Should've been the NFL Blitz to the UFC. Instead, it's a confused and buggy brawler short on content.

User Rating: 4.5 | Supremacy MMA X360
No sport in the world is growing faster than mixed martial arts. With the major name brand of the UFC poised to hit network television on Fox Sports along with the burgeoning popularity of brands like Strikeforce and Bellator, MMA is more popular than ever and shows no signs of slowing. As a result, it's certainly expected that MMA would find its way into a growing number of video games, as well. THQ's UFC Undisputed finally provided a proper MMA simulation for the first time, while EA MMA expanded upon the idea with a lengthy, in-depth career mode. But developer Kung Fu Factory spotted an untapped market; they sought to create an MMA-influenced game that was not a realistic simulation but a brutal, high-impact arcade fighter. The result is Supremacy MMA, and while it has its entertaining moments, the question remains of whether or not this was a market that needed tapping.

UFC fans might be disappointed to know that Supremacy MMA does not provide a roster of professional MMA fighters as we recognize them from today's pay-per-view events. Instead, there is a mish-mash of fighters from several different combat sports, some fictional, some actual. But even the real-life fighters who make their appearances in this game would be only recognizable by hardcore fans of MMA, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. These fighters include the likes of K-1 legend Jerome Le Banner, Muay Thai great Malaipet, and former UFC champ Jens Pulver. Players who had pre-ordered the game are also awarded two additional real-life MMA fighters, journeyman Bao Quach and touted prospect Shane del Rosario. None of these names are likely to be familiar to casual fans of the sport, with the lone exception of Jens Pulver. Still, some of these are very important personalities in their respective disciplines.

Supremacy MMA offers unique story modes for each fighter in lieu of a career mode. The story is told in short order between fights in a pleasing, artistic, comic book-style with inconsistent voice acting. The stories are simple and quick, often consisting of clips that last shy of 30 seconds before a fight, and there are several fights within each story mode that aren't even complimented by any narrative development. There's simply not enough time spent to provide anything fleshed out or memorable. Most of them can be summed up like this: "Guy has some problems and got mixed up with the wrong crowd, his trainer gives him a hard time, and he may or may not come across a crooked fight promoter." There are a couple of exceptions, but none that are notable. Even in the short time that they are featured, the stories themselves are rather inconsistent. Your fighter will fight his way through underground cage matches to end up in a cleaned-up and professional-looking MMA match, only to inexplicably end up back in some rusty underground cage again in his next fight. Each mode only sports 10 fights at most, so you could blow through all of them in a day if you wanted to.

There is also a Femmes Fatales mode which is touted for featuring the first professional female MMA fighters in a video game, Michele Guitierrez and Felice Herrig. Yeah, they're not Cristiane Santos or Marloes Coenen, but they're still some of the few real-life fighters included in the game. Femmes Fatales attempts to provide story modes for these fighters as well, but they're the only two female fighters in the game. So each of these story modes consists of fighting the other female fighter twice and then it's over. Not exactly gripping.

There's a tournament mode that provides either an 8-man bracket or a Mortal Kombat-esque ladder, but that about rounds out the single-player modes. But what matters most is the fighting itself. How does that measure up?

The pure fighting action in Supremacy MMA is somewhat of a mixed bag. True to the game's arcade intent, each fighter has a life bar. It doesn't recharge, and when it runs out, it's over. The last punch, throw, or kick will end in a KO, or the last submission attempt will end in a tap. Button-mash all you want because your fighter will never get tired. But still, the game doesn't fully commit to being an arcade brawler. In an attempt to hold on to its MMA roots, the occasional injections of realism come off a bit awkward. Attempting a submission results in an analog stick-waggle fest, which the more hyper player wins. But a strange occurrence here is that submissions aren't fight-ending if your opponent has enough life remaining. Instead, if you win the offensive submission battle, you'll take out a chunk of your opponent's life and the game will flash the word "DAMAGED" on the screen. It's a stretch, but it can be assumed that the fighter might let go and be satisfied with "damaging" an arm or a leg. But how does one attempt a choke, succeed, but only end up "damaging" their opponent? Did you fracture their neck?

The impact of every blow feels brutal. The screen offers a satisfying shake with each clean strike delivered, accompanied by a powerful thump that can illicit a cringe. Any fight ending with a strike will never have you second-guessing if it was truly a deserving, fight-ending blow. But just as they are during a fight, ending a bout with a submission feels awkward. You could spend an entire match trading brutal strikes, faces swelling, blood flying, and when the moment is right, you slap on that kimura from side control. The struggle ensues and you can feel the impending end of the match as you severely strain your opponent's shoulder. But then the music cuts out and your opponent taps in silence. A couple of anti-climactic slaps is all you get for your trouble and the fight is over. For a game that prides itself on being brutal to the point of pushing the line of realism, why settle with a tap? Why not pop the shoulder from a kimura, break the arm from an armbar, or choke your opponent unconscious with a guillotine? Yeah, it's cringe-worthy, but isn't that the point? Leave the tapping for the simulations.

The game looks good, with fluid fighter animations pulling off believable martial arts techniques unique to each fighting style from boxing to kickboxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, Karate, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The varied backdrops keep the settings interesting. The damage modeling shows convincingly on the fighters themselves with swollen eyes, bloodied noses, and reddened torsos from body blows. Unfortunately, the control doesn't feel as fluid as the animations look. Too much of the combat is spent with moments of hesitation. Rattle off some punches smoothly, but then your opponent might parry, leaving you staring at each other for a moment, as for some reason, not every parry offers the opportunity to counter immediately. Because of these constant start-and-stop moments, successful combos can sometimes roll out effortlessly but can be maddening to execute later. Fights more often than not end up as a herky jerky affair rather than quick and exciting contests.

In addition, fighters with grappling specialties are a bit overpowered. As long as you can drag the fight to the ground, you can rattle off life-sapping submission moves and rain down some ground and pound. The quickest way to blast through the AI is to do just that. If you're a fan of the stand-up battle, it can certainly be successful, but it will require much more work that will occasionally teeter on the edge of frustration.

The solution to exploiting AI is typically to go online and fight human opponents. That option is offered, but it isn't welcoming. There is only the option to have single, one-off bouts with an opponent that the game will match you with, but there's no observable system to choosing an opponent. It's not unusual for a fighter with a record of 0-1 to be matched up with an opponent with more than 300 wins, and that is ultimately discouraging. With no ramp-up in competition, Supremacy MMA's online component runs the risk of scaring off more players than it will attract. And there aren't too many to be found just yet as it is. To aid in the frustration, the few games found are often marred with lag and glitches, making them hardly a viable alternative to the single-player modes unless the issues are patched.

When Supremacy MMA is firing on all cylinders, it's a brutal, cringe-inducing, powerful brawler that feels like it's touching on something truly unique. But if there are future installments of this title, the game should do itself a favor and release the anchor of realism tethering it to the ground. Let EA Sports and THQ shoulder the task of recreating an MMA match. Supremacy MMA would benefit from wild, exaggerated attacks and injuries, almost in the vein of a dark, violent iteration of a pro wrestling game. The NFL Blitz to the UFC. Unfortunately, as it stands now, Supremacy MMA is an arcade fighter that isn't quite sure what it wants to be.