not follow him to the floor, Overeem is reliant on his standing offense. Rua clinches him to attempt a takedown and succeeds, Alistair’s strength keeps him from becoming a victim to a submission move. Rua is on top now and although he receives a shot to the head, he mounts the fallen Overeem and KO’s him with over-arm rights at 3:37 into the first round.
Winner by Knockout – Mauricio Rua
Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi
Gomi takes him down immediately and pounds him incessantly. He stays on Diaz until the referee moves the action back to the centre of the mat. Gomi hits him and wobbles his opponent knocking him to the floor. Gomi gains control andis split by the ref. A more even exchange of punches sees Diaz beginning to turn the tables, Gomi now wobbling in the ropes, but comes back out with shots of his own. Although even again, Gomi is taking an inordinate amount of head shots. The American is split open above his eye as the round ends.
Here in the second round they begin the striking again, although Diaz seems to be winning the ‘boxing’ match, Gomi badly opens up Nick’s other eye, whilst Gomi had him in a headlock a gruesome amount of blood was spilling down the Japanese fighters arm and leg from Diaz’s head. Diaz gets him in a textbook GoGoPlata for the win. Diaz looks like he’s fallen off a roof onto his face. Nasty double black eyes for Nick Diaz.
Winner by Gogoplata Submission – Nick Diaz
By Angelina Licchelli
Price - £8.99 (Correct as of July 1st 2010)
Release Date – October 20th 2008
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
NOTE - This review contains spoilers/results of matches.
NOTE - Due to a trchnical issue with the original archive of this review, the main event of this DVD is not included here. We'll try to add that at a later date.
Fight Card:
PRIDE Middleweight Championship Fight
Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz
Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Michael Russow
Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee
Frank Trigg vs. Kazuo Misaki
Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland
DVD Special Features:
Include weigh-ins, pre and post fight press conferences and fighter interviews.
----------------
“Pride 33: The Second Coming” live from Las Vegas, is only the second Pride Main Event to be held outside of Japan. Featuring a headline fight for the Middleweight Title between Wanderlei Silva and challenger, Dan Henderson. Henderson, already the Welterweight Champion, looks to make history as the first Mixed Martial Artist to simultaneously hold a championship in two different weight classes in a major organisation.
The merits and drama of the Diaz/Gomi fight eclipses the post match controversy, as Pride Lightweight Champion and firm fan favourite Takanori Gomo faces Nick Diaz in a non-title fight.
Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland
Ireland takes Hansen down earlier, but after recovery and a time-out to fix Hansen’s glove a more even lock up occurs. Joachim takes control and takes him down into a position of back control. After a type of body triangle, Ireland is up, but the hold has fatigued him and he is soon back into that same position. Ireland manages to regain his vertical stance and attacks a fallen Hansen in the closing seconds of the first round. The bell sees out this action.
Hansen comes out with some vicious leg strikes to the head of Ireland, but is a victim of the takedown. Quickly up Hansen pummels his opponent with knee strikes to the head, Ireland is down and Joachim is in control again. Hansen retains this powerful domination throughout the round. The bell saves a pounded upon Jason Ireland in the dying seconds of the second round.
In the third round Joachim’s knees cause more problems for Jason Ireland, After he seems to take control he ends up in a triangleposition into a brutal armbar, from which Jason Ireland verbally submits.
Winner by Armbar Submission – Joachim Hansen
Frank Trigg vs. Kazuo Misaki
We start with an even lock-up until Trigg succeeds in a takedown, from this position Kazuo seems very comfortable and manages to hold Trigg in place with neither man getting control. This changes as Frank gains back control and hold the Japanese fighter in a body triangle. Trigg maintains control but no progression is made within the hold. It seems Trigg’s plan is to wear down and fatigue Misaki. This hold is maintained to round’s end.
Round two brings us another takedown by the American but Misaki stays calm and stops Trigg from turning him for a back control, and again from maintaining back control by spinning back over quickly. Back on their feet they exchange punches and knees the American is swayed so Frank takes him to the mat again in the last minute of the round. In the third Kazuo keeps it on their feet but not for long, back down with Trigg once again the aggressor, he has side control and Misaki is in danger of a submission hold, although he flips onto his back before this can become reality.
Back control now but Kazuo blocks an attemted Rear-Naked Choke and regains verticality. A knee shot to Frank Trigg gives him the opportunity he needs to take the Japanese fighter back to the floor. As we enter the last twenty seconds of the fight we seem to be at a standstill until the bell. Confident Trigg celebrates prematurely, but it is merely a technicality at this point.
Winner by Unanimous Decision – Frank Trigg
Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee
WOW! It’s over. 39 seconds after Lee First aggressively takes down his opponent he ends him with a Guillotine.
Winner by Tap-Out – James Lee
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Another quickie here. The dangerous Sokoudjou kicks the inner thigh and neck of the Brazilian taking him down with thunderous left hands and knocking him out.
Winner by Knockout – Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou[u]
Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig
Sakurai comes out all guns blazing and delivers a flurry of head blows, rocking him in the ropes. Back in the centre of the ring they exchange shots but the Japanese fighter is in control, connecting with almost every leg kick. An unexpected takedown into an armbar by Danzig, Sakurai gets back on top and after the referee transfers the action from under the ropes into the middle of the ring, it is all Hayato.
An awesome hiptoss by Sakurai sees him back in control, but the clock runs out for this round. We begin the next round with a takedown by the Japanese fighter, Danzig attempts to flip him over for control, but fails. Back on their feet, Sakurai throws leg and body strikes hitting everything, Danzig returns the blows but isn’t connecting.
Sakurai seems very relaxed and the American seems flustered, more shots by Hayato practically floor Mac but he retains his stance and they continue trading shots as we enter the final minute. But the very second we eneter that last minute Sakurai drops him with a strong right hand strike and ends the contest.
