UFC Trainer Preview Ensures Your Karate Gear Will Still Get A Workout

With Xbox's Kinect still in it's infancy, it's too early to say whether the Microsoft attempt at a controller-less future of gameplay is a success or not. With many of the Kinect's launch games aimed primarily at a younger audiences, the older audiences of hardcore gamers have been waiting to see more mature games get released for the peripheral. This is where THQ's 'UFC Trainer' comes in.

With interest in the UFC and MMA in general on the rise (not to mention the wild success of previous MMA fighting games), THQ is looking to target the older male audience that is interested in taking their interests in the MMA to the next level. Unfortunately, if the preview found at video game blog Joystiq.com is to be believed, it looks like THQ may need to be going back to the training grounds with their new title.

Who wants to spend all that time gathering actual martial arts supplies together like chest protectors and sparring sets when you can just log into your Xbox for a quick workout session? Well THQ feels the same way. Giving the older male Xbox gamers out there a chance to train like their MMA heroes would seem like a slam dunk, especially if one is to believe in the untapped capabilities of the Xbox Kinect. And while that game may very well be a reality for MMA fans someday, it would seem this year's UFC Trainer is destined to suffer a KO to bad gameplay. Here are some of the highlights from Ben Gilbert's article which can be found on the Joystiq Blog Post:

"Despite woefully underdone punches and kicks performed without a thought in the world given to form, UFC Trainer consistently praised my lackluster performance. For a game so purportedly focused on training and exercise, Trainer did little in the way of teaching me about any of the fundamentals -- proper form, breathing, and stretching."

"What I saw and played of UFC Trainer, however, left me unconvinced that most gamers should pick up the game for exercise -- let alone just male gamers -- and fully convinced that the few folks who do pick this up may actually end up hurting themselves."

Feel free to check out the rest of the article and decide for yourself it you'll be hitting the virtual gym come June. I for one will not be retiring my MMA Gear anytime soon.