REVIEW - UFC Undisputed 2010
- Written by Rick Wallace |
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THQ introduced us all to the world of mixed martial arts last year with UFC Undisputed 2009. The game got rave reviews and the gamers seemed to love it as well. Well its 2010, and THQ is back with UFC Undisputed 2010. While last year’s game was a great game there were things that could be improved upon and many features that could be added. Yukes and THQ have done just that and given you a robust and complete package with this year’s game adding all new online features, career mode options and more. If you liked last year’s game then you should love this year’s iteration even more. Let’s take a look at UFC Undisputed 2010 and how it delivers the knockout punch for UFC fans everywhere.
Graphically the game has been upgraded in almost every aspect. While some of the things are very subtle in change, put together as a whole package you can be assured you are getting one good looking game. Arenas, character models, referees and animations are all top notch and this gives the game a very polished feel as you play through it. I have to say that the real life fighter representations are spot on in realism and authenticity. The punishment that shows on the fighter’s faces during a fight is very representative of the true life matchups. You will know exactly who you are up against in the ring if you are a fan of the sport. I was especially impressed with the swelling and cutting that showed on your fighter if he was getting the hell beat out of him. It gradually got worse and worse as time went by. It’s all these little details that make this game life like and true to its roots.
Plenty of authentic and real life sounds mixed in with a great soundtrack gives the gamer a sense of being there in the fight or at the very least in the arena. The soundtrack intensity really puts forth the drama of the sport as well as gives the game a sense of determination and adrenaline. There is plenty of voice over work done by the real life folks that work day in and day out for UFC including Dana White himself. The color commentary can be quite entertaining as well, and the announcers even show excitement in their voices when a fight starts to peak. This is the complete package folks and you’ll be immersed by every sound detail that comes out of your speakers. |
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The controls have been tuned up and give the players even more control than they have in 2009. All of the animations and character movements seem natural when you pull of maneuvers and the close combat grappling and takedowns have really seen some great improvement as well. Now if you are new to the game, you will have to make sure you play through the tutorials or you will get your butt handed to you. The control system, while easy, is deep and contains many button combinations to pull off strikes, takedowns and more. You’ll be using the bumpers, triggers and thumbsticks in combination with the face buttons as well. Once you have a grasp for what you are doing the game gets very good, otherwise you can get frustrated.
The game definitely does not lack in game modes. There is plenty of single player action as well as lots of multiplayer action over Xbox Live. You’ll even have game modes that are completely customizable to your specifications. Let’s just run down what you’ll see from the main menu and then I will dive into some of the game modes a little more in depth.
At the main menu screen you will see the following options available: Exhibition, Game Mode, Xbox Live, Create-A-Fighter, Tutorial, Game Progress and Option. Two of the options have a sub menu attached as well so I’ll quickly list those for you as well. In the Game Mode option you will see the following choices: Title Mode, Title Defense Mode, Tournament Mode, Ultimate Fights Mode, Career Mode, and Event Mode. Your next option is Xbox Live and you’ll find the following items: Exhibition, Camp, Leaderboard, and Event Card Download. I think it’s safe to say that the game offers you plenty of variety and things to do.
Ok, so the game has plenty of game modes to offer but what about the gameplay. Last year, one of the upsides to the game was the precise control throughout most of the fight. There were some technical issues but overall the controls were sharp and praised by most. Well, this year those controls have been refined and tweaked to give you an even better feeling when in the octagon. The most significant improvement is the ground grappling. Last year canned animations, and loose controls really had you button mashing and trying to gain an advantage, or just trying to survive if on the receiving end of a beating. This year you have so much more control which allows you to actually counter moves and struggle out of submissions and holds all in real time. No more keeping your fingers crossed and hoping the animation goes in your favor. |
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Customization is the key element that makes the UFC Undisputed series such a dominant force and powerhouse in the fighting genre. You’ll have plenty of options to choose from to create a virtual likeness of almost anyone you want. With a large list of nicknames, and recognized real names for voiceover work you can truly immerse yourself and your character into a very lifelike virtual career. Choose from many different fighting styles, stances including Southpaw, looks, voices and more. You’ll choose a fighting style for your fighter, but you will quickly notice that you are not limited to that fighting style alone. As you progress through your career you will be able to learn various moves from different fighting styles just by attending the camps.
