All I want is Steven Seagal to teach me front kicks! Hi-ya

If you’re anything like me, you have been watching UFC/MMA for a while and have even thought about taking a class or two, but there always seems to be an excuse why you can’t. Now, with the release of “UFC – Personal Trainer” we can all train like the UFC pro’s in the comfort of our homes; therefore, you can take whatever excuse you used in the past and put it in a choke hold. THQ and Heavy Iron Studios teamed up to bring us one of the best fitness games the Kinect will ever see, by using real MMA techniques taught by the best trainers in the world, will leave you tired, sore and wanting more.

Single Player

You will need to complete a “Fitness Test” right away, this allows the game to know what type of shape you’re in. It will then adjust the exercises and routines to reflect your conditioning level. If you’re in poor shape, the game will have you complete beginner exercises in short intervals and so on. The “Fitness Test” involves three different activities; such as: Situps, Pushups and Jumping jacks. You will have one minute for each activity to perform as many reps as you can. At the end you will need to take your BPM (Heart beats per minute). It will calculate the data you have entered and report back the level of difficulty you will most benefit from. One option I found to be really interesting, you can choose between using weights or not. Once these exercises become easy, add  some weight and really get ripped.

Once you have completed the “Fitness Test” you can choose from a few different options, such options include: Workouts, Activities, Programs, Quick Workout, Multiplayer (which I will discuss in the Multiplayer section) and Player Tracker.

If you select “Workouts”, you will then need to choose from the three trainers you wish to have train you. Mark Dellagrotte, Greg Jackson and Javier Mendez will be the trainers, this is a tough choice. Once you have selected a trainer you will then need to decide what you want to do. Your choices are Pre-made workouts that the trainer uses, saved workouts you have already started, or you can create your own custom workout program. Each one focuses on different body parts; such as: upper body, legs, core, ISO focused. Each exercise tells you how long it takes to complete, how many calories it will burn and what types of exercises are included. The activities included are limited, I hope they will have a DLC pack for this. So far it only includes, hitting the mitts, free striking tire flip and speed bag. Although this game lacks variety, what it does offer is pretty awesome, not only does the game track that you are moving correctly, it also tracks your power and timing.

My favorite part of this game, is it offers pre-made 30 and 60 day programs in building strength, cutting weight and endurance. This feature will give you the best possible results, it tells you what day you will be training on which helps you keep focused instead of you going at your own pace and forgetting to train for a few days. If you just want to jump right into training, it offers “Quick Workouts” where you can focus on one of three aspects: build strength, cut weight, and build endurance. Once you select one you will immediately begin training, and will continue until you decide you’re done.

The player tracker is where the game records everything you have done, your personal data, and photos (yea you can take photos of yourself…). It has a bunch of other functions that will help keep track of all of the hard work you put in. Such as, graphs that show your progress in certain aspects of the game. It also keeps a journal of everything you have done and shows rewards you have received.

Multiplayer

It doesn’t offer a lot in the way of multiplayer, but what it does offer speaks volume and I can only imagine the DLC packs will come rolling along shortly. You can choose three different options, side by side – where you will compete beside your opponent for the high score in tire flip and speed bag, hot seat – you will take turns for the high score in hit the mitts, tire flip or speed bag. You can also issue a challenge to someone via Xbox live for high score in hit the mitts. That’s it….I know, it’s not a whole lot, but really I didn’t expect the multiplayer to be anything worthwhile.

Achievements

Don’t expect to get these achievements without putting some time in. I had a glance at some of them and like any game some are easily obtained, but they do have some that are going to take a while, such as: complete the 60-day program, or train everyday for 100 days…like come on. Some of the achievements are basic as well, like completing an activity. I kind of the like that fact some are really hard and take commitment, that way it will help keep you focused and want to play the game.

Closing Comments

The one bad thing I have to say about this game is the repetition in the trainers quotes, with that being said -This game is going to change my life, and it will change yours as well. The first night I played it, I had some problems with the game freezing quite a bit. It was so bad I almost wanted to turn it off and return it, but I didn’t. I kept working out and today I felt it. I was sore all day. Since then they have fixed the problem and the game works great. I am going to start the 60-day program and will write an article afterwards reporting on my gains. If you’re at all interested in getting in shape and learning some MMA techniques I strongly urge you to pick up this game. It’s an absolute TKO!

Final Score 10/10