I sat down with the UFC 2010 demo when it was released and wasn’t very impressed. It felt so much like UFC 2009 to me that I had no intention of buying the game. I caved last weekend and ended up buying the game, and quite frankly, I’m glad I did.
I’ve spent a little over 10 hours with UFC 2010 in the last week. My initial instinct was to create a fighter in career mode and go from there. I really haven’t looked back since. I was sucked into the experience of career mode and have been really impressed with it. When your fighter is created you’ll start out as an amateur with an opportunity to compete in a few fights that don’t affect your record.
Between fights, you’re given a number of weeks to train in specific aspects of the MMA game. Each training session will consume a week of time. So the opportunity is there to craft and mold your character into the kind of fighter you want them to be. If you want your fighter to focus on their stand up, you can do that. Likewise, if you want a submission specialist, you can do that too.
In addition to training sessions that award points that you spend on specific attributes, you can attend a training camp with some of the top camps in mixed martial arts. The training camps will give you the chance to learn power moves for use in your fights. For example, I spent a few weeks training with Greg Jackson’s camp learning two specific power moves. These moves are real moves that fighters from that camp are known for.
Once you decide to turn pro, you’ll start in a promotion that’s minor league compared to the UFC. As you fight, gain experience and stats, you’ll hopefully work your way up and receive an invitation to fight in the UFC. Once in the UFC, you’ll fight on under cards for Ultimate Fight Nights. You’ll work your way to the main card, eventually the main event, into UFC pay-per-views, and so on. What’s important to note is that as you lose, you’ll really drop in the rankings and can lose real progress. It can be somewhat frustrating to go from a main event PPV fight to an under card UFN with just one loss.
After each fight, you’re given four options for your next fight. Deciding who to fight is a seriously important decision. If you take a fight simply too high above your skill, you’ll likely lose and fall even further down the rankings. Strategic fight choices are really important in UFC 2010. Remember, between fights you’ll get anywhere from 8-13 weeks to train. That’s a lot of time to use to improve your fighter’s statistics and have a better chance against the top fighters.
In my time playing the game, I have amassed a 29-12 record and was just recently the light-heavyweight champion. Like in the UFC, in UFC 2010, you’re not going to go undefeated and anyone can beat anyone given the right game plan and staying patient. UFC 2010 delivers a highly realistic experience in that regard. At the same time, it’s a video game, and people hate to lose. I think the fact that you’re simply going to lose will frustrate some people out there. But taking it for what it is will provide you with hours of enjoyment.
After the loss of my light heavyweight title, I decided to give multiplayer a try. My experience with the online system is quite limited, so please take it as such. I’ve fought a few matches and they all ended the same way. A quick take down by my opponent, followed by a ground and pound TKO. No attempts at stand up, no submissions, and really only an effort for a quick take down. My initial impression is that ground and pound is highly overpowered online and everyone knows that and takes advantage of it. I want to play more and would like to play with people interested in more of a simulation fight.
To this point, I haven’t had an opportunity to experience the other game modes. I’ve heard good things and will see them at some point. Career mode alone is worth the price of admission for UFC 2010. Anyone with any interest in the UFC will simply love the experience that UFC 2010 provides. Those not into UFC and MMA may not have such an experience. The game is exceptionally deep when it comes to fight mechanics. So deep that after 10 hours and over 30 fights, I’m still learning. Your casual player will likely be too overwhelmed by that. UFC and MMA fans, well, it’s just damn good fun.
This review is based on the Xbox 360 retail version of the game purchased by Skeptical Gamer.
