Ultimate Fighting is one of the fastest growing phenomenons in the
world. It's growing in fanbase, it's growing in assets, it's growing in
talent, and it's growing in entertainment. It's huge, and it's going to
continue to improve upon itself as time moves forth. An unfortunate
trend that comes with popularity, is a videogame to match up with the
real life counterpart. UFC is large enough to get that said videogame
tie-in, as UFC 2009: Undisputed was released late May 2009. Was getting
THQ and Yuke's to handle this delicate piece of software a unanimous
decision, or is it a deadly rear naked choke from which nobody can
escape?
I like to get straight to the point in my reviews, so I can basically
tell you right off the bat that UFC 2009 does a lot of good things, and
it does enough of them to maintain a high level of entertainment
throughout. It's got some issues, as you'd expect, but for the most
part, Yuke's really took the right steps and made the best decisions
possible, resulting in an authentic gameplay experience. This is a fun
game.
Quite possibly the first thing gamers will notice about this title is
how unique the controls are. Strikes are mapped to the face buttons
simply enough, with the left shoulder buttons as modifiers for hitting
high or low. The striking game is really simple to get a grip on, which
is great for beginners, but those who take the time to really
understand the game will realize that it's more of a defensive game
than an offensive one. Getting into a complete slugfest will get
somebody knocked out extremely quick, possibly within seconds. The best
strategy is to wait for an opening, and go for it. The game does a
great job of counter-balancing this, giving fighters the ability to
catch strikes for submissions or throws. Good timing both offensively
and defensively is the key to maintaining a strong striking game.
When taking things to the ground, or getting into grappling situations,
the game opens up even more, showing off its superb depth and
authenticity of its gameplay. Depending on your fighter's fighting
styles, you can perform throws or other special moves such as
powerbombs and hip tosses. The way that these are performed is
utilizing the right analog stick. Very similar to the control scheme in
EA's Skate, you're meant to rotate the right analog stick in
correspondance to your character's position. For example, to move to a
new position on the ground, rotate the right analog stick 90 degrees in
the direction you wish to move to, and your fighter will attempt to.
Here, it's another timing game.
First off, your right stick rotations need to be legible, not simply
attacking the stick. Then, you need to do it at the right time, when
the other fighter is not putting down his weight on you, because
assuming you're not Forrest Griffin, you're going to stay right where
you are.
On the ground, fighters can still strike each other, move around and
try to get the best position on their opponent. The Brazillian Jiu
Jitsu fighters have the ability to counter their opponent, flipping
them over and being in full guard. Some of the most fun I've had in UFC
2009 were results of intense ground battles. It's a very dynamic system
that feels good when you're good at it, but can quickly become
frustrating should you be bad at it. This is a game that really
requires patience and good timing. To be successful, you need to be
efficient, because simply button mashing and flailing your fighter
across the screen will result in some embarrassing losses.
That's the beauty of UFC 2009: Undisputed. It's always a fair game. No
matter how badly you are getting your tail handed to you, you've always
got a shot. You could be getting destroyed late the 3rd round, but if
you're patient enough, you could find a weak spot, or find your
opponent getting lazy, and give them a swift kick to the head. Boom.
Flash. Knockout. UFC 2009 is one of the most well balanced fighting
games ever, if not the single most.
Submissions are one of the most exhilarating parts of the fighting
engine. Clicking down on the right stick while your opponent is
vulnerable on the ground, or when you catch a strike for a counter, or
when you are clinched while standing, allows you to perform a
submission. Depending on your position and fighting technique, the
submissions vary in terms of success and type. UFC 2009 features just
about every submission you've seen in the real life sport, from
armbars, to rear naked chokes, to triangle chokes. During submission
attempts, the biggest button masher, the fastest stick rotator will
most likely be victorious. This can feel very clunky and
unprofessional, but it feels appropriate in the fact that it instills
urgency to the situation. Of course, you can't just submit your
opponent at the start of a match. This is a balanced game. Stamina,
strength, submission offence and defence skills are also taken into
account, as well as height and reach. It's very authentic and it's easy
to appreciate.
The way the game tries its hand at authenticity is rather impressive.
