I’ve been playing these PC game version of Undisputed Since its earliest beta on Steam, and while I was happy to hear that it’s finally coming to consoles in its 1.0 release, it’s also committing a major gaming sin that I think could actually have a more cascading effect on its success. Developed by Steel City Studios from Sheffield, UK, the new boxing title has a lot going for it, but it’s important that it doesn’t get knocked down in the first few rounds if it wants to become a true contender to the Action night Franchise.
Sitting with pretty disappointing overall “mixed” reviews on Steam and lackluster reviews on consoles, even Canelo’s star power isn’t strong enough to save what some consider a bad game. The introduction of a day-one DLC called The WBC pack will only continue to hinder the success of the game Or spell the end of the project altogether, at least in the eyes of players and dedicated action fans.
The undisputed day-one DLC is a major problem
Undisputed needs to include more boxers for free
While I was happy to see the game finally released on consoles on October 11th, the introduction of a $21.99 DLC that pay-gates fighters that should already be in the game paints a disturbing future for the game. Undisputed Game. While I have less of a problem with the special attire for fighters like Clarrisa Shields and Canelo, the bigger problem is that The DLC prevents players from choosing seemingly random boxers in the base game. Paying for boxers like Dmitry Bivol, Caleb Plant and Jaime Munguia seems ridiculous on its face to me and a lot of other fans of the sweet science – and could hurt his player numbers.
The boxers in question are all more relevant and current names that should have been included in the base game as a good way to commemorate its 1.0 release. With what feels like an already paper-thin roster with repeated fighters across weight classes, Undisputed Is hurting himself when it should go all-out on the marketing for its full release. On top of that, according to some users (via Game Rant), “nothing feels different,” and the game in general feels “bare-bones,” and I share that sentiment.
The WBC pack Also includes legendary versions of certain fighters through the Era Pack, including Tyson Fury ’09 (when he had hair), Canelo Alvarez ’11, and Muhammad Ali ’64 – which makes more sense for a paid DLC, but still isn’t very ideal .
UFC 5 has in-game ways to earn new fighters and characters
But they also continued the sin at lunch
One of those things that will always grind my gears about UFC 5 Is the fact that I won’t be able to play as Fedor because it was included in an overpriced deluxe edition I refused to pay for. While I care a lot less about Ali and Bruce Lee (don’t @ me; it’s an MMA game), I’d actually pay a little extra to play as Fedor Emelianenko, because he’s one of my all-time favorites and an undeniable GOAT In MMA.
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Fast forward to today, and almost all UFC 5 Alter egos and legendary fighters that UFC 5 Added are obtained through tokens that can be earned from completing specific tasks in the game, like winning weekly matches or betting on real UFC events. This feature is a great way to keep players engaged and coming back for more, even if it’s just to complete the weekly challenges to get their coins.
On top of that, new and upcoming fighters that are gaining popularity in real life are typically added to the roster for free without having to paint them, keeping the game relevant and fresh as long as EA wants to update it. As much as I hate to say it, EA, in this case, has a much better system than Steel City in introducing new fighters.
Beyond the initial launch that paid Fedor and several other fighters, UFC 5 Thankfully not pulled this move on subsequent combatants introduced to the game after launch. Although it is possible Undisputed Will add a system like this in the future; I’m afraid that instead, they’ll try to capitalize and release more paid DLC – for ranked fighters who aren’t even currently champions and whose longevity as “all-time greats” hasn’t even been tested yet.
Undisputed needs to make major changes to maintain its buzz
Please fix your game
I want to root for Undisputed. After all, I’ve been a fan and played the game since beta, with an impressive 80-7 ranked ladder record prior to the 1.0 release. There’s more than just this one issue the company needs to fix with the game – like the generally weird, floaty feel and lack of impact with punches – not to mention random bugs and issues with online play. At some point during the development cycle, some of the physics were notably changed, with punches losing their snappy effect, and now the game feels worse, in my opinion.
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when Undisputed Beta first launched, it felt fresh and new – with fighters like Ryan Garcia and Bud Crawford available in the base game, and it served as a nice reprieve from the more arcade style of what Action night became Today, it feels incomplete and money-grabbing with this WBC DLCAdding fighters that, quite frankly, are less impressive than his already existing list of boxers and make little sense to add as a paid addition (although, I’m a fan of Bivol and wish I could play as him). It almost feels like a death knell for what was otherwise a really cool boxing simulation game – that is if it wasn’t for the massive funding behind it.
According to A GamesIndustry.biz The studio raised £15 million in funding from a group called Novator Ventures, together with Egis Klimas, Jose de la Cruz and London Venture Partners, not to mention their partnership with Riyadh Season – pointing to the fact that Undisputed May be around for the long run, whether boxing or gaming fans like it or not. If it is, I hope they find a better way to introduce new fighters other than through paid DLC or a paid battle pass. For the sake of combat sports and gaming fans at large, I hope the devs make the right decision.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz, Game Rant