Winner by Knockout – Hayato Sakurai
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Michael Russow
Even tie up turns into the big Russian delivering some body shots. Russow gains control and begins to strike at the head of Sergei. It flips over and the Russian is back on top. Control switches again and from the bottom guard Kharitonov puts on an Arm-Bar and defeats him at 3:46 into the first round. Although Russow clearly taps, he contests it after the bell. Very poor sportsmanship by the American Fighter here.
Winner by Armbar Submission – Sergei Kharitonov
Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem
In a rematch from PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, the first round begins in exciting fashion with athletic leg strikes from both men. Overeem trips Rua but sensibly does not follow him to the floor, Overeem is reliant on his standing offense. Rua clinches him to attempt a takedown and succeeds, Alistair’s strength keeps him from becoming a victim to a submission move. Rua is on top now and although he receives a shot to the head, he mounts the fallen Overeem and KO’s him with over-arm rights at 3:37 into the first round.
Winner by Knockout – Mauricio Rua
Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi
Gomi takes him down immediately and pounds him incessantly. He stays on Diaz until the referee moves the action back to the centre of the mat. Gomi hits him and wobbles his opponent knocking him to the floor. Gomi gains control andis split by the ref. A more even exchange of punches sees Diaz beginning to turn the tables, Gomi now wobbling in the ropes, but comes back out with shots of his own. Although even again, Gomi is taking an inordinate amount of head shots. The American is split open above his eye as the round ends.
Here in the second round they begin the striking again, although Diaz seems to be winning the ‘boxing’ match, Gomi badly opens up Nick’s other eye, whilst Gomi had him in a headlock a gruesome amount of blood was spilling down the Japanese fighters arm and leg from Diaz’s head. Diaz gets him in a textbook GoGoPlata for the win. Diaz looks like he’s fallen off a roof onto his face. Nasty double black eyes for Nick Diaz.
Winner by Gogoplata Submission – Nick Diaz
[Archived Review] UFC 81 - 'Breaking Point' DVD
UFC 81 'Breaking Point' DVD Review
By Angelina Licchelli
NOTE - This DVD contains spoilers/results of matches.
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
Price - £8.99 (Price correct as of July 1st 2010)
Match Listing
Interim Heavyweight Championship Match
Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
Rob Yundt vs. Ricardo Almeida
Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn
Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley
Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
Keita Nakamura vs. Rob Emerson
David Heath vs. Tim Boetsch
DVD Extras:
UFC 81: Behind the Scenes
I'll start off with the bonus feature. A very interesting and lengthy 'Behind the Scenes' look into UFC. I would recommend watching this at the end of the show if you do not want to know the outcome of the matches as it shows the aftermath of the Mir/Lesnar fight.
This extra contains Interviews with the main event players of this DVD and trainers, as well as showing you some of the intense training and relaxation that the fighters go through in preperation of an event. This is a nice featurette as it helps humanise these often quite intimidating and larger than life figures. The nervousness of Brock Lesnar hours before his debut in the MMA world is surreal considering the massive audiences he has performed in front of as a pro wrestler, just goes to show how daunting the anticipation of entering the octagon can be.
There are also glimpses of the THQ UFC game, in an unashamed plug . But the full body scanning for the game and the preview featuring Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson shows how impressive the game is shaping up to be. Plus the sight of the fighters giggling at the sight of a rendered fighter's thingy is stupidly funny.
The Press Conference for the event is also featured in part as are warm-ups for the show. So, it's a 30 minute feature which succeeds in showing the personalities of the UFC guys as well as the preperations and PR that goes into an event with candid interviews and even a plug for the game. A very worthy and fascinating Extra. Thumbs up.
--------------------------------------
The show begins in typical fashion with interviews and a fired-up crowd. We are then treated to a video package showing the history between the contestents of the first match. So lets get to it:
Keita Nakamura vs. Rob Emerson
Coming off the exciting 'no-contest', this rematch begins with the loss off Nakamura's mouthguard and an impromptu time out. After this blip they get to it with a feeling out process which features some strong and calculated leg strikes by Emerson. He then moves to punches which Nakamura finds difficulty in matching, Emerson's counterstrikes are all on target and although the Japanese fighter is placing well thought out jabs, he is outclassed by his opponent. However, this changes quickly when Nakamura capitilises by kneeing Emerson in the face and then mounting the American. Back on their feet he then proceeds to trip Emerson when the bell saves him.
Emerson is bleeding from the nose but starts the next round in good shape, both men utilize the same technique as the first round. More leg strikes on Nakamura but the trading of jabs and head strikes makes for an even second round. Nakamura succeeds in another takedown but they are quickly back up, by round-end the young Japanese fighter is busted open due to an elbow. Very even round.
The round begins in similar fashion to the previous two. Emerson trips but recovers before he can be mounted, Emerson steps it up for the final minute but Nakamura also picks up pace and succeeds in a takedown, the match ends with judges decision, with Emerson still on the ground.
Winner by Split-Decision - Rob Emerson
Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
Video package starts this match. Terry Martin takes down his opponent in the opening seconds. Whilst in a clinch Martin hits some nasty knee strikes. After a minute locked-up the referee seperates them, Eastman then replies with some headstrikes but is then victim to another clinch which leads to more strikes. The Referee again splits them. Out of the Clinch, Eastman is the aggressor, with his vicious striking he is a sure threat. Martin tries to suppress him with a clinch at every turn but by round end Eastman is in control with a series of nice elbow shots.
Round two starts with both men throwing hard punches. Eastman is again stopped with a clinch, but hits a few knee strikes in response. Again the Referee splits up the fighters and again Martin clinches the bigger man. The round ends with the clinch to which Marvin Eastman seems frustrated.
