UFC Undisputed 2010 Review

Developer: Yuke’s / Publisher: THQ / ESRB: Teen (Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence) / Played on: PS3 / Price: $39.99

UFC Undisputed 2010 returns for another round in the octagon. This second installment features a bigger roster, a more in-depth career mode, and upgrades to the gameplay mechanics. But does it deliver a knockout blow? Let’s find out.

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Gameplay

This sequel pretty much retains the same control scheme from UFC 2009. If you’re a rookie and this is your first foray into the world of digital MMA, then I suggest spending a lot of one-on-one time with this game because it takes a while to get used to. The stand up is pretty easy, but once you get to the clinching and ground game, the moves start getting difficult.

New to the gameplay this year is the cage interaction. The steel surrounding the octagon is not an invisible wall anymore; you can use it to your advantage and beat the snot out of somebody Randy Couture-style. The Submission system has also received a makeover, delivering a much more fluid feel. When you have your opponent locked up, the camera slowly zooms in as you go for the kill. And the button-mashing has been removed, so the only way to reverse or lock up an opponent is by rotating the right analog stick.

Undisputed 2010 also adds sway to the mix. Now you’re able to dodge incoming blows and counter them. But the sway system feels a little archaic as you have to hold a button down and flick the left analog stick to make it work. Let’s consider this function a work-in-progress, functional but in need of refining. I would have preferred full control the way Fight Night Round 4 made ducking and weaving so intuitive.

Undisputed also features a bloated roster of over 100 of your favorite MMA Superstars. Brock Lesnar, Shogun Rua, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, they’re all there. Even Kimbo Slice made the cut, but then he was cut in real life. Back to Bangbus and hobo fighting I guess.

And there are modes a-plenty. You can run the gauntlet through Title Mode, compete in Tournament Mode, or relive and rewrite historical bouts in Ultimate Fights Mode as you unlock videos. New create-a-fighter options round out your choices of how to look as well as how you want to fight.

Story

Career mode returns with many improvements. You start off creating your future superstar with a plethora of customization options. Pick and choose from different names, tattoos, sponsors, and the all-new fighting disciplines. Unlike last year, there are no pre-configured move sets. You head to various training camps and build up your arsenal of strikes, transitions, grapples, and takedowns. Giving you the ability to customize your own fighting techniques is definitely a welcome addition.

The Career Mode is very deep. You work with Cobra Kai Trainer Mark Laimon to climb the ranks in hopes of landing a title shot. Along the way Dana White will stop by and chime in, Rachelle Leah will ask you to perform press training sessions or select picks for upcoming PPVs. You can sit back and watch a whole card if you choose to, and you can even conduct post-fight interviews with Joe Rogan.

As you advance through your professional career, you build up your fighter’s popularity and earn CRED to unlock more sponsors and make it rain. Your job is to balance fight camps, sparring, training, and conditioning as you build up your fighters abilities. It’s like a glorified RPG for jocks and the personal involvement makes it surprisingly addictive as you push your fighter through the ranks.

As you progress, however, these events get somewhat repetitive. You’ll hear the same post-fight interviews and commentary. Rachelle keeps bombarding you with requests like a nagging girlfriend. I mean she’s pretty and all, but seriously, leave me the hell alone. I’m trying to train for my upcoming fights!

Graphics

The presentation is solid and you’ll notice that right off the bat. Each in-game virtual fighter looks like their real life counterparts. The set up for every match is picture perfect, from Bruce Buffer doing the 180, to Rogan and Goldberg breaking down the PPV card in Career Mode, to your match-up reel before a big fight. Everything from a UFC broadcast is here…except for the fighter entrances. Hopefully THQ will add that in the next installment.

A few details still need improving with this franchise. For one, the loading time drags on. Nobody likes to wait that long just to get a fight going. The blood and bruising looks too fake. And after demolishing a guy’s face to a blood-soaked pulp, he miraculously returns in the next round with just a bruise on his face. That’s some impressive work from the cut man in the corner…or a realism feature in need of addressing for Undisputed 2011.

Sound

The sound effects hit the right note right from the menu screen. The bone crunching hits, the fans chanting, and the authentic athlete and commentator voices all blend together. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg will recall and highlight your past fights while breaking down your attack style and improvements you’ve made at the gym as your career advances. It really adds that extra punch on delivering an authentic broadcast atmosphere. The commentary gets repetitive after playing for a while, but it’s hard to focus on that when your attention is solely focused on laying the smack down and not tapping out.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer lags at times, but the online fight camps are a definitely a nice touch. Form teams with your buddies, train, and take on the world [I don't know what this means]. Though it’s not deep, its a creative new idea that I’m sure will be improved in the next installment.

Here’s something that’s kind of annoying. To use online, you must enter a code. So for all you gamers that buy used titles, rent games at your local Blockbuster, or use Netflix, you’re fresh outta luck because this code can only be used once.

Bottom Line

UFC Undisputed 2010 does a lot of things right. It improves on some of the gameplay mechanics, adds deeper customization options, improves on the presentation, and has a solid roster of over 100 UFC fighters. It still needs more cooking and tweaking before we can call this the best fighting game out there. But one thing is for sure, EA Sports MMA definitely has genuine competition, and this THQ effort hits hard in many of the right places.

8.5/10

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