User Review : UCF 2009 Undisputed

Unlike other games based on books, sports or films, this time, the developer made an effort.

Ultimate Fighting Championship is a unique sport. It is widely known as one of the most brutal sport. Basically, it is a very entertaining sport. Usually, when a game is based on another popular media, you’d get an average to low class game.

With UFC: Undisputed 2009, it is a different story. The closest comparison is the WWE series, and WWE doesn’t even come close. It is sort of strange, the same developer makes a two games in one genre, and one is a lot better than the other.

I have played WWE games, all the way back to the first Smackdown! game, and have seen a slight dip after every installment, until you see a hugh decrees when you look at it at a very larger scale. Unlike other games based on movies, books, sports ect., this time, the developer made a genuine effort. There is no sense of laziness in this game. Everything seems perfect at first. Not that the game is perfect though (we’ll get to that part later).

Previous UFC installments have been bad. Its a fact, so I was worried upon receiving this game, with the fear that I would receive a game with an unfinished feel, like newer WWE games. I was happy to hear that not a single line of code from the WWE series, or previous UFC games were used in this game.

The game is original, it does something new and takes a risk, unlike most games of this generation. A very small number of games do this. Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet and Fallout 3 are games that took risks and paid off. I would easily add this game to the list. I said that WWE led the pack when TNA was released, because TNA wasn’t exactly great either.

By risks, I mean two risks, as I know I didn’t make myself very clear: There is the risk of releasing a game, when it’s predecessor was horrible, and there’s the risk of releasing a ‘new’ game. UFC is a new sport, and releasing a game for a new sport is risky. As the game boots up, you get a fierce speech inside the octagon from a tough looking guy. He says how UFC is the fastest growing sport in the world. This could also become the fastest growing sport game in the world, bypassing WWE and the relatively new TNA.

So, the game, if not already obvious, is quite good. My favorite part is the create mode and the career mode. These have taken the whole ‘creation’ and ‘sports game storyline’ to a new level. When creating a fighter, you have so many options at your mercy. There is absolutely no limitations. Well, yes there is, obviously, but they are hard to find. This game has lifted the standard on all games for creation, next to LittleBigPlanet.

The career mode is addicting. In WWE, its match, week, match, week, match week, title shot, match week . . . No, UFC is not like this. Rankings play a big part, and for every win, you move up the rankings, and for very loss, you go down the rankings. The bigger the win, the bigger the lift, the bigger the loss, the bigger the fall. Simple. And this system is simple, but so effective.

If your high up in the rankings, you fight those close to you. If your lucky enough to get a ranking of three, then you may get a shot at the title. I got to three, and got my title shot. I didn’t win, but I’m still battling away for another shot at another champion.

Onto the biggest achievement of this game: the graphics. Graphically, the best sports game on the PS3. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching UFC on TV. The intensity and the action make feel real, and the graphics really seal the package, as the most achieving sports game so far.
Of course, this game is all well and good, but there are downsides as well. The fights do get repetitive. This is expected, the real life sport isn’t as versatile as others. We can let it away with that, but it doesn’t sit well with gamers. If they’re repeating the same move over and over again, its going to get awkward.

There is also the annoying side of groundwork. Its bad enough to learn the game while on your feet, but it takes an awful long time to get used to grappling and fighting on the mat. I can admit frustration plays a big part in this, as well. I find that if I fight a mat specialist in career, the minute I hit the floor, the match is over. I’ve improved, but it took some long, hard time.

The game adds a freshen up to a dry genre, and with all the old series’ that gamers depend on, it’s good to have a new one to look forward to now. The game is graphically beautiful, and even though it gets repetitive and frustrating, its an unusually good game that improved tenfold on its predecessor.