Round three starts with nice punches and Eastman takes down his opponent. Eastman has a great back position but lets go of Martin, instead preferring to use his Muay Thai skills by landing leg strikes to the head. This continues into another clinch, which is soon broken up and Martin executes a takedown which is muscled out of in quick time. The bell ends the bout to judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Marvin Eastman
David Heath vs. Tim Boetsch
Tim Boetsch makes his debut replacing an injured fighter. Tentative start has Boetsch in the driving seat with some pretty leg strikes and right hands. His body strikes cause instantaneous welting to David Heath, Boetsch's methodical and unorthodox style is causing problems for the more experienced Heath. His dodging of offense and flurry of knees take down Heath quickly. Wrestler, Boetsch out-strikes the Striker making for a very decisive debut.
Winner by TKO in Round 1 - Tim Boetsch
Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley
The newcomer Bradley takes on the experienced Lytle but is very quickly outclassed. It's over in seconds. The overwhelmed Kyle Bradley does not realised the match ended and mistakes the referee for his opponent. Blink and you'll miss it.
Winner by Knockout in Round 1 - Chris Lytle
Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
Exciting start from the youngsters with legstrikes by the thick-legged Griffin. The taller Tibau uses punches to counter. They enter into a clinch which Tyson tries to muscle out of resulting in an unsuccessful takedown by the Brazillian. They enter a punching contest which Griffin wins, forcing Gleison to take him down. The round ends with Tibau on top of Griffin in a takedown, but this was an even contest thusfar.
Round Two - another quick, fist-lead start into a clinch, this time initiated by the American. Seperating quickly the enter into another striking contest. Gleison grounds Tyson into side control position, but Griffin wrestled out. Another strike contest starts this time more tentatively, Gleison is bleeding from the nose now, Griffin is connecting with more of his shots than his opponent, he again utilises his strong lower limbs with stiff, quick leg strikes. Tibau takes him down but he wriggles free. Round ends with both men at a vertical stance.
The last Round begins with a feeling out process with a head shot from the Brazillian and a leg strike from Griffin. Gleison soon takes him down and gains a lot of control. He seems to have figured out how to keep hold of the slithery Tyson Griffin. The teflon-covered Tyson spins out and attempts another strike contest. Another takedown means another wriggle free and the pace is slowed as both men try to work out a new strategy. Griffin goes for a clinch which results in both men finding difficulty acquiring the upper hand. After freeing themselves they wait out the clock and after a jog around the ring by the energetic American we go to the judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Tyson Griffin
Rob Yundt vs. Ricardo Almeida
Almeida returns to UFC for the first time since 2002 to face the debuting wrestler Rob Yundt in this Middleweight contest. After a touching of the gloves, Yundt starts out striking, but is taken down quickly by the returning Almeida, he transitions into a guillotine choke and ends it quickly after just over one minute.
Winner by Tap-Out - Ricardo Almeida
Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn
They lock up in the centre and after a jockeying for position Marquardt takes him down. Hard strikes to Horn's head as he unsuccessfully attempts to free himself lead to more strikes before the referee splits them.
Jeremy Horn attmepts a takedown but it is countered and he himself ends up on his back. He wrestles to his feet but an unsuccessful trip of Marquardt means that Nate is soon back on top. His hard kicks only serve to cause more of a mauling by Marquardt but he uses this to put on a Gogoplata shoulder submission. Round ends with Nate still locked in the hold.
A mistake early on in the second round lands Marquardt on his back, Horn capatalises by mounting his fallen opponent. Nate's eye is split open and as they get to their feet Nate Marquardt puts on a Standing Guillotine for the victory.
Winner by Tap-Out - Nate Marquardt
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
A hot video package hypes up this Heavyweight Bout. Lesnars debut starts out well with a quick takedown and massive strikes to the head. A time out is called and Lesnar is given a one point penalty for the illegal strike. He mauls Mir again immediately and continues punching. A rookie mistake leads to Mir's beautiful Knee Lock to end the bout. Unlucky for Brock as he was the aggressor before this hold. Strong Debut despite the quick loss.
Winner by Tap-Out - Frank Mir
Interim Heavyweight Championship Match
Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Quick strikes by Silvia early on lead to a grounding in which he is trapped in a lock which he escapes. Silvia gets him down with brutal strikes to the head, whilst still in a body scissors, Nogueira is bleeding from his right eye now, and they are back on the ground. Tim frees himself and Nogueira attempts another takedown but is shaken off with knees which do not connect. With seconds left in the first round, Nogueira takes Silvia down, he's saved by the bell.
Round two starts with some striking, Nogueira is struggling with the 3" reach advantage of the towering Tim Silvia. The round continues with this boxing-like contest which sees us to the bell just as Nogueira finds a connection with his shots.
Round three of this five round contest begins as the last round ended, a leg kick by the Brazillian is returned by a headstrike by Silvia. Nogueira gets the big man down in hopes of a submission. He has him on his back and then up and into a guillotine choke to win the fight and become the Interim Heavyweight Champion.
Winner by Tap-Out - Minotauro Nogueira
Overall:
Another top class release from UFC. The event is as exciting as it is brutal and with a good mix of styles and debuts this is a great DVD to own. Technically it is a superior release in both picture and audio, with a crisp, clear video and the always excellent commentary team both loud and clear, aesthetically the menues and navigation are pleasing and the bonus feature is very worthwhile. Fantastic event given a great package and at a reasonable price. Recommended.
By Angelina Licchelli
NOTE - This DVD contains spoilers/results of matches.
Available from - www.silvervision.co.uk / www.fightdvd.co.uk
Price - £8.99 (Price correct as of July 1st 2010)
Match Listing
Interim Heavyweight Championship Match
Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
Rob Yundt vs. Ricardo Almeida
Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn
Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley
Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
Keita Nakamura vs. Rob Emerson
David Heath vs. Tim Boetsch
DVD Extras:
UFC 81: Behind the Scenes
I'll start off with the bonus feature. A very interesting and lengthy 'Behind the Scenes' look into UFC. I would recommend watching this at the end of the show if you do not want to know the outcome of the matches as it shows the aftermath of the Mir/Lesnar fight.
