Review: Under Night: In Birth (PS3)

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From the highly-acclaimed makers of Melty Blood comes Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late, a brand-new 2D fighting game overflowing with fast-paced action, original characters, and several twisted plot lines. This is an updated version of the original game that launched exclusively in Japanese arcades last year. New playable characters are present in this version, as well as new game mechanics, modes, and stages.

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Pros:

  • Anime artstyle graphics.
  • Many game modes: Arcade, Vs, Vs CPU, Network mode, Score attack, Time attack and time trial.
  • Training mode. You can set options like HUD on/off,  display moves and combos etc.
  • Character customisation. You can buy/change your characters colour palette for their uniform.
  • Replay mode, Replay saved games.
  • Gallery mode: unlock game art,  concept art etc.
  • Optional 2100mb install to improve performance and loading times.
  • Auto save on/off.
  • In depth options: Game difficulty can be set from 1 to 5. 1 makes the game so easy whilst 5 makes it impossible. Arcade round length, Vs round length,  game speed, best of and many more.
  • Scaling option which is used more as a resolution substitute. Change the aspect ratio for your individual TV or add borders. 10 to choose from in total.
  • Can re bind keys and even set combo buttons.
  • Name plate: used for online mostly.  you can customise it by buying avatars, titles and card patterns.
  • Earn in game cash by playing arcade mode and online.
  • Network mode supports ranked and player matches.
  • online/offline play.
  • Full Platinum trophy.
  • Online ranked leaderboard.
  • Private lobbies are possible with a wealth of options like: room name,  player limit, round numbers, connection types and invites.
  • Controls are easy to grasp going for a simple 3 button system.  You can customise it for more depth and add more control.
  • Full animated cut scenes.
  • 16 characters to choose from.
  • Big selection of levels to battle on.
  • A very immediate game with quick load times and minimal menu options.

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Cons:

  • Auto save is slow.
  • No real point to arcade mode.  The story for each character is instantly forgettable.
  • Hard to read text in arcade.
  • No tutorial to explain the basics.
  • can just button mash to win.

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In Summary,  I am in no way a fighting game expert.  I found the game basic with a huge reliance on local and online play.  Single player is just a 10 stage set of matches with a cliché story taped on. I am sure the combo and special moves are a big deal to the right person but to an average fan,  it falls a bit flat with no stand out innovations or huge draw to bring me back. in short it’s worth a look to fighting fans who may uncover more depth but to novices it’s just a nice looking easy to play fighter that never excels itself.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!