"There is more here than meets the eye."

UFC: Sudden Impact is a game that seems to be a surface level button masher during your first few matches. But after a few hours of play, you learn that it's truly a bloody chess match. It's also about that time that you find out it's very fun.

Sound: 6/10
The entrance music sounds good. The ring announcing is good. There is no commentating which hurts the game a bit, but I usually end up turning the commentating in sports games off anyways, because it's so repetitive. The fight sounds seem decent. Nothing to gripe about. The game could also use some better crowd sounds. It would be great to hear them erupt at a big strike or submission.

Graphics: 7/10
This game is mediocre in the graphics department. The graphics are polished, but the wrestlers faces look a bit odd, and their bodies seem a bit out of proportion. They look kind of apish as they walk down the ramp. The crowd looks like 2d cardboard cutouts. Still, they look pretty good from afar. It's only up close that you might find that Chuck Liddel looks like an alien. They have a pretty shiny realistic look though. And the damage effects are nice. You will see cuts and bruises on your opponents as you land shots.

Gameplay: 8/10
At first I was really frustrated with the gameplay. Initially, it just seemed like it was all about button mashing. But eventually I started to understand the countering system, I started to hit combos, I started to time my takedowns and submissions, and employ strategies based on my opponent. It's a much deeper game than I thought. It does have it's problems though. Firstly, I think it's just too fast.

Don't expect to counter many punches or kicks. They are incredibly fast, and you will never see them coming. The same goes for submissions. If you are not ready to defend against a submission at any second, you can be submitted, even if you haven't been touched yet. It does add a sense of realism, but every so often you will find yourself tapping out before you even knew a submission was applied. It really takes a lot of practice to counter them well.

The animations are great. You will see some awesome punch and kick combos, and some incredible submissions. They all look like they were motion captured. You will even see big John Mcarthy occasionally tackle one of the fighters to break up the match, which looks great. And the presentation of the matches is really good. There are awesome highlights in between rounds. And you will be excited watching most of the knockout replays after most matches. Occasionally you will land a huge rush of punches to finish someone off. It really pumps you up, especially if you were fighting in a tough match, and you finish strong with a lightning fast flurry of fists.

The story mode seems a bit dull to me. You simply complete in ring tasks to improve your stats. But you will quickly get tired of the "LAND ONE RIGHT PUNCH," type of challenges. They will eventually get harder, and help you learn the ropes, but you will get tired of the mode quickly. It needs a lot of refinement.

Replay Value: 8/10
The game takes a while to learn, but after a few hours you will start improving. Still, in MMA, a match can be won or lost at any point, so it's difficult to reach a point where you are completely dominant. You will entertain yourself for a while as you try to win all the belts and master all the combinations and holds.

Also, if you have a buddy or two to play with, you will spend hours trying to best each other. My brother and I must have played 40 matches against each other in a row this evening. It was back and forth, and thrilling action. It's a great 2 player game. Overall the replay value is probably about par when it comes to the single player mode, but once you mix it up with friends, you will be battling for supremacy for hours. My brother and I find ourselves working on combos and in ring tactics to prepare for our next series of bouts.

OVERALL: 8/10
The gameplay and replay value are what stand out here. If you like the UFC, or MMA in general, give this game a shot. The first hour or two might not impress you, but after some hard practice you will be winning some belts and really enjoying yourself.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/05