This extra contains Interviews with the main event players of this DVD and trainers, as well as showing you some of the intense training and relaxation that the fighters go through in preperation of an event. This is a nice featurette as it helps humanise these often quite intimidating and larger than life figures. The nervousness of Brock Lesnar hours before his debut in the MMA world is surreal considering the massive audiences he has performed in front of as a pro wrestler, just goes to show how daunting the anticipation of entering the octagon can be.
There are also glimpses of the THQ UFC game, in an unashamed plug . But the full body scanning for the game and the preview featuring Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson shows how impressive the game is shaping up to be. Plus the sight of the fighters giggling at the sight of a rendered fighter's thingy is stupidly funny.
The Press Conference for the event is also featured in part as are warm-ups for the show. So, it's a 30 minute feature which succeeds in showing the personalities of the UFC guys as well as the preperations and PR that goes into an event with candid interviews and even a plug for the game. A very worthy and fascinating Extra. Thumbs up.
--------------------------------------
The show begins in typical fashion with interviews and a fired-up crowd. We are then treated to a video package showing the history between the contestents of the first match. So lets get to it:
Keita Nakamura vs. Rob Emerson
Coming off the exciting 'no-contest', this rematch begins with the loss off Nakamura's mouthguard and an impromptu time out. After this blip they get to it with a feeling out process which features some strong and calculated leg strikes by Emerson. He then moves to punches which Nakamura finds difficulty in matching, Emerson's counterstrikes are all on target and although the Japanese fighter is placing well thought out jabs, he is outclassed by his opponent. However, this changes quickly when Nakamura capitilises by kneeing Emerson in the face and then mounting the American. Back on their feet he then proceeds to trip Emerson when the bell saves him.
Emerson is bleeding from the nose but starts the next round in good shape, both men utilize the same technique as the first round. More leg strikes on Nakamura but the trading of jabs and head strikes makes for an even second round. Nakamura succeeds in another takedown but they are quickly back up, by round-end the young Japanese fighter is busted open due to an elbow. Very even round.
The round begins in similar fashion to the previous two. Emerson trips but recovers before he can be mounted, Emerson steps it up for the final minute but Nakamura also picks up pace and succeeds in a takedown, the match ends with judges decision, with Emerson still on the ground.
Winner by Split-Decision - Rob Emerson
Marvin Eastman vs. Terry Martin
Video package starts this match. Terry Martin takes down his opponent in the opening seconds. Whilst in a clinch Martin hits some nasty knee strikes. After a minute locked-up the referee seperates them, Eastman then replies with some headstrikes but is then victim to another clinch which leads to more strikes. The Referee again splits them. Out of the Clinch, Eastman is the aggressor, with his vicious striking he is a sure threat. Martin tries to suppress him with a clinch at every turn but by round end Eastman is in control with a series of nice elbow shots.
Round two starts with both men throwing hard punches. Eastman is again stopped with a clinch, but hits a few knee strikes in response. Again the Referee splits up the fighters and again Martin clinches the bigger man. The round ends with the clinch to which Marvin Eastman seems frustrated.
Round three starts with nice punches and Eastman takes down his opponent. Eastman has a great back position but lets go of Martin, instead preferring to use his Muay Thai skills by landing leg strikes to the head. This continues into another clinch, which is soon broken up and Martin executes a takedown which is muscled out of in quick time. The bell ends the bout to judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Marvin Eastman
David Heath vs. Tim Boetsch
Tim Boetsch makes his debut replacing an injured fighter. Tentative start has Boetsch in the driving seat with some pretty leg strikes and right hands. His body strikes cause instantaneous welting to David Heath, Boetsch's methodical and unorthodox style is causing problems for the more experienced Heath. His dodging of offense and flurry of knees take down Heath quickly. Wrestler, Boetsch out-strikes the Striker making for a very decisive debut.
Winner by TKO in Round 1 - Tim Boetsch
Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley
The newcomer Bradley takes on the experienced Lytle but is very quickly outclassed. It's over in seconds. The overwhelmed Kyle Bradley does not realised the match ended and mistakes the referee for his opponent. Blink and you'll miss it.
Winner by Knockout in Round 1 - Chris Lytle
Tyson Griffin vs. Gleison Tibau
Exciting start from the youngsters with legstrikes by the thick-legged Griffin. The taller Tibau uses punches to counter. They enter into a clinch which Tyson tries to muscle out of resulting in an unsuccessful takedown by the Brazillian. They enter a punching contest which Griffin wins, forcing Gleison to take him down. The round ends with Tibau on top of Griffin in a takedown, but this was an even contest thusfar.
Round Two - another quick, fist-lead start into a clinch, this time initiated by the American. Seperating quickly the enter into another striking contest. Gleison grounds Tyson into side control position, but Griffin wrestled out. Another strike contest starts this time more tentatively, Gleison is bleeding from the nose now, Griffin is connecting with more of his shots than his opponent, he again utilises his strong lower limbs with stiff, quick leg strikes. Tibau takes him down but he wriggles free. Round ends with both men at a vertical stance.
The last Round begins with a feeling out process with a head shot from the Brazillian and a leg strike from Griffin. Gleison soon takes him down and gains a lot of control. He seems to have figured out how to keep hold of the slithery Tyson Griffin. The teflon-covered Tyson spins out and attempts another strike contest. Another takedown means another wriggle free and the pace is slowed as both men try to work out a new strategy. Griffin goes for a clinch which results in both men finding difficulty acquiring the upper hand. After freeing themselves they wait out the clock and after a jog around the ring by the energetic American we go to the judges decision.
