UFC Undisputed 2010

UFC Undisputed 2010 is the 7th game in the UFC series, but the second game from publisher THQ who make similar real life sports fighting games like WWE.

Just like MMA, this game is a constantly evolving title.  If you were a fan of the UFC 2009 Undisputed game then you’ll already know what you’re letting yourself in for.  If you’re unfamiliar with the UFC game then the brutality, striking moves, counter moves, takedowns and reversals could take you by surprise.

I regularly watch the UFC pay per view events and this game captures everything about them –the glitz, the fighters and their movement all look excellent – it’s good enough to make you think you’re watching a UFC PPV on your Xbox/PS3 without having to stay up until 3am to catch it.  The commentary in game is provided By Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg and with over 100 fighters on the card, it’s the definitive UFC title.

There are so many improvements over UFC 2009 Undisputed, mainly around the environment in which you fight and interactions with the cage and how it can help or hinder you in take down attempts and in striking.  For example, if you’re pushed up against the cage then your striking is limited but if you’re close to the cage and someone shoots in for a takedown then it works to your advantage.

One thing that has not improved, however, is the ground game aspect.  A large part of MMA is the ground game, when you have been taken down or when you take down an opponent to the mat to capitalise on their immobilised state. In UFC 2010, just like in 2009, you have to use the right stick to manoeuvre yourself into a better position to escape or to apply more pressure to the opponent.  The controls for this are just as frustrating as with the previous game.  This, in my opinion, anyway, is the only thing that lets the title down.  I would have hoped that one of the changes made to the game would have been the simplification of this part of it.  Of course if it’s the development team letting us know that these very technical escapes are a hard thing to achieve as a fighter then this certainly comes across in the controls.

There are a wealth of options available for the players to choose from.  Not only can you create your own fighter to take part in exhibition matches and VS against friends, you can also go for a title run with your own fighter.

There is also a career mode which lets you create another fighter to take part in a season run against the fighters in your weight class, with the ultimate goal being a title shot and a few successful title defences, propelling you to UFC Hall of Fame standard.

The online aspect of this game is impressive, the main stay of this being the Fight camp mode.  This mode allows you to train your fighter with up to 40 other players in a training camp which means that you can train and play with your friends.  To access this online mode you have to enter a code which is provided on the back of the instruction manual.  Once this has been redeemed, if you trade this game in the new owner will have to pay a $5 fee to get access to the online content.  This may be something you want to consider at purchase as it may well affect the trade in price of the game at several stores.