This leads me into the camps which have been totally revamped this year. Rather than signing up for a camp invite and then waiting for that specific week during your training to attend, you now can attend any camp at anytime during your training periods. So your fighter is a wrestler, but you really want him to have some powerful Karate influenced kicking maneuvers? Well then just head to that camp and train to learn the maneuver that suits you. This really opens the door for you to create a fighter that is completely customized to your liking and your fighting style. No longer are you locked into a specific path and a specific set of moves. I truly think this is an outstanding upgrade over last year’s title.
The training you will put your fighter through can be as in depth as you like it to be or you can just go through the motions and auto train. Of course if you decide to auto train you will never get the full value out of a training session. One thing you want to keep in mind is to really pay attention to your numbers and skills. If you focus too heavily on a specific area you could potential see some degradation in your stats in the other areas. The target areas are Strength, Speed and Cardio. You’ll also get various specific target areas such as standing offense and defense, striking, grappling and more. Again, pay close attention to all the numbers because you literally could set you fighter up for a quick fall if trained improperly. Trust me it’s not hard to train improperly and I went face first into the mat several times just trying to breeze through training and not think about what I was doing or use some sort of strategy.
It’s all about detail, details and more details. You’ll get the entire lowdown on the fighters as if you were watching a real PPV event on television. The inclusions of all the licensed equipment to the sponsors to the venues almost seem limitless as you’ll be unlocking items for quite some time in the life of the game. In the single player campaign mode there seems to be an endless amount of details crammed into the package which makes it always fresh and exciting to play. You’ll start out as an amateur fighter and try to work your way up the ranks to the ultimate prize at the UFC level. You’ll find over 100 true life UFC fighters in the game as well as real life referees, announcers, trainers and even ring girls. And let’s not forget the ever so talented ring announcer Mr. Bruce Buffer. |
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I had the opportunity to take the game online for a few fights and the matches went fairly smooth. One thing to keep in mind is that you will need to use the one time activation code found on the back of your manual to access the online features. If you have a rental copy or a used copy of the game, this activation code can be purchaed for $5. So while playing online, we had some lag issues with created fighters in matches, but when using real life fighters that lag issue seemed to go away. When the lag was non existant, the fights were smooth and intense with lots of great "wow" moments. The Online Camps feature is an awesome addition to this year’s game and one that should be popular among the UFC community. You’ll now be able to start or join a camp, invite friends, train and then snag bragging rights for your camp when you fight against other camps online. The concept here really draws the community together and forms some great rivalries which are important in the videogame world just as they are in the real life world.
You’ll also have plenty of Leaderboards online as well as medals earned and even a Card downloader that allows you to download the latest and greatest UFC event cards. One very cool thing about the Leaderboards is that you will have both the singles Leaderboards as well as camp related Leaderboards. So be sure you represent your camp when fighting online against other players.
I literally could go on and on about the new features, game modes and upgrades over the 2009 product but then this review would end up being 10,000 words easily and frankly there is no real reason to babble on. The bottom line is that this game is the Ultimate Fighting Experience and will be tough to top in 2011. There really is not a whole lot of flaw to the game other than some bumpy online issues that really seem hit or miss and tend to really hinge on using created fighters, at least from my experience. With all the additions and tweaks that were made to this game it’s safe to say that UFC Undisputed 2010 is the reigning champ and probably will be until Yukes and THQ figure out some way to top it with 2011. If you enjoyed last year’s game, then you will without a doubt enjoy this year’s game and should have it in your library. The game definitely delivers a knockout punch to any competition that may arise this year in the genre.
Online Camps
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SUGGESTIONS |
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Support the game with DLC and plenty of Event Card downloads. If this is done on a consistent basis, the game will be enjoyable the entire year until UFC Undisputed 2011. |
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Release Date
5/25/2010
Publisher
THQ
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OVERALL |
94 |
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GAMEPLAY |
95 |
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SOUND |
90 |
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GRAPHICS |
92 |
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REPLAY VALUE |
95 |
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