Winner by Unanimous Decision - Tyson Griffin
Rob Yundt vs. Ricardo Almeida
Almeida returns to UFC for the first time since 2002 to face the debuting wrestler Rob Yundt in this Middleweight contest. After a touching of the gloves, Yundt starts out striking, but is taken down quickly by the returning Almeida, he transitions into a guillotine choke and ends it quickly after just over one minute.
Winner by Tap-Out - Ricardo Almeida
Nate Marquardt vs. Jeremy Horn
They lock up in the centre and after a jockeying for position Marquardt takes him down. Hard strikes to Horn's head as he unsuccessfully attempts to free himself lead to more strikes before the referee splits them.
Jeremy Horn attmepts a takedown but it is countered and he himself ends up on his back. He wrestles to his feet but an unsuccessful trip of Marquardt means that Nate is soon back on top. His hard kicks only serve to cause more of a mauling by Marquardt but he uses this to put on a Gogoplata shoulder submission. Round ends with Nate still locked in the hold.
A mistake early on in the second round lands Marquardt on his back, Horn capatalises by mounting his fallen opponent. Nate's eye is split open and as they get to their feet Nate Marquardt puts on a Standing Guillotine for the victory.
Winner by Tap-Out - Nate Marquardt
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
A hot video package hypes up this Heavyweight Bout. Lesnars debut starts out well with a quick takedown and massive strikes to the head. A time out is called and Lesnar is given a one point penalty for the illegal strike. He mauls Mir again immediately and continues punching. A rookie mistake leads to Mir's beautiful Knee Lock to end the bout. Unlucky for Brock as he was the aggressor before this hold. Strong Debut despite the quick loss.
Winner by Tap-Out - Frank Mir
Interim Heavyweight Championship Match
Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Quick strikes by Silvia early on lead to a grounding in which he is trapped in a lock which he escapes. Silvia gets him down with brutal strikes to the head, whilst still in a body scissors, Nogueira is bleeding from his right eye now, and they are back on the ground. Tim frees himself and Nogueira attempts another takedown but is shaken off with knees which do not connect. With seconds left in the first round, Nogueira takes Silvia down, he's saved by the bell.
Round two starts with some striking, Nogueira is struggling with the 3" reach advantage of the towering Tim Silvia. The round continues with this boxing-like contest which sees us to the bell just as Nogueira finds a connection with his shots.
Round three of this five round contest begins as the last round ended, a leg kick by the Brazillian is returned by a headstrike by Silvia. Nogueira gets the big man down in hopes of a submission. He has him on his back and then up and into a guillotine choke to win the fight and become the Interim Heavyweight Champion.
Winner by Tap-Out - Minotauro Nogueira
Overall:
Another top class release from UFC. The event is as exciting as it is brutal and with a good mix of styles and debuts this is a great DVD to own. Technically it is a superior release in both picture and audio, with a crisp, clear video and the always excellent commentary team both loud and clear, aesthetically the menues and navigation are pleasing and the bonus feature is very worthwhile. Fantastic event given a great package and at a reasonable price. Recommended.
Friday, 28 May 2010
UFC 2010 Review.
UFC 2010.
By Martyn Licchelli
For years now, THQ and Yukes have released the annual smackdown vs RAW game. Each year a new game would come along, with an extra mode, a couple of different characters, and it took a long time before we finally got something which changed the main modes, that being the Road to Wrestlemania storylines, and the long awaited Create a Finisher. It took a long time to get there though, and for a few years Smackdown vs RAW was happy to just sit as the best wrestling game each year simply because no others were around.
So maybe we should be thankful that this year EA sports will be releasing their own MMA game, as it has forced THQ and Yukes to put a lot of work into the latest Undisputed game. Of course credit has to be given where it is due, the guys and girls who have worked on this game have done a great job and made sure that it looks and plays well, and made improvements in almost every single aspect. It would be unfair to discredit them and claim they only did it out of fear of competition and not desire to just make the best game they could, but I'm sure EA's MMA played a role.
So what's different this year then? Like I said just a moment again, improvements have been made to nearly everything. The only thing that remains the same really, is the graphics, which are still really good, and for the most part, provide great representations of the fighters, referees, and other UFC employees. There's a couple of uglies here and there, but they're limited to bit parts and don't really detract in any way. Despite the lack of improvement in the graphics though, the game does still look better thanks to the majority of animations being completely redone.
On the whole, once the action begins, the game moves a lot smoother. Transitions into submissions, and the new feature that allows you to transition from one submissions straight into another, are all animated really well and it adds a lot to the realism of the game. My only real concern with animations, is lack of limb damage being recognised. This really took me out of the game last year, and this year it's again a bit of a problem. If I throw 20 punches, my fighter will drop his arms and look tired. But if i'm kicked in the legs a thousand times, I'll still walk around like everything is fine, and throw leg kicks like no tomorrow. It's something EA's MMA has implemented in to their game, and I hope it's in UFC 2011 next year, as it's quite disheartening to work on someones legs all fight, and then not be able to win with any form of leg submission, but your first kimura has them tapping in seconds.
For some reason though, whilst this issue took me out of last years game, this year it's not so bad. I don't know why though, but I think it may well be due to the new fighting system. It's not incredibly different, you still do everything in the usual way. Face buttons are kicks and punches, shoulder buttons are modifiers, and right stick is grappling. The fundamentals are the same, but each fighter is now a lot more individual than last year. In 2009, you selected two bases for your characters. One stirking, and one grappling. If you had someone who had Kick boxing, and someone else who had kick boxing too... they're have the exact same move set for strikes. This is massively different this year, as well as adding new forms of martial arts like Sambo to the equation, you're not limited to two styles any more. Instead you select one type of base, and then throughout your career you attend camps, all based on the real MMA camps used by UFC fighters, and pick and choose which moves you want to learn.
