UFC 2009 Undisputed

"Is this the Ultimate Fighter?"

I don't know about you guys, but I myself have been waiting for this title for months. Needless to say I was quite hyped with the release. I rammed the game into my 360, and - to make a long story short - I liked what I saw. Most people will already have an idea of how the game feels like due to playing the demo. I will therefore mainly focus on the career mode and online play.

GRAPHICS: 8

You probably played the demo already. If not, take it from me that the game looks very good. Character models are very nicely done. When you're tanked, you can see the sweat of the fighters and all. There's blood on them when they were hit hard. It's all there. I must admit that the octagon (the arena) doesn't really look stunning, but it doesn't need to be. Anyhow, you'll not be disappointed by the graphics in any way. Trust me on this one. But since they're nothing extraordinary, we're going to have to settle for an 8.

GAMEPLAY: 9

The bread and butter of any game, especially a fighter. I'm not an avid MMA fan, but I know enough of the sport to conclude that this game gets the feeling right. There are so much ways to finish the fight, so much different moves to pull off and so much different fighting positions that the fight stays exciting until the very end. After playing 30+ fights, I've still to reach the end of the 3rd and final round, but perhaps that's my fault. You can counter pretty much everything your opponent throws at you, but it's no counter-battle like in the first ever UFC game. Since the original DC installment, the game has improved quite a lot. Only minor point is that there are only 6 fighting styles. 3 standing and 3 ground styles. Though they represent the most popular styles, there could've been more styles added. Still, only a minor point of critique, given the fighting styles are very balanced and there are few ways to exploit the game mechanics.

CONTROLS: 8

A game should obviously play smoothly. The controls on this one are kinda hard to get into, but do a good job of making the game play like a dream. There are no complex combinations whatsoever, and after an hour (taking the tutorial twice) the learning curve is almost over. The disadvantage on the diverse controls is that newcomers - your friends when they come over - will have a VERY tough time hanging with you. Like the WWE SvR games, you can't just quickly explain everything and expect your pals to learn in a couple of minutes. Finally, the ground game is quite hard to get. Even now, people online have a lot of trouble defending against transitions and submissions, which indicates they don't get the controls all that well. Nontheless, the controls are great.

ORIGINALITY: 9

Needless to say, this game brings a lot of moves to the table that you don't see anywhere else. I can see a Tekken 6 scoring pretty low in this area, while MMA-games are one of a kind. You don't see this anywhere else in the gaming spectrum. Do these modern times, where everything's stolen from other games, bother you? Enter MMA and be surprised. Enough said.

CAREER MODE: 7

Some special attention goes to the career mode. This mode is 'good', but not as great as it could've been. You train in specific areas, you spar with dojo members, you rest, and you plan your fights and fight them. Outside of the occasional photo shoot or interview, the career comes down to gaining popularity and building up your fighter to eventually face the champion, and then defending your title. You level up your fighting styles. I guess this is what happens in real life as well so I'm not dissappointed. Still, they could've done more to extend the replay value, like adding more random events, injuries, rivalries, etc. But by all means, it's good enough as it is now.

The bad: there are no fighting records! The game only keeps the amount of wins and losses and the nature of the victory/loss (submission, ko, decision). It's not even mentioned who you fought and when it happened... So unless you keep track yourself (which I strongly advise), you don't know who beat you and who you've never faced before. Plus: it gets very repetitive. There are only around 20 fighters in your division. Once you've beaten them all, there's little elso to do then to face them again, and again, and again and again. "Hi BJ!". It would've been nice that the game would 'spawn' new created fighters.

ONLINE: 8

Right now, the game is a bit frustrating to play online because you can quit the fight while you're losing without getting penalised. Needless to say, the mode sometimes contains lag, but this is normal. The online mode pretty much comes down to fighting others and keeping your fight record as good as possible. The fact that this is a very competitive game and that this is the first time an MMA game goes online makes it a great experience nontheless.

LASTING APPEAL: 8

If you have an internet connection or some MMA-fan-friends that come over frequently this game will keep you entertained until the next installment comes along. I expect a new game to be released a good year from now, given the great sales so far. Until then, this game will keep you entertained. The career mode doesn't last forever, but is nice to do a few times. But the focus is on the multiplayer aspect. If you don't play multiplayer all that often, you might want to skip this game. This game therefore is a definite buy. Renting it would be like renting FIFA or NBA games. You're better off buying it when you liked the demo.

OVERALL:

This game is great. Apart from some minor issues, it plays very well and is very fun.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/09

Game Release: UFC 2009 Undisputed (EU, 05/22/09)