Given how the THQ/Yukes SmackDown vs. RAW franchise has slipped into distinct mediocrity in recent years, whilst outside attempts from the likes of TNA impact! to claim the title of King of the Ring have fared little better, you could be forgiven for not having huge expectations for UFC 2009 Undisputed. However, despite our disdain at SmackDown’s inability to evolve in three years, we’re not going to give up on this one quite yet – if only because it offers more options during a fight and you won’t be left helplessly stranded on the canvas whilst someone stamps on your head.
There will be obvious similarities in the visual style, but UFC 2009 uses a completely new fighting engine to Yukes’ wrestling efforts and apparently a different development team as well. This doesn’t mean we’ll be getting something that radically diverts from those titles but it will certainly be a lot more than SmackDown with a few more kicks and punches thrown in. That said, the key selling point – from a gamer’s perspective at least – could well be how UFC brings together numerous fighting styles into a single arena and subsequently opens up far more variety during fights.
The game features more than 80 famous faces from the UFC roster, each with their own strengths and weaknesses in various fighting disciplines. Amongst others, UFC 2009 integrates elements of judo, wrestling, boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and no fighter will be highly proficient in all areas. For example, skilled boxers are unlikely to be able to throw high kicks but will have a greater variety of punches, whilst fighters using Muay Thai can attack with their knees. Similarly, each fighter will be broken down into more than a dozen attributes affecting their abilities in attack and defence, both on foot and in the all-important action on the ground. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses – as well as those of your opponent – looks to be as crucial in UFC 2009 as it has been in any other fighting game of its ilk.
What further mixes things up is how much effort Yukes has put into making a very simple control system deliver such a wide selection of attacks. Although you’re only using two kick and two punch buttons, the game multiplies the possible variations by changing the move depending on whether you flick or hold the left stick, the distance you are from your opponent (so it will automatically select ‘inside’ moves during grapples, etc) and whether you aim your attack to the head, the lower body or midsection. There’s plenty of room for button mashing for the casual player, but there is also scope for skilled gamers to master their art.
Obviously, in UFC a lot of the action takes place on the ground (with fighters looking for takedowns and submissions) and this is where UFC 2009 gets trickier – and all it’s the better for it. Rather than hitting buttons WWE-style and waiting for animations to run their course, you’ll need to work harder than that, whether you’re attacking or defending yourself. Using the right stick to adjust yourself, it’s all about getting into the perfect position to make a (context sensitive) move that either blocks or counter-attacks those of your opponent. Some moves are very hard to block but easy to counter, and vice versa, but the key aspect is that the action frequently requires both skill and precision, specially to get a submission, and – just like in real UFC matches – the fight can change in a few seconds. If you want to find out the game handles, Check out issue 58 of 360 Gamer (on sale now). But for now this definitely makes it a more appealing package than the recent SmackDown efforts.
