Game review: UFC Undisputed 2010 - PlayStation 3

You see, my only prior knowledge of the Ultimate Fighting Championship was an episode of Friends in which Monica’s boyfriend took part in it.

I’ve since discovered it’s a mixed martial arts competition involving two sweaty men in shorts squaring up inside an octagonal cage, thumping and kicking one other about the face and body hoping to land a knockout blow or force a submission.

It’s tough stuff for tough men apparently, aside from the frequent love-ins when the fighters engage in some homoerotic grappling on the ground.

The combat is much more credible than pro wrestling, with more brutality and blood splattering around the place, but the showmanship and razzmatazz are similar.

Having spent some time with UFC Undisputed 2010 from THQ and watched videos of the real-life thing, I reckon fans of the sport will get a thrill out of playing the game and it should be an instant purchase for them.

The broadcast style presentation of everything is very compelling and draws players in straight away.

There are dozens of fighters who will be instantly recognisable to fans, as well as other personalities from the UFC world including commentators, announcers and referees.

Graphics throughout the game are very good, especially the attention to detail on the fighters, with great skin shading and muscle tone.

Aficionados of UFC will also love the authenticity of the action. The fighting is slick, fast-paced and looks realistic, and it seems pretty much everything from the real sport has been included.

There is a lot to enjoy for UFC followers and fans of beat ‘em up games in general.

My one complaint about the fighting is that it doesn’t do a good enough job of capturing the force of the real thing.

Landing blows just doesn’t feel powerful or painful enough. In fact, it’s sometimes hard to tell if that punch to an opponent’s face, that whack with an elbow or that knee in the stomach has even landed.

There is a good amount of blood in the game, on the fighters and on the mat, but the inflicting of the damage is too tame – the audio in particular could do with being more bone-crunching and eye-watering at times.

Fighting in UFC is very deep – players of last year’s UFC game or fans of the sport will get to grips with it straight away but newcomers and non-fans will feel ill-at-ease to begin with.

Controls are extremely complicated. Both sticks and most buttons on the controller are used during fights, often in combination.

There are a lot of moves and techniques to learn. Posturing, pummelling, swaying, transitions and more all need to be mastered. It’s like learning a foreign language entirely from scratch.

The game is a lot more technical than the usual style of fighting game I’m used to. This is very much a UFC simulation than any sort of arcade brawler.

There is a tutorial but it’s not much use because it teaches each move one at a time in a non-fight setting. By the time I’d got to the end of it, I’d forgotten what I’d learnt at the beginning.

Only when I got in the cage did I finally start to understand the game’s mechanics, but even then it took a lot of work and perseverance before I began to feel remotely comfortable.

As I said, if you’re into UFC anyway you’ll probably feel right at home with this game from the start despite its complexities.

The fighting takes place across a series of different modes, all of which will be heaven to UFC fans.

The biggest chunk of game time will be spent in the career mode.

Here you can take an unknown fighter who you build yourself in the extensive creation section through a 12-year career which not only includes competing but also training camps, press interviews, sponsors and more.

You can also set up tournaments with friends, battle through a series of fights in title mode and take part in classic bouts from UFC history.

If you want to jump online you can play quick matches against friends as well as set up your own fights camps.

The potential for long-term enjoyment of UFC Undisputed 2010 really boils down to one very simple question: Are you a UFC fan or not?

If you are then this really is the game you’ve been waiting for. It seems to contain everything a UFC fan could possibly want in a video game.

This title has wowed a lot of people already, and I can understand why as it’s visually very impressive and feature-rich.

If you’re not a fan of UFC then unfortunately the chances are this game will leave you colder than a post-fight ice bath.

Recently I reviewed Skate 3 for PS3 which managed to avoid the pitfalls and steer clear of being a niche title by being accessible to skaters and non-skaters alike.

UFC isn’t as welcoming and pre-supposes a broad knowledge of the sport it’s based on.

Because of this it’s a game which can only be recommended to hardcore fans.

Verdict: 7 out of 10 – UFC novices should prepare for a tough time when approaching this game but followers of the sport will absolutely love it.