What you're left with when you've finished levelling your character up, is a fighter who instead of having left superman punch, right superman punch, left head kick, and right head kick fixed as his modifiers. You can now have a dodging left hook, a Chuck Liddel overhand right, Left axe kick, and a flying knee. Giving your fighter an offence that is almost guaranteed to be unique, and it also means that every real fighter in the game is able to be recreated more accurately as some of the big names, like Liddel, BJ and St Pierre have moves that are solely used by them making them feel that little closer to the real thing.
The other main change in the fighting, is the use of the cage. You can pin your opponents against it, use it for leverage, spin off it, kick off it when on the ground to reverse position. It's very well implemented, and really adds to the game. You can also have matches ended by doctors if a cut is too bad. I beat many people to a pulp and the doctor showed up a lot, but only once did he stop it. I'm glad that it happens sparingly, because it could well have ruined a good fight.
Sadly, one thing still plagues me no matter how much I train in this years game or last years. I cant do submissions to save my life. In the 300+ fights I did before reviewing this game, I got KO of the night no less than 150 times, not once did I get submission of the night, cause I only ever made one person tap and that, I'm sure, was the game feeling sorry for me. I beat my opponents til they look like a beef burger patty, lowered their stamina and everything. But I can just never do it. I'm sure however that this is less a problem with the game, and more me being inept. Still, it would be nice if the tutorial explained submissions a little better than 'rotate the stick' because I do that relentlessly and get nothing. Slow. Fast. Medium pace. No matter what, they kick out and I'm left on the defensive. Thank god I trained my Liddel over hand right or i'd never win.
One of the other improvements this year, is the career mode. Last year was very basic, but this year they've added much more. It actually plays a little like a Road to Wrestlemania from the Smackdown series. You give your fighter a voice, and he does interviews and talks to his trainer. The voices aren't great though. When you make the main event of a Fight Night card, or the main card of any UFC show the game gives you a hype video which features your opponent talking about their strategy, and your guy doing it too. It's really cool, and a nice feature that i've wanted in a video game since they incorporated it in Smackdown 2, and then removed it never to be seen again.
The only problem is, I gave my guy voice #4 which is meant to be british I think, and my god did it irritate me to hear him say “At the end of the day, you got to respect my powahhhh... cause if you don't i'll knock you oughtttt” In the doziest slurred voice ever. This wouldn't be much of an issue, if I didn't hear it all the time. You do say different things for different matches, but that one line was repeated in 25% of my fights and it made me want to knock my character out.
It's also irritating when you are interviewed post fight by Joe Rogan. It's a nice feature, that lets you respond to questions in 4 different ways which will earn you respect, lose you respect, as well as earn and lose credibility, fans and sponsors. But once you make the main card of the UFC shows, the interview is after EVERY fight and it gets a bit repetitive. You can skip the talking, but you still have to wait for it to load and show it. It would be nice if an option was put in to do an interview, or skip it.
Other than these new additions though, career mode is largely unchanged despite it's new look. Training requires slightly more micro management, but it is far easier to make the fighter you want. There was just one thing that annoyed me though, I went through my career, won the middle weight title, defended it, moves up to light heavyweight, won that title and defended and I was only in year 7 of my career. I was inducted in to the hall of fame in year 9 I think and had a champ vs champ match. I'd done everything, but was unable to retire. I had to go til year 12 had ended. I may have missed it, but I saw no option to retire, which meant that for my trophy or achievement collection on the PS3 or Xbox respectively I had to go through 6-8 more fights with no real purpose.
Still it gave me chance to practice submissions. I subsequently lost all 8 matches, I should have been fired.
Other modes included in this years game are tournament mode, which does exactly what it says on the tin allowing people to set up tournaments for whatever title they want. Create a card allows you to make your own event, much like Create a PPV from Smackdown. Online fighting returns from last year, but this year is improved slightly as you can now have a camp, which essentially is an online 'clan'. I noticed no benefit from being in a camp, but it was better sparring against friends instead of random fighters.
I did suffer a lot of lag on the PS3 online game, but I'm hoping this was just poor connection between myself and the americans I was facing. I believe that after fridays release in the UK, I'll be able to get much more stable matches.
The last mode that returns is the Ultimate Fights mode. This time there are 20 matches split across 4 catergories. Each match has 3 sets of goals for each fighter to achieve, meaning that I think this mode is probably the mode that will keep my attention longest. Each fight comes with a hype video, with all the talking from the build up included, and if you achieve your goals, you're also treated to highlights of the real match and points to buy extra gear for Created fighters, and sponsors too. As much as everything has changed, I believe this is my favourite improvement. For some reason, I dont feel inclined to go through career mode more than once, but i'm going back to Ultimate Fights time and time again, trying to get every last goal unlocked.
The one problem with UFC really, in taking this on as a yearly game, is that there's not much you can add. In their WWE series of games THQ and Yukes are able to add new match types, as well as new wrestlers. With the hefty roster included in this years UFC, and the fact that there's only ever one sort of match in UFC, there's not much they can add in adition, which could potentially mean that UFC 2011 ends up being a very small improvement that's not worth the money. 2010 however has enough new things, enough changes to gameplay, and enough of a roster improvement that it feels like I got my value for money.
The last thing to cover, I guess, is the comparison between PS3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 wins outright in my opinion, as you get 5 extra Ultimate Fights, those being UFN 18 -Carlos Condit vs Martin Kampmann, UFC 102 – Nate Marquardt vs Demian Maia, UFC 60 – Hughes vs Gracie, UFC 66 Keith Jardine vs Forrest Griffin, and UFC 66 Martin Kampman vs Drew McFedries. Being as how I already stated that this was my favourite mode, its not surprising this makes me prefer the PS3 version. But there is more, as the PS3 also gets 3 bonus fighters Royce Gracie, Jens Pulver and Dan Severn, and to round it off the PS3 also comes with 5 full matches for you to watch. Including Brock Lesnars win over Frank Mir to become the Heavywieght champion, with post fight promo included.
