Game Review: UFC Undisputed 2010

Game: UFC Undisputed 2010
Console: Xbox 360
Developer: Yuke's
Release Date: 28th May 2010

With the UFC and MMA as a whole becoming ever more popular thanks to greater promotion and well publicised characters coming to prominence in the mainstream, it's interesting to look back at the games made before this new wave of popularity. This isn't to say that the sport didn't have its fans 6 years ago but there's a lot more scrutiny of the newer games given both the renewed interest and new generation of games consoles.

The game features a large selection of fighters, many of who will be familiar to those who are current fans of the sport, and even more fighters recognisable for more seasoned fans. The game features Create a Fighter, Career, Title and Title Defence modes as well as Classic Fights and Exhibition modes. This is an impressive selection and pretty much everything you could want from the game in terms of things to do.

Fighting feels generally good; it's not so powerful that instant knockouts are commonplace, but it's also not realistic enough to model fighters with a good chin. While fights in the real world often go the distance of 3 or 5 rounds, most fights in UFC Undisputed 2010 end in the first round by TKO. The clinch and grappling system is a little complex with right analog stick waggling deciding who has the advantageous position, and submissions seeming essentially random to the uninitiated.

In this respect, it might as well be a kickboxing game for those not using grappling; I did try and master it a few times in the tutorial mode, but as soon as my fighter was taken to the ground, the fight was almost as good as over. I'll admit that it's difficult to accurately model MMA fights, with many different approaches to the standup and ground games, and many different types of fight occurring regularly, but all fights seem to play out similarly within the game.

Career Mode is interesting and offers players a chance to work their way up to fighting in the UFC from smaller promotions, and the balance of training for a fight and focussing on different aspects of their fighting style. Fights don't play any differently in this mode, although players get some choices of response for their post fight interview and things feel a little more like a WWE Career mode. There's little else to do outside of climbing the rankings and so there's little replayability here.

Other modes vary in their levels of interest, but the most frustrating mode is by far the Classic Fight mode where players must repeat past feats of other fighters. The issue here is that you'll be challenged to win in a specific manner; such as by decision or TKO in the 4th round, which given the ease of winning in the first round involves a lot of time wasting.

Graphically the game looks good; the fighters are recognisible and the octagon and general surrounds are aesthetically almost exactly as seen on tv. The animations and movement featured in fights is smooth and only grappling looks a little awkward. Commentary and sound effects too are realistic and contribute to the whole experience resembling a television broadcast as many sports games aspire to.

Overall UFC Undisputed 2010 isn't a perfect video game representation of MMA due to its complex and hard to understand grappling system and the temptation to resort to a hail of punches, ending most fights in the first round. Nonetheless there's fun to be had with its variety of modes and the ability to create an original character (or more modern MMA stars, of course). If you're a fan of the sport it's a good approximation of combat but not a perfect representation.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C