Played on:
PS3
While boxing fans patiently wait for the June 30th release of Fight Night Round 4, gamers that follow mixed martial arts are salivating over the impending release of UFC 2009 Undisputed. We've seen a few MMA games come out over the years and the best one was arguably the first UFC game back in the Dreamcast days. Since then, none have really lived up to the not-very-high bar set almost 10 years ago now, but the first game to truly take charge of the MMA fighting genre in video game form is set to be released this week. UFC 2009 Undisputed has great physics-based striking, dozens and dozens of fighters, a fantastic set of moves, and a deep wrestling and submission system that keeps you coming back even after the sixth time Wanderlei Silva knocks you out with about five powerful knees from the Muay Thai clinch.
Plenty of effort has gone into the game's basic fighting between no less than 80 real-life UFC fighters, and this is what the classic fights mode, exhibition play, and online matches pull from. You can also create your own fighter to participate in online and exhibition modes, and then there's the career mode where you'll create a fighter (yes, you have to play a new one - you can't pick up an existing UFC fighter's career) and fight and scrap your way to the top of the ladder. While it might be compelling to start off as one of the UFC's best and it might be interesting to set up dream matches inside each of the five weight classes included, you'll quickly find yourself wanting more out of the rather basic Exhibition or Classic Fights modes - and that's where the career comes in.
Career Mode has you creating your own schedule where you assign one week at a time training up your character's three major stats (Strength, Speed, Cardio), sparring with an AI opponent to build sixteen fighting skills (offense and defense in various types of stand-up and ground fighting), participating in the big fights, and going to optional publicity events like interviews and photo shoots in order to gain popularity. You'll need to rest for a week or two after serious physical exertion so that you'll be at 100% for your next sparring sessions and fight nights, and in between you'll have the choice to accept offers to become a short-notice replacement for an injured fighter. All of it boosts a Credibility score that measures your popularity in the UFC, and as you gain popularity, you can pick up new sponsorships and go to fight camps to train and build your character's main fighting disciplines.
In the career mode you'll fight no-name characters as well as the top guys, and you'll quickly find that while the game doesn't perfectly mimic each fighter's distinctive styles and quirks, it does do a pretty good job. Each real fighter looks fantastic and here and there will include custom animations for their signature attacks and taunts, and the stat system that ranks everyone and quantifies each fighter's abilities is fairly spot-on. Of course, some fans will complain that this guy's kick offense is too high and this other guy's takedown defense is too low, but that's always part of the debate in sports games, isn't it? Either way, if you do hop into the Exhibition mode and take the controls of a real UFC fighter, you will often be required to fight the way he does in real life if you want to survive.
Unfortunately, the only decent way to learn how to beat a specific fighter in career mode is to smash your head into his knee repeatedly until you find another way around it. The game's sparring mode says it'll train you to defend your next rival's attacks, but all your sparring partner will really do is try to kill you in the ring just like your opponent will. Since you gaining fighting skill points in the sparring mode, this becomes a very important activity, and going offensive so far seems to be the best way to gain training points. While I commend Yuke's for making training activities that involve zero button mashing, Quick Time Event, or Simon Says games, it also still doesn't actually help me train for a fight beyond a few very basic moves the sparring partner tries to pull. Luckily, the fight camps you'll be invited to generally do a good job of teaching you how to employ both basic and advanced moves.
All fighters in UFC 2009 employ one of three stand-up disciplines - Boxing, Kickboxing, or Muay Thai - and one of three grappling disciplines: Judo, Wrestling, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Each has unique moves tailored for various situations both on the ground and while standing, and it's going to be up to you to maximize the use of these powerful techniques while minimizing the impact or viability of your opponent's best attacks. Overall, each style feels very powerful and fairly balanced, and while there are plenty of fighting styles in the real world that are missing here, you'll still find plenty of great moves, combos, grapples, and submissions to use to win, and most of the unique ones for each discipline are forces to be reckoned with.
