Ultimate Fighting Championship: Throwdown

"Just try and "fireball-motion" this!"

This is the first review (or anything for that matter) I have written for GameFAQs. Still, it does not take an idiot to review a video game. However, this is not just any game. This is Ultimate Fighting Championship: Throwdown!

Like I just mentioned above, the game I am reviewing is UFC: Throwdown for the PS2. This is a real fighting game (I mean that in both ways) by Crave Entertainment. I gave this game a perfect 10, even though I am THE number one Tekken fan. Well, how could I give this game a perfect ten (something I wouldn't even do for a Tekken game)? Let's find out.

STORY: I'll just tell you right out: there is no story. Duh!
This game is based on a real sporting event. No big tournament to fight some evil force or obtain some magical crystal. So no, this game has no story. Just real people, doing real fighting.

GRAPHICS: Graphic-wise, this game is spectacular! The fighters look just like themselves. You can see facial expressions on them at all times. When they are coming to the ring during the intro, you can see how focused they are. When they are fighting (especially when ground fighting when the camera zooms in on the action), you can see their facial expressions even better. When a guy gets hit, he looks like he just got hit. The guy who is delivering the hit looks determined and mad. Even after the fight, the winner looks worn out but at the same time grateful he won. The loser holds his head down in shame and also has a look of shock/disgust. There are no camera problems or disconnected joints whatsoever. Every now and then (every blue moon) there might be some occasional slowdown when you roll a guy while ground fighting, but only for a second or two. Also, you can see each fighter's trademark tattoos (if they have any) and hairstyles. Even the audience looks great. They look 3-D (a little) and actually alive and not just some still 2-D images. Even more, some hold signs of the two fighters presently fighting. Amazing! Oh, and I forgot to mention that if you have the blood turned on, when you knock some out of the other guy, it stays on the mat a little while and when it does go away, it slowly fades away and does not just disappear. Also, if you step in some, it will smear. The game's developers clearly looked at every little detail when making this game.

GRAPHICS: 10/10

SOUND: Sound-wise, the game is just as excellent. Bruce Buffer sounds just like himself and he sounds great. ''Big'' John McCarthy also sounds just like himself (big and imposing) and is by far the best and my own favorite voice in the game. However, I DO NOT like the other referee's (Mario Yamasaki) voice at all. Even though that is his real voice, he sounds like someone who learned English five minutes ago. But after you start playing the game you will skip all this stuff anyway. You can hear the audience cheering in the background like in every game with an audience. During the actual fighting, however, is when the sound really shines. A punch sounds like a punch (complete with the classic ''pwihh!'' sound) and a kick sounds like...um...a kick! A guy doing a reversal, takedown, or submission lock makes a loud groan (AARGH!) as if he has just turned Super-Saiyan. You'll see how cool this is when you play the game. Also, if a guy is put in a submission move and can't get out of it (resulting in an automatic tap out), then he will scream in agony. And when he does tap out, he taps the other guy's back or the mat and you can hear the slaps. Also, during the game's intro movie (which shows real UFC footage), the catchy song ''Singled Out'' by the band ''diecast'' is playing. This is equally impressive.

SOUND: 10/10

Gameplay: Big spoiler to Street Fighter and Eddy Gordo fans: This is not a button-masher. So if this pertains to you, then you might as well crawl back to Street Fighter and Tekken with your worthless fireball-motions and double taps. Like I stated earlier, this is a real man's (or woman's) fighting game. You won't find any fireball-motions or double taps over here. Actually, the way to pull off moves and (some) combos is very unique and simple to grasp. First, you push a direction. Your character will do a quick dash in that direction similar to the back dash in a Tekken game. Now, before the dash is completed is when you must press a button(s) to do a move or combo. Pretty neat, huh? Matches in this game can be long or can last only a few seconds. After every attack, you will lose some stamina from your ''health'' bar. The bar is blue. This is your stamina. Think of it as your current health. Every time you are hit or do an attack, you lose some. The red behind the blue is your endurance. This is how much ''health'' you can regain. It also goes down every time you are attacked. Having a stamina bar will force you to actually think about your attacks wisely and not just do anything you want. Which means if you just go attacking wildly expecting to do some damage, then your stamina will be very low.Also, if you just keep doing the same attack over and over, then the opponent will start countering and some counters are actually submissions. Fight Frank Shamrock (Ken's younger brother and also a submission fighter/master) and keep doing the same move. Don't say I didn't warn you. Of course, by not attacking you can regain most of the ''health'' you started with at the beginning of the fight (depending on your current fighter's endurance). The action in this game is fast and furious just like the real thing. Oh, almost forgot to mention Career mode. In Career mode, you create a fighter. You choose his costume, skin color, and fighting style. You have to purchase skills by using points and you get more points by placing in the tournament. But I won't go into this too much, though. But you will have fun with this mode even if you play it just to create yourself or your friends. (Me being a current high school wrestler, I created myself and I'm still my favorite fighter 8-) Overall, I'd have to say the gameplay (with its innovation and focus on strategy and planning) is perfect.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10

Replayability: You WILL play this game over and over again. Each character has over 30 moves/combos and if you beat UFC mode (the main mode) with them, you unlock even more. This game will be extremely fun if you are a UFC fan and just as fun if you are not (I know little about the UFC). This game is very challenging and will take time to master all the moves, reversals, and especially getting out of the submissions (Phew!) Like I said, you WILL play this game over and over.

REPLAYABILITY: 10/10

RENT OR BUY: Unless you are a Gamecube or Xbox spy who bought a PS2 just to see its technical data and report it back to your masters, you should buy this game. Or if you are just a big fighting game fan like me and you want to give Ryu and Eddy a break, then you should rent first and see if you like it, but you will most likely end up buying it anyway.

Oh, one more thing; playing this game does NOT give you blisters that the world's two biggest cheapsters always seem to give you. (Ryu *Cough* Eddy *Cough*)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/02, Updated 06/12/02