Whilst the Xbox 360 has no extras included, it should be noted that it does like a little bit smoother on the Xbox, with no jagged lines, and the control pad seems to suit this game better than the PS3 one. But the PS3 extras win out over this in my opinion.
So on to the rating then, UFC 2010 is a good game. It's easy to recommend to fighting game fans, and UFC fans, but it does still have it's niggles. The right stick based movement on the ground for transitions works fine, but the rotating of the stick for submissions can be awkward and seems too hit and miss. Some body damage would be nice, and maybe a reduction of Flash KO's, which seemed to come in 85% of my fights. But apart from these small issues, I really enjoyed my time in the Octagon.
Oh, and Shaquille O'neal is a bonus character, so this game was always going to be good.
8/10
By Martyn Licchelli
For years now, THQ and Yukes have released the annual smackdown vs RAW game. Each year a new game would come along, with an extra mode, a couple of different characters, and it took a long time before we finally got something which changed the main modes, that being the Road to Wrestlemania storylines, and the long awaited Create a Finisher. It took a long time to get there though, and for a few years Smackdown vs RAW was happy to just sit as the best wrestling game each year simply because no others were around.
So maybe we should be thankful that this year EA sports will be releasing their own MMA game, as it has forced THQ and Yukes to put a lot of work into the latest Undisputed game. Of course credit has to be given where it is due, the guys and girls who have worked on this game have done a great job and made sure that it looks and plays well, and made improvements in almost every single aspect. It would be unfair to discredit them and claim they only did it out of fear of competition and not desire to just make the best game they could, but I'm sure EA's MMA played a role.
So what's different this year then? Like I said just a moment again, improvements have been made to nearly everything. The only thing that remains the same really, is the graphics, which are still really good, and for the most part, provide great representations of the fighters, referees, and other UFC employees. There's a couple of uglies here and there, but they're limited to bit parts and don't really detract in any way. Despite the lack of improvement in the graphics though, the game does still look better thanks to the majority of animations being completely redone.
On the whole, once the action begins, the game moves a lot smoother. Transitions into submissions, and the new feature that allows you to transition from one submissions straight into another, are all animated really well and it adds a lot to the realism of the game. My only real concern with animations, is lack of limb damage being recognised. This really took me out of the game last year, and this year it's again a bit of a problem. If I throw 20 punches, my fighter will drop his arms and look tired. But if i'm kicked in the legs a thousand times, I'll still walk around like everything is fine, and throw leg kicks like no tomorrow. It's something EA's MMA has implemented in to their game, and I hope it's in UFC 2011 next year, as it's quite disheartening to work on someones legs all fight, and then not be able to win with any form of leg submission, but your first kimura has them tapping in seconds.
For some reason though, whilst this issue took me out of last years game, this year it's not so bad. I don't know why though, but I think it may well be due to the new fighting system. It's not incredibly different, you still do everything in the usual way. Face buttons are kicks and punches, shoulder buttons are modifiers, and right stick is grappling. The fundamentals are the same, but each fighter is now a lot more individual than last year. In 2009, you selected two bases for your characters. One stirking, and one grappling. If you had someone who had Kick boxing, and someone else who had kick boxing too... they're have the exact same move set for strikes. This is massively different this year, as well as adding new forms of martial arts like Sambo to the equation, you're not limited to two styles any more. Instead you select one type of base, and then throughout your career you attend camps, all based on the real MMA camps used by UFC fighters, and pick and choose which moves you want to learn.
What you're left with when you've finished levelling your character up, is a fighter who instead of having left superman punch, right superman punch, left head kick, and right head kick fixed as his modifiers. You can now have a dodging left hook, a Chuck Liddel overhand right, Left axe kick, and a flying knee. Giving your fighter an offence that is almost guaranteed to be unique, and it also means that every real fighter in the game is able to be recreated more accurately as some of the big names, like Liddel, BJ and St Pierre have moves that are solely used by them making them feel that little closer to the real thing.
The other main change in the fighting, is the use of the cage. You can pin your opponents against it, use it for leverage, spin off it, kick off it when on the ground to reverse position. It's very well implemented, and really adds to the game. You can also have matches ended by doctors if a cut is too bad. I beat many people to a pulp and the doctor showed up a lot, but only once did he stop it. I'm glad that it happens sparingly, because it could well have ruined a good fight.
Sadly, one thing still plagues me no matter how much I train in this years game or last years. I cant do submissions to save my life. In the 300+ fights I did before reviewing this game, I got KO of the night no less than 150 times, not once did I get submission of the night, cause I only ever made one person tap and that, I'm sure, was the game feeling sorry for me. I beat my opponents til they look like a beef burger patty, lowered their stamina and everything. But I can just never do it. I'm sure however that this is less a problem with the game, and more me being inept. Still, it would be nice if the tutorial explained submissions a little better than 'rotate the stick' because I do that relentlessly and get nothing. Slow. Fast. Medium pace. No matter what, they kick out and I'm left on the defensive. Thank god I trained my Liddel over hand right or i'd never win.
One of the other improvements this year, is the career mode. Last year was very basic, but this year they've added much more. It actually plays a little like a Road to Wrestlemania from the Smackdown series. You give your fighter a voice, and he does interviews and talks to his trainer. The voices aren't great though. When you make the main event of a Fight Night card, or the main card of any UFC show the game gives you a hype video which features your opponent talking about their strategy, and your guy doing it too. It's really cool, and a nice feature that i've wanted in a video game since they incorporated it in Smackdown 2, and then removed it never to be seen again.
