Sure, we got to see UFC Undisputed 2010 before, but last week was the first time that we managed to get our grubby mitts on the game. And to do so, THQ facilitated a 16-man tournament where a bunch of a-typical gaming journalists, as well as PALGN Executive Editor, Jeremy, and PALGN fashionista, James, duked it out for a chance at a lovely bag of THQ goodies. Just in case you were wondering, this was in the digital arena provided in UFC Disputed 2010, not in an actual arena.
Cootchy cootchy coo!
The results were mixed for PALGN, as James was knocked out before the quarter finals. To be fair, he did get knocked out by the eventual winner. So who knows how far he could have gone? Myself on the other hand, despite being handicapped with some old dude named Mark Coleman (doesn’t seem to kick well, but throws a good punch), he somehow managed to drag his wrinkly backside all the way to the semi finals, likely helped by the support of the two live Octagon girls that came to cheer us on. As mentioned from the outset, this is from someone who hadn’t played the game before, so it was a solid effort. That was, until one of the THQ reps came and showed me how to really play. Still, a respectable third place and a shot at the spoils by default meant that the night ended on a high.
Admittedly, there was some time to get a bit of practice in, with near final game builds. So how does someone who has never played the game nor had much experience with the property manage to get to the semi finals? In retrospect, it’s a testament to the playability of the game. Initially, it can be rather difficult to pick up, particularly as it feels a bit like a wrestling game crossed with a traditional fighter. However, within the hour, we managed to get a pretty good handle on the system, which seamlessly integrates grapples, clinches, submissions and fists. It’s merely a matter of knowing what to do at what point. Sure, there are no health meters, and the action can be slower and more methodical. But knockouts can happen very quickly, or late in the third round. It’s this variability gives the fighting in UFC Undisputed 2010 an edge over health bar systems.
Furthermore, it helps to know what your fighter is good at. And it’s not just the numbers the show you this. You can actually see whether your fighter is good at kicking or has a stronger right than left arm. This is a quite a testament to the game, which could have very easily stuck you with fighters that handle the same, only with different ‘skins’. While I hadn’t experienced the previous game, the use of the analog sticks in UFC Undisputed 2010 does reasonably well without any bars. Again, it adds to the tension, as neither player is sure how much ‘gas’ they have in them to pull of the move, or to break free, apart from visual queues. While players from last year are likely to welcome the changes and jump in straight away, hopefully the game will cater for less experienced players and UFC newcomers as well.
Smell it. SMELL IT!!!.
The Tournament Mode that facilitated this lovely evening is new to UFC Undisputed and it's very welcome. It allows players to fight in a knock-out system from four up to 16 players. You can fill these spots with human players or AI opponents. Tournament Mode is available in all 5 distinct UFC weight classes: Light Weight, Welter Weight, Middle Weight, Light Heavy Weight and Heavy Weight. For the record, we fought in the Light Heavy Weight class. The in game commentary system, called Game Is Watching You (GIWY) tracks each fight, recording the fight styles of each combatant. All this is supposed to be delivered by in game commentators, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg. Given the enthusiastic response to the tournament, we didn’t get to hear much of the commentary, but when you’re having fun, it doesn’t really matter.
As mentioned, it’s a testament to the game that we were able to play proficiently in such a short amount of time. Sure, it’s not ever going to be rocket science, but the fact that we were able to do and discover so many things just by playing through was quite a treat. This gives us hope that UFC Undisputed 2010 will be accessible to both veterans of the last game and newcomers to the game and UFC. Mind you, it’s unlikely to be everyone’s cup of tea. But in the least, the fans should be pleased.
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