The newest contender for the crown of ultimate fighting game of the year, UFC Undisputed 2010, has just made its way into the octagon. So how does this title stand up to the competition, and what has improved since the last iteration? 

 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details let’s take a look at what exactly UFC is for those of us who aren’t in on the know. UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting championship based in the United States. 

 

There have been a few attempts made at making games of the series in the past, but the best received so far has been UFC Undisputed 2009, developed by Yuke’s and published by THQ.

 

 

At first glance UFC Undisputed 2010 doesn’t look very different from its predecessor, but the bulk of the changes took place behind the curtains. 

 

Improving the control scheme has seen a lot of attention, although coming to grips with it will still take you an hour or two. This time around players also have the option of creating a left-handed fighter, something that was sorely missed in the last game. 

 

 

One of the aspects that impressed us most was the extensive career mode in the game. In this mode you can create your very own fully customisable fighter, with everything from facial hair to nationality to peck size being yours for the choosing. 

 

After you’ve created your virtual fighting machine it’s straight into the cage to face your first opponent, in a training match thankfully. After knocking out your opponent or being knocked out yourself you have the option to keep training or enter the professional arena. 

 

Something that we really enjoyed was the tidbits of narrative thrown in between fights by your coaches and fellow fighters, it makes it seem like you’re the hero of a fighting movie, and this immersion really does a lot for the game. 

 

 

But progressing through the career mode isn’t as easy as it sounds; this game really makes you work for those titles. You have to set your training regimes up just right, you have to memorise those combo’s and you even have to keep in touch with characters in the gameworld via an email feature built into the career mode. 

 

This extensive system with its multiple difficulty levels and tons of content should keep even the most hardcore fighting game aficionados busy for weeks trying to earn the UFC championship title. And even after you’ve earned the title of number one the game doesn’t let up. You can then enter Title Defense mode which allows players to see how long they can defend their title against the best fighters the world has to offer. 

 

Also, unlike in last year’s game your fighter isn’t stuck with a preset fighter archetype this time around. This means that you can go to fighting camps and learn moves from different fighting styles so you can create a truly “mixed” martial artist. 

 

 

However if you’re feeling a bit lazy for the career mode or some friends comes over, the game sports a variety of different game modes. 

 

Title Mode will allow you to fight through a certain weight class to earn and defend a belt and Ultimate Fights Mode gives players the ability to jump into classic fights packed with specific objectives. There is also a Tournament Mode which allows you to have team or individual tournaments with up to 16 players. 

 

There is also an online mode which allows you to do battle with fighters from around the world. You can fight for leaderboard position, earn medals and even create your very own online Fight Camp with your own name, logo and members. 

 

You can train with your fellow members if you wish and you can all fight under your club’s banner from then on, so creating your very own fighting team can become a reality, or at least a virtual one. 

 

 

UFC Undisputed 2010 is definitely worth a look if you love fighting games or if you’re a fan of the series. This game features spectacularly realistic character modeling; extensive move lists and a sense of immersion fighting fans will surely love.