The only problem is, I gave my guy voice #4 which is meant to be british I think, and my god did it irritate me to hear him say “At the end of the day, you got to respect my powahhhh... cause if you don't i'll knock you oughtttt” In the doziest slurred voice ever. This wouldn't be much of an issue, if I didn't hear it all the time. You do say different things for different matches, but that one line was repeated in 25% of my fights and it made me want to knock my character out.
It's also irritating when you are interviewed post fight by Joe Rogan. It's a nice feature, that lets you respond to questions in 4 different ways which will earn you respect, lose you respect, as well as earn and lose credibility, fans and sponsors. But once you make the main card of the UFC shows, the interview is after EVERY fight and it gets a bit repetitive. You can skip the talking, but you still have to wait for it to load and show it. It would be nice if an option was put in to do an interview, or skip it.
Other than these new additions though, career mode is largely unchanged despite it's new look. Training requires slightly more micro management, but it is far easier to make the fighter you want. There was just one thing that annoyed me though, I went through my career, won the middle weight title, defended it, moves up to light heavyweight, won that title and defended and I was only in year 7 of my career. I was inducted in to the hall of fame in year 9 I think and had a champ vs champ match. I'd done everything, but was unable to retire. I had to go til year 12 had ended. I may have missed it, but I saw no option to retire, which meant that for my trophy or achievement collection on the PS3 or Xbox respectively I had to go through 6-8 more fights with no real purpose.
Still it gave me chance to practice submissions. I subsequently lost all 8 matches, I should have been fired.
Other modes included in this years game are tournament mode, which does exactly what it says on the tin allowing people to set up tournaments for whatever title they want. Create a card allows you to make your own event, much like Create a PPV from Smackdown. Online fighting returns from last year, but this year is improved slightly as you can now have a camp, which essentially is an online 'clan'. I noticed no benefit from being in a camp, but it was better sparring against friends instead of random fighters.
I did suffer a lot of lag on the PS3 online game, but I'm hoping this was just poor connection between myself and the americans I was facing. I believe that after fridays release in the UK, I'll be able to get much more stable matches.
The last mode that returns is the Ultimate Fights mode. This time there are 20 matches split across 4 catergories. Each match has 3 sets of goals for each fighter to achieve, meaning that I think this mode is probably the mode that will keep my attention longest. Each fight comes with a hype video, with all the talking from the build up included, and if you achieve your goals, you're also treated to highlights of the real match and points to buy extra gear for Created fighters, and sponsors too. As much as everything has changed, I believe this is my favourite improvement. For some reason, I dont feel inclined to go through career mode more than once, but i'm going back to Ultimate Fights time and time again, trying to get every last goal unlocked.
The one problem with UFC really, in taking this on as a yearly game, is that there's not much you can add. In their WWE series of games THQ and Yukes are able to add new match types, as well as new wrestlers. With the hefty roster included in this years UFC, and the fact that there's only ever one sort of match in UFC, there's not much they can add in adition, which could potentially mean that UFC 2011 ends up being a very small improvement that's not worth the money. 2010 however has enough new things, enough changes to gameplay, and enough of a roster improvement that it feels like I got my value for money.
The last thing to cover, I guess, is the comparison between PS3 and Xbox 360. The PS3 wins outright in my opinion, as you get 5 extra Ultimate Fights, those being UFN 18 -Carlos Condit vs Martin Kampmann, UFC 102 – Nate Marquardt vs Demian Maia, UFC 60 – Hughes vs Gracie, UFC 66 Keith Jardine vs Forrest Griffin, and UFC 66 Martin Kampman vs Drew McFedries. Being as how I already stated that this was my favourite mode, its not surprising this makes me prefer the PS3 version. But there is more, as the PS3 also gets 3 bonus fighters Royce Gracie, Jens Pulver and Dan Severn, and to round it off the PS3 also comes with 5 full matches for you to watch. Including Brock Lesnars win over Frank Mir to become the Heavywieght champion, with post fight promo included.
Whilst the Xbox 360 has no extras included, it should be noted that it does like a little bit smoother on the Xbox, with no jagged lines, and the control pad seems to suit this game better than the PS3 one. But the PS3 extras win out over this in my opinion.
So on to the rating then, UFC 2010 is a good game. It's easy to recommend to fighting game fans, and UFC fans, but it does still have it's niggles. The right stick based movement on the ground for transitions works fine, but the rotating of the stick for submissions can be awkward and seems too hit and miss. Some body damage would be nice, and maybe a reduction of Flash KO's, which seemed to come in 85% of my fights. But apart from these small issues, I really enjoyed my time in the Octagon.
Oh, and Shaquille O'neal is a bonus character, so this game was always going to be good.
8/10
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
A quick hello
Just a quick hello here from Martyn, over the coming weeks this blog should be getting a lot busier with content (hopefully) being added each and every week with reviews of everything from shows, to events, to DVD's, books and video games.
At some point, previous reviews will be added here. But for now, this will be all new content to help us keep a record of everything, and in a tidier place than the forums or my personal facebook.
I've talked enough. I'm off to record this weeks show, before we come back to live shows next week. Good times.
At some point, previous reviews will be added here. But for now, this will be all new content to help us keep a record of everything, and in a tidier place than the forums or my personal facebook.
I've talked enough. I'm off to record this weeks show, before we come back to live shows next week. Good times.
Welcome
Welcome to the official blog of The Dropkick Radio Wrestling Show. Hosted by Jeremy Graves & Martyn Licchelli.
In this blog you'll find not only comments on wrestling, but also reviews of DVDs, video games and much more in the coming weeks and months.
In this blog you'll find not only comments on wrestling, but also reviews of DVDs, video games and much more in the coming weeks and months.
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