All weight classes are present here, with over 80 fighters on the
roster. There are 6 distinct fighting techniques: Judo, BJJ, and
Wrestling for throws and grappling, and Muay Thai, Kick Boxing, and
Boxing for striking. The way fighters need to take advantage as well as
adapt to these different techniques really makes the game dynamic. It's
a thinking man's game, despite how button mashy it may seem to those
unfamiliar with the sport.
The theme song from UFC is here as well, as are a few ring girls, Joe
Rogan is on commentating, and Herb Dean is among the referees. The game
tries its best to deliver a realistic feeling UFC experience, and it
gets the job done. The lack of ring entrances are a tad disappointing,
but that's something to expect for next year, right?
It's a safe bet to call the core gameplay an authentic, well balanced,
thrill ride. Really, the game never lets up. Every match is worth
seeing through to the end because of just how dynamic the whole system
works. It's amazing.
There is a career mode present in UFC 2009: Undisputed which
unfortunately isn't as good as it could be. Don't get me wrong, it's
certainly worth playing just for the ultimate reward of winning some
hardware, but it ultimately feels too artificial to really be taken
seriously.
After creating your very own fighter of surprising detail (you can
really shape them into how you want them to look), career mode is
essentially a repetitive series of fights. In between each fight, you
can either spar to assign attributes to your stats, or automate
training. After 2 or 3 training sessions, you fight again. Career mode
is disappointingly bareboned. There is nothing to ground it into the
universe, and it comes across as an irritating setup of matches.
What's worse is just how poor the menu system is. There are short load
times almost everytime you select something in the career mode menu.
Even simply selecting sponsors to put on your shorts, you need to go
through a confusing set of more than half a dozen menus just to be able
to select a spot to put on the logo. It's unnecessarily complex.
Even while it's really shallow and there's not a lot to it, career mode
is still worth going through, and I'll tell you why. As you build up
your fighters statistics, he constantly gets better, and as you retire
from UFC, you can use your fighter in exhibition mode and for online
fighting. There's also something gratifying about seeing your fighter
become champion of every single weight division.
While career mode remains an undeniable disappointment, the gameplay
itself is the complete saving grace. Yes, career mode isn't worth much,
but just being able to face off against your buddies on the couch, or
strangers over Playstation Network and Xbox Live, is worth the price of
admission alone. The intensity and competitiveness that comes hand in
hand with a title like this is just stunning. It's easy to lose hours
on end just doing fight after fight, trash talking, utilizing
strategies, and overall just having an absolute blast. The price point
of $69.99 is high, but it's definitely worth it. If you dig the
gameplay, you're going to lose a lot of time on this game. This is one
of those rare cases where a long list of features isn't needed to make
a game worth money, giving the title an old-school aesthetic that's
refreshing to see nowadays.
To anybody skeptical about how the visuals hold up, they can rest easy.
UFC 2009 is an impressive looking game. The authenticity shows its face
in just about every aspect of Undisputed's presentation. Fighters not
only look near-identical to their real life counterparts, but there are
some nice effects added in as well. Cuts and bruises look absolutely
painful, shorts will fold and sway upon contact and movement, and the
animations are extremely fluid. Even the referees look like their own
real life counterparts. It's a good looking game.
Still, there are a few qualms to be had. Animations do look very good,
but you'll be seeing the same ones in each fight, and it tends to get a
little bit redundant after awhile, losing some of the awe that it
initially instills. Also, the hit detection sometimes fails. Everything
looks great at 30fps, but once the action slows down during a replay,
you can really see just how lazy that Yuke's got on some of the action.
Punches and kicks will go through body parts, or they'll just miss
entirely, despite the fact that it is still counted as a hit. Even so,
the hit detection isn't a large issue, because when the action's fast,
it's hard to nitpick.
The soundtrack is a large improvement over SvR's crap, but it's still
no homerun. Face the Pain by Stemm is the highlight there. The
commentators do a really good job at telling the action, but much like
the impressive animations, they repeat from fight to fight.
Yuke's has done a very good job at crafting a complex and addictive
fighter. The fact that it doesn't have a lengthy list of features
should not keep anybody away from the game. It droops authenticity at
the seams and it's got a generous roster of fighters. It requires
thinking as opposed to mindless thrashing. It's got its fair share of
issues, but when if you find yourself playing the demo hundreds of
times over and over, then it may be time you drop the cash and make a
smart investment. UFC 2009: Undisputed is a well balanced, fun and
intense fighting game.
