Review By Kyle Anderson
Over the course of the last decade (and especially in the past four years or so), the Ultimate Fighting Championship has gone from an underground phenomenon to a truly mainstream sport that is covered by ESPN and takes up quite a bit of bandwidth on the Internet. Though they had experimented with games in the past, "UFC Undisputed 2009" represented their true entry into the interactive world. While it was a success, it left a lot of hardcores wanting more of mixed martial arts' subtleties. Hence the hardcore-heavy "UFC Undisputed 2010," perhaps the most realistic fighting game every created.
The Basics
"UFC Undisputed 2010" puts you in control of 100 fighters on the UFC roster, from crossover stars like Brock Lesnar and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to under-the-radar bangers like Junior Dos Santos, Chael Sonnen and Dustin Hazelett. You can play exhibitions, set up tournaments, design whole fight cards and compete for championships. But the real meat of "Undisputed" lies in the career mode, where you design a custom fighter, get the training you need, develop skills, pick up sponsorhips and work your way up the fight card to becoming a main event champion.
The Highs
Ground Control To Major Ass-Kicking
The fight system created for last year's game was pretty good, though it was essentially a glorified kickboxing title, as the ground game — the thing that sets MMA apart from boxing or other fight sports — was unbalanced and ineffective. They clearly spent time perfecting it, as it's way more effective this time around. There are more variations on ground positions (which makes the transitions during grappling a lot more logical), more submission options (the addition of the anaconda choke alone makes it a huge step up) and better defensive options (which creates more balance and discourages button mashing). So anybody frustrated by the jiu-jitsu in "2009" has nothing to complain about.
As Real As It Gets
I said above that "Undisputed" may be the most "realistic" fighting game every created, and that very well may be the case. Fights are paced much more realistically this time around, with more emphasis on the clinch game and strategic stand-up fighting. But there are also little details that really make it stick. For example, the career mode tracks your skill levels in 16 different categories. In 2009, it was really easy to build up every single one to create a fighter that was good at everything. But in reality, those guys are few and far between, which means that you tend to have to start your career focusing on one thing in particular and inching up the rest of your ratings as you train more. Plus, if you don't pay attention to a skill set, your ratings will degrade, just as you would lose your touch if you didn't practice your kicks every day before a fight.
Not Training In Vain
One of the frustrating things about "2009" was that once you chose your two fighting disciplines (one stand-up, the other ground), you were locked into those skill sets. But this time around, you can build whatever fighter you want. If you have developed a decent jiu-jitsu game but want to learn some Judo throws, go right ahead. Are you a boxer who wants to introduce some Muay Thai kicks into his repetoire? Knock yourself out. You can truly create your dream fighter and test out whether your vision of fighting perfection actually works.
The Lows
What Are You Paying This Guy For?
"Undisputed 2010" makes a huge deal out of the fact that your career is guided by real-life fight trainer Marc Laimon, but he's almost entirely useless. He only gives advice if you ask for it, and the chestnuts he delivers are along the lines of "I think you can take this guy!" He should be there suggesting a specific training schedule or fight plan, but he mostly is just there for encouragement. A little actual guidance would have been nice, as even the most hardcore players have so many options that it's a little overwhelming in the beginning.
Truly A Superman Punch
While the fights in "Undisputed 2010" are far more balanced than last year, there are still a number of particular moves and tactics that are way too powerful and effective. In a real fight, throwing high kicks tends to lead to getting taken down and submitted, but in "Undisputed," tossing them out non-stop usually nets you a victory. And punches like the overhand and the Superman remain far too effective and are too easy to hit. The UFC has only had a handful of literal one-punch knockouts during its existence, but in "Undisputed," they're sort of a dime a dozen.
Submitted For Your Disapproval
In "2009," it was way too difficult to score a submission. Even if your grappling skills were far better than your opponent's, you would still have to wear him down to the point of near-exhaustion before you got him to submit. This time around, the game introduces flash submissions (where a player can score an early sub out of nowhere) and a more effective submission system. Unfortunately, there now seem to be too many submissions. Even the best submission artists in the UFC (like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir) don't score tap outs in every single fight. But their digital versions basically do, which throws the realism in the other direction. Too much is probably better than not enough, but the balance remains off.
The Verdict
In the introduction, I said that "UFC Undisputed 2010" is probably the most realistic fighting game ever created, and that's both good and bad. It's great that it accurately depicts the excitement of the cage and the subtle dynamics that go into every fight. But training for a fight can be excruciatingly dull and repetitious, and "UFC Undisputed 2010" has that too. It's a game clearly designed for hardcore fans of MMA. So if you don't know what a D'Arce choke is, it's probably not the title for you. But if you can spot an omaplata coming a mile away, then this title was designed with you in mind.