UFC Undisputed 2010: Do you have what it takes to enter the Octagon?

FULL REVIEW

How many times have you felt like punching that annoying loud mouthed commuter in the train, or drop kicking your boss every time he bombarded you with a stupid idea that he felt made absolute sense? Chances are unless you’re high on life (or other substances) you may have felt this primal urge to whale on another human being multiple times. Sadly the legal system today permits us from doing so in the real world, but that’s where video games come in.

And what better game to take away that anger than UFC Undisputed 2010!

For the uninformed UFC AKA the Ultimate Fighting Champion is a phenomenon sweeping the world today where two fighters enter a steel cage called the Octagon and settle their differences like true men. UFC Undisputed 2010 is the videogame adaptation of this sport. Contrary to what certain misinformed people believe, the sport is pretty complicated and is governed by a bunch of rules. What this means for you as a gamer is that you cannot expect to simply pick up the game and button mash your way to victory like you would in a Tekken or a Street Fighter. If you’re willing to go along with the steep learning curve, Undisputed 2010 is an authentic and technically deep game that’ll keep you occupied for days on end. If not, I suggest you get your fix elsewhere.

Much like the actual sport you’ll spend enough time on the ground as you will on your feet. This means you’ll have to learn the in and outs of throwing down kicks and punches along with grappling and submissions that constitute the ground game. Initially you may be tempted to box your way out of a match but pretty soon your fighter’s arms will get gassed out and you’ll find yourself in a world of pain if you haven’t figured out how to escape from an arm bar or a triangle. To fully prepare yourself for the Octagon I strongly suggest playing the tutorial that’ll ease you in to some of the game’s more complicated mechanics. Once that’s done you can embark on the game’s Career mode or partake in one of the many modes out there including one that allows you to recreate some of UFC’s greatest fights - and even alter their outcome. Besides that you can take your skills online to battle it out against some of the best players around the world. If you’re not a big fan of getting your player and your ego bruised, I strongly suggest perfecting your game before you step into the online arena.

As far as presentation is concerned UFC Undisputed 2010 really nails it pat down. Right from the in-game menus to the pre-fight trash talk videos to the commentary provided by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, the game is a wet dream for UFC fans as far as authenticity is concerned. Fighters look like their real world counterparts and if you aren’t happy with the presets you can go ahead and build your own fighter however you deem fit.

I’ve said this before and I’m saying it again; UFC Undisputed 2010 is not for the casual fighting fan. If you live, breathe and sleep UFC, you already own this game by now. If you don’t, but are willing to invest a significant amount of time and energy into it, you will be rewarded with a technically deep and satisfying brawler.