As my patience reach an all time low and the hours tick away until UFC 98, I find myself looking for things to do in my spare time that will chew up the clock… FAST! The anticipation for UFC grows as I can’t wait to see [intlink id="2095" type="post"]Matt Serra vs Matt Hughes[/intlink] in one of the best grudge matches since the Ortiz vs Shamrock trilogy.
The best part about being so excited about the Serra vs Hughes fight is that it’s not even the main event, in the main event I get to see if what I have been saying about Lyoto Machida is true or not. Lyoto Machida is a Karate ace and he will be challenging Rashad Evans for the title. [intlink id="1603" type="post"]Lyoto Machida vs Rashad Evans[/intlink] will undoubtably be much more entertaining than [intlink id="1500" type="post"]UFC 97 Silva vs Leites[/intlink].
One thing that I very rarely find time to do or choose to do when I actually have some free time is play video games. We have a Playstation 3 with a bunch of games I always think I am going to play but never actually do, I typically get hooked on one game for a long time when I do actually start playing. Looking to kill some time I decided to stop off at Target on the way home from work on Thursday and pick up the new UFC Video game by THQ titled UFC Undisputed 2009. This would certainly help with the agony of waiting for UFC 98 to get here.
As I headed home to unwrap UFC Undisputed 2009 all I could think about was how much wrestling games in the past have pissed me off. Crappy movements, immposible combinations to pull off your favorite moves and graphics that left a lot to be desired. It has been a long time since I have played any of the more recent WWE video games and I had hoped that times changed tremednously, UFC Undisputed would have to break all of my previous memories if there were ever a chance I would play it again.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycGKg03Cgv4[/youtube]
UFC Undisputed Game Trailer
The hype for this game has been tremendous, and recently Dana White has been out promoting the game as it came closer to the release date. Dana White claims it is “the best fighting game ever made“, could it possibly be true? Could UFC Undisputed 2009 break my stereo type of just about every fighting game out there? Analyst’s seem to think Dana White might be right on target or at least feel that UFC Undisputed 2009 could top 2 million in US sales.
Ok, enough of my bullshit I should probably get down to how I felt about the game itself and actually do the “review” portion that this article title claims to be.
UFC Undisputed 2009 Graphics rating:
As you can already tell by the UFC Undisputed game trailer, the graphics are better than excellent. The fighters skin could not look any more realistic in my opinion, right down to the sweat and blood that drips down the skin.
You can also create custom fighters and tweak just about every single aspect one could think of, tat’s, tat placement, eyebrow type, lips, eye color and scars are just a few of the options you can customize on your fighter. You can also customize your fighters shorts, the style of the shorts and the sponsors that appear on those shorts. Your sponsors earn you “cred” after each fight that you win, the more sponsors that you have the more cred that you earn, “cred” opens up more oppratunties for your fighter as your career goes on.
UFC Undiputed Graphics Rating: 5/5
UFC Undisputed 2009 Game Play rating:
The game play is very smooth, none of that old school fighters hoping accross the ring at each other with slow motion strikes, kicks and takedowns. UFC Undisputed keeps everything rolling which keeps the pressure up regardless if your fighting during the early stages of your career or later in your fighters career as you face tougher opponents.
This game will take some true skill level and patience as there is a tremendous arsenal of kicks, takedowns, punches, clinches, ground strikes and more. Oh and before I forget to mention it, the arsenal of moves that you can utilize in this game can be utilized from many different angles and combinations.
If you are a Mixed Martial Arts fan and know the fighting styles that exist in today’s MMA, than you will be relieved to know that wrestling, boxing, and kickboxing are just a few of the fighting styles included in UFC Undisputed. Everything from gut wrenching Judo throws to arm curnching arm bars and ankle snapping leg locks can also be found in UFC Undisputed, and the average human can actually pull them off with enough practice. What fun is it if you know the killer moves are there, but you can’t ever actually figure out how to pull them off. Not a problem with UFC Undisputed.
UFC Undisputed Game Play Rating: 5/5
UFC Undisputed 2009 Options rating:
I gave away a little information in regards to some of the custimizing options above, I have no intentions of sitting here and reciting each option and it’s benefit to you, we both have better things to do. I will instead tell you that there are options galore, however one option I was unable to find that I really like in video games (especially sports games) is the option for users to save their personal records.
Chances are that the majority of the time that I play UFC Undisputed I will be playing it with someone else, it would be nice to keep a record of my fight data vs that person or anyone that I might play the game against often. If this option exists I may not have found it yet, since I am hardly a professional video game reviewer or player I decided I could write my review after playing the game for two days.
On a more positive note I do however have the option to choose between some of the hottest UFC venues in Las Vegas. After I decide where I want to beat someone’s ass, I than decide which referee I would like to ref the epic battle. At this point in the game there is no option for “Big John McCarthy, all though I wouldn’t be surprised if he was someone you had to unlock later in the game.
