UFC® Undisputed™ Review
PROS
- 25 high profile, recognizable UFC fighters.
- Combat controls grounded in realism instead of 'arcade'.
CONS
- Match-ups restricted to weight-class.
- Stiff, disjointed combat.
- Unbalanced gameplay; submissions too easy to use.
- No additional gameplay modes or features.
VERDICT
UFC® Undisputed™ 2010 provides little challenge to those after intense multi-round fights and fails to capture the flow of combat in MMA despite angling towards more realistic controls.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
For those who don't follow MMA and in particular UFC, watching matches can be an eyebrow raising experience as you witness a mixed bag of tense standoffs and lengthy grapples that seemingly go nowhere. The reality is far more intense than a first glance would assume as the fighters battle wits and strength in a form that's merely not as visually exciting as a punch, but it's still there.
For those wondering, I'm waxing lyrical on the sport as UFC® Undisputed™ 2010 by THQ tries to capture the true realism of an MMA bout, but in doing so the game goes beyond realistic, straight in to uncanny and lands in farcical. Once rounds are started you're presented with a system of zones to swipe or tap to perform your next move, be it stepping forward, back; attempting grapples and take-downs; punching, kicking; or changing positions and going for a submission. But no matter your choice the response is an antiseptic and robotic maneuver, resulting in stiff steps, punch combos that look like a slapping competition and grapples that render the game almost moot as you win within seconds of beginning a fight.
To see well known fighters reduced to a pile of disjointed and disconnected maneuvers is embarrassing to watch and uncomfortable to play. One saving grace is that each fighter is rendered faithfully and clearly enough to recognize despite the low file size, however this is immediately offset by the recycled animations that result in a constant sense of deja-vu. Worst of all, there's nothing else to do other than to pit one of 25 fighters against each other; no multiplayer, character development or detailed championships are in sight.
The attempt to create a realistic feeling MMA title is one I can appreciate, but UFC® Undisputed™ 2010 for iDevices abandons flowing combat for wooden 'realism'. I rarely directly comment on the actual value of a title, but for what's on offer it's a price too high even for a UFC fan like myself.
Screenshots
$2.99
