Best Fighting Games of the Last Generation - Wiggy's Blog

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Wiggy's Blog

Best Fighting Games of the Last Generation Stuck

Posted on February 19, 2013 at 03:56 PM.

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** Disclaimer: This list consists of games from the last generation of consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii). Some of these games are being ranked according to the standards of the year they came out and the improvements they showed relative to what had come before **

5) EA Sports MMA

I enjoyed what EA Sports MMA tried to do in a lot of ways, and it's fights definitely resembled more of an actual struggle between two highly skilled fighters than some of the goofy slugfests that develop in the UFC games from time to time. It was interesting seeing Strikeforce and free agent fighters populating the ranks, and the ability to do foot stomps, soccer kicks and knees to the face on the ground was a welcome addition.

4) Fight Night Champion

While not as strong as the WWE '13 Attitude Era mode, Fight Night Champion's story mode was surprisingly entertaining. The story was relatively predictable and fairly short, but the neat trick was that the gameplay changed from match to match based on what was happening (injuries, bribed refs, relationships with the other fighter, etc). The action in the other modes was still entertaining, even if some of it was a little too bit on the arcade side of the ledger.

3) Fight Night Round 4

While I was tempted to include Fight Night Round 3 for its significance in this generation, I have to go with Fight Night Round 4, as the action and presentation was incredibly flashy and much smoother than its predecessor. I still feel the Fight Night games need to ease off of the arcade stylings and goofy created fighters for the online mode to be taken more seriously, but this game still was a lot of fun to play when it came out.

2) WWE 13

Honestly, WWE 13 has, mainly, one trick, but boy does it do that trick well. The Attitude Era content really got me excited about a wrestling product again, and I was pleasantly surprised with the level of detail, care and nostalgia that the developers infused into the proceedings. The gameplay in these sequences was unique and entertaining, and the unlockable extras made the historical objectives worth getting. That said, THQ also improved the gameplay a good deal, and the impact and frenzy of the action was really solid.

1) UFC Undisputed 3

I still maintain that the UFC games struggle when it comes to a truly smooth �simulation� from moment to moment, but each of their systems, when taken in their own right, are really satisfying. The clinch work in UFC Undisputed 3 had a great feeling of two powerful fighters struggling, and the ability to sway, feint and misdirect your opponent with strikes adds so many useful wrinkles to a fight. The addition of PRIDE mode was a great piece of fan service as well, and the overall presentation of the game was beefed up from the previous release.

Comments

# 1 sydrogerdavid @ Feb 19

Fight Night Champion was the only one I played.

# 2 Feldman011teen @ Feb 19

Ironically, Fight Night Round 3 was probably the best of this gen.

# 3 DJ @ Feb 19

Loved Fight Night Round 3. UFC 2009 was a game that was perhaps the best first-effort I've seen in a long time from a gaming company.

# 4 DJ @ Feb 19

Also should mention Legends of Wrestlemania and WWE All-Stars. Both are a lot of fun and the video packages for specific game modes were a great touch.

# 5 SHAKYR @ Feb 20

I love WWE 13 it's going in a good direction. The Take-Two(2K) situation can only make it better. Fight Night Champion on the surface is a good idea that didn't live up to what it was supposed to be. The other Fight Night's were pushing the arcadey gameplay hard.
UFC 3 was going in the right direction to me. The game gave you a UFC/MMA feel when you played it.

# 6 Mparas1432 @ Feb 20

Boxer's Road 2 from Japan should be on the list, if not number one. Incredible game and the realist boxing game to date. Shame there was never a third one.

# 7 Mparas1432 @ Feb 20

Actually BR2 was for the PSP so that's why it might not count. Still last generation now though.