UFC Undisputed Options Rating: 4/5
I can already tell at this point that I can ramble on and on about the new UFC Undisputed 2009 video game, I won’t soak up all of your time doing that either. I expect that my productivity will drop somewhat as I become more and more addicted to the game, now that I started the career mode I just can’t wait for my son to go to bed so I can continue to advance my fighter. Career modes always seem to hook me for an extended period of time.
Before writing this article I was thinking of the last time I actually played my ps3, the sad part is that I can’t even remember how long ago it was. I enjoy playing video games, I am happy that UFC Undisputed came out it seems to have renewed my urge to take a break and play a few video games.
Tomorrow night will be a huge night, I am sure it will contain plenty of UFC Undisputed game play leading up to UFC 98 Machida vs Evans. I expect that tomorrow night will contain plenty of UFC Undisputed, excellent UFC 98 action and probably a little bit more UFC Undisputed. I highly recommend the game, it is “As Real As It Gets”.
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John, you are absolutely right about the UFC 2009: Undisputed. Although I have not purchased the game yet, I downloaded the demo where you can play with Shogun and Iceman in a grudge match. The graphics were sweet and the basic options (striking, kicking, grabbing) are simple, but when you dig deeper to grappling, taking an opponent down, or performing some of the higher level strikes, muay thai, jui jitsu, etc it aggrevates the Shiaaaat out of me! First off, the joysticks (Xbox 360) never seem to want to register to the direction you are actually moving them to. Secondly, when you try to perform the move, about 60-70 % of the time either A. I make a mistake or B. the game does not register my actions. One other thing that I noticed they failed to add was the fact that when you flash knock someone to the ground and you get on top of them and start beating their face into grounded meat, the ref just throws his hands around like a cheerleader as opposed to in real life where he spears the fighter off of the TKO’d opponent like Goldberg. Other than these minor flaws, the game seems to be excellent. I guess perfect practice will make a perfect gamer and right now I am lying way under the covers of a novice in this game… Good post and fair ratings my man!
the game is awesome but they screwed up the career mode and made it more frustrating then fun.and when the game saves it says it like ten times.hey how about the traditional “game saved” one time please.oh well there is always next year
Twitter: extremejohn
@Mangiaman I have only played career mode for a few hours but it wasn’t frustrating for me, I like it (aside from the 400 saves). I agree the 400 saves are a pain in the ass.
I have the game too. Playing against my friends over xbox live is waay harder than the computerized foes, but it’s also more exciting and fun. I’m still trying to get the hang of it, my stand-up game is the only thing I have going now.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Sean for some reason I never got into or had an urge to do the live play, I actually prefer playing videos games on my own. It’s one of the few times there is peace and quiet. Any feedback you want to give on playing live would be appreciated, thank you.
The rating of UFC Undisputed Game is great, I also like to give them the 100% credit. I like it , Thanks.
Its silly I can't have a career with a real fighter (Liddell, Highes) but have to create a fake guy. I want to tear up the division with St. Pierre. In Madden we don't have to create a fake team. I want career mode with a UFC superstar
Twitter: extremejohn
Yeah that would be a nice add on for the next one for sure.
Nice review, I have to agree with you about everything except the gameplay. I would have given it 4/5, it’s simply not smooth enough for me yet. But great game and good review.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Amy Are you seeing the graphics not smooth in just the Xbox 360 version of the UFC Undisputed game? Reason I ask is because everything seems to be pretty smooth in the Playstation 3 version of Undisputed.
Twitter: SNVINFOTECH
Hi,
I have the game too. Playing against my friends over box live is way harder than the computerized foes, but it’s also more exciting and fun.The game is awesome but they screwed up the career mode and made it more frustrating then fun.
Thanks.
This game would be better if the submissions were easier to pull off. I just end up knocking the? guy out most of the time.
Twitter: extremejohn
@BJJ I actually like the challenge behind completing submissions in UFC Undisputed, once you get the nac for it your all set. I recommend practicing by using a very good BJJ fighter so you have different submissions in your arsenal it makes learning the motions and completion of the moves easier.
Well, here I am. Better late than never, I guess.
This game has a lot of good sides to it: realistic fighting, a good skill system, general progression and so on.
My main gripe is the fact that the UFC was created to show of one single part of the sport: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This shows very clearly in this game. Other martial arts which happen to be a staple of the sport have been neglected or downplayed. Muay Thai, for instance, is effectively presented as being inferior to boxing, while in reality it is the other way around, and judo and wrestling are playing second fiddle to BJJ in terms of effectiveness.
I’d rather have an MMA game where the various sides of the sport are presented in a more even light and the self interest of one faction can be safely ignored.
Get the UFC (and the self-obsessed Gracie family out) of the limelight of this sport before it ruins it completely and turns it into another piece of crap television entertainment with no sporting or martial arts value.
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