Ultimate Fighting Championship

"This Game Tapped Out..."

Being a fan of no holds barred fighting, I was rather eager to pick up a copy of the first game from the UFC on Playstation. After obtaining this, I hurried home and popped it in my console, ready to kick some serious *ss in the Octagon. Apparently, I went to the wrong place....

Like the pay per view specials, Ultimate Fighting Championship is a full contact sport where fighters from all over the world compete in the Octagon, the so-called ''Ultimate Proving Ground''. You do get to choose from a plethora of the UFC's greatest, from ''The Bad Boy'' Tito Ortiz to Lion's Den (and Ken's younger brother) Frank Shamrock.

What's my gripe you ask? Well here it is....

Graphically, the game is semi-okay, semi-mediocre. The fighters do somewhat resemble their real-life persona, and some, if little detail has been given to each character, like Bas Rutten's tattoos and Kevin Randleman's trademark blonde hair, but most of the time, they just look kind of blurred and pixelated, especially when they move. Also, the more popular fighters have been left out. Where are Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Oleg Taktarov, Randy Couture and Don Frye???

The Octagon is bland at best, with little or no view of the audience. Small details like blood on the mat from previous fights do add a little appeal, as well as the the walk from the locker room to the Octagon and when Bruce Buffer announces the participants.

Sound? Hitting your opponent sounds like someone taking a dive into a pool. The ''SWAASH!'' every time you land a punch or kick can get a tad annoying, then there is the sound of bones breaking when a submission hold is applied. Bruce Buffer announces the fighters before every fight, which sounds almost as good as the TV special, as well as ''Big'' John McCarthy's familiar ''LET'S GET IT ON!''

Control......if any. Moves are basically complicated if not impossible to pull off. Pushing five buttons just to deliver a knee strike to the face can get frustrating, and trying to apply a submission hold that the CPU won't counter is a chore. The moves set are rather limited. More submissions may have put this category up a notch...

Gameplay- You'll lose the match in about..say..2 seconds!!!The minute you hear the bell, the CPU charges you, takes you down, and applies an armlock and wins the match. Good luck trying to get past the first match.

The Create-A-Player is frankly the worst I've ever seen. You give your character an honest to God ugly face to choose from, pick his shorts, his footwear, and that's it. No special moves, no custom colors, no tattoos or specialty letters, nothing.

Here's a quick recap:

Graphics-2/10 Only because the characters look semi-decent.

Sound-3/10 The announcement is ok, as well as the intro by
Megadeth.

Control-1/10 The moves are slow and unresponsive at best,
and always lead to your opponent countering and
pummeling you.

Replayability 1/10 If you want to see your fighter on the
losing end of an arm bar tapping out 2
seconds into the match, be my guest.
The hidden characters aren't worth
unlocking, either.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/02, Updated 01/02/02