FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Staff Columnists AMADI: Suggested improvements for UFC Undisputed 2010 videogame to fend off EA MMA competition

Mar 2, 2010 - 8:30:15 AM

By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Now, I’m usually not one to use a painfully monotonous Mike Goldberg catchphrase, but video games have seen a “meteoric rise” over the last thirty years. It is now the largest entertainment medium in the world. The UFC’s first Zuffa-era foray into that world was incredibly successful, seeing over 3 million copies of “UFC Undisputed 2009” sold over the last year. In fact, it was so successful that video game giants, Electronic Arts, have decided to try their hand at an MMA game, and in doing so, for the first year ever, opposing the UFC’s THQ/Yukes developed game.

For those who don’t have a strong grasp on the video game industry, EA Sports’ brand name in the field is every bit as strong as the UFC’s brand name in mixed martial arts. That bodes extremely well for StrikeForce and DREAM, who are prominently represented in the game, as their combined jump into the pixilated fight world is poised to be a successful one due to that partnership.

While specific gameplay details of “EA Sports MMA” are unknown as of this writing, the graphical prowess shown in the teaser trailer have impressed gamers and gaming journalists alike, and early previews (as they often are) are exceptionally positive. What we do know is that PRIDE Fighting Championships is somehow represented with knees to the head of a grounded opponent, soccer kicks, and stomps are included, and pretty much every big name in MMA outside of the UFC is involved, with StrikeForce being the premier stage.

If the thirst for MMA is strong enough, and the EA brand proves as successful as it has with golf, football, basketball, and soccer, and every other sport they attempt, more exposure to top fighters and other organizations could be gained than ever before. This is likely not something the UFC would like, and ironically, the only way video game disputes are settled is going head to head, and fight.

While the UFC’s “Undisputed” franchise has a year head start on the EA title and a guaranteed 3 million fans who are exposed to their last product, it was not a perfect game, and the outcry of those unsatisfied with some facets of the game was vocal. If the UFC would like to stay on top of the MMA video game market, some key changes have to be implemented for success.

One Strike Knockouts:

Anyone who is privy to the sport knows, with 4 oz gloves, and the explosive nature of the sport, anyone can go to sleep at any time. And while that is a fun and exciting feature of the actual sport, it was not fun or exciting in the game. One strike KO’s in MMA are fairly uncommon. In UFC Undisputed 2009, they occur in almost every game, and they aren’t very fun or satisfying, unless you were losing prior to the strike, and are happy you really screwed over the other player.

In the next title, there needs to be a dramatic dip in the amount of one shot KO’s players are able to achieve. Upping the number of TKO’s would better serve the game’s purpose, as finishing an opponent who is able to defend himself and is in control the entire time is more satisfying than a one strike KO.

Overall Striking

Everyone loves the stand up portion of MMA. As much of a jiu jitsu enthusiast as I am in real life, in the video game it’s just much more fun to stand up and bang (more on that later) than it is to battle on the ground. That being said, Undisputed 2009 had very unpolished striking, especially from a defensive standpoint, which ironically, is also a problem in the actual sport. But striking in last year’s title was all about range. If you were in range to land a punch or a kick, you were probably going to land something, because of how difficult it was get out of the way of incoming strikes. You couldn’t slip punches; move your head, duck under kicks, or anything to defend yourself other than choosing to sacrifice either your body or your head.

According to video recently released about the game, this has changed to a degree. You have more tools to defend yourself with, as you can now move your head, slip punches, and counter. While this is a plus, I’d also like to see leg kicks serve a better purpose. In Undisputed 2009, leg kicks had no defense whatsoever, and you were pretty much incapable of checking them, a la Quinton Jackson. If this is to be taken as a real sport to those unfamiliar with the sport, and a credible game, you have to allow players to be able to defend themselves at all times, and only take damage when they expose themselves to damage, like in actual MMA.

Fighters are too similar

This, by far, was the biggest complaint about the game amongst hardcore gaming circles. Without going in to too much detail here, playing as Forrest Griffin was almost exactly the same as playing as Lyoto Machida. That is a huge problem. In real life, they have almost nothing in common. Machida’s karate style makes him the most unique fighter in MMA. However, that doesn’t translate at all in the game. This sends the wrong message to those who have never seen the actual sport. The problem stems from the fact that the game broke everyone down into fairly generic styles.

In essence, the martial arts weren’t mixed at all. In every division there were a few kickboxer/wrestlers, kickboxer/BJJ guys, boxer BJJ guys, and boxer/wrestlers. Karo Parisyan and Kazuhiro Nakamura were the lone representations of judo, if I recall correctly. Muay Thai was pitifully broken down to just head kicks, flying knees and the Muay Thai clinch. That was terrible. Without going into a pro wrestling/MMA comparison, I am a fan of both, and THQ/Yukes produces games for both sports. THQ’s “Smackdown vs. RAW” franchise is a huge seller for the company, and the difference between variation between the wrestlers in that game, and variation in UFC Undisputed, is a lot like the difference between EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis, and PONG. The fighters all stand the same, all the kicks and punches are the same, sans a few exceptions, and as a result the robust roster that the game touts feels unnecessary if everyone plays exactly the same.

Grappling:

When the game was announced everyone was excited to see how the grappling aspect would be handled. Much to the surprise of many, it was done exceptionally well for the first try. According to new videos released, there are more submissions added as well, and you can link submissions together, which was a big part of the problem last year. However, I feel in their effort to make the game easy to pick up, they sacrificed some of the fun to be had on the ground. There is no extra fear of taking anyone down. Basically if you have a BJJ style in the game, you have access to the rubber guard, and from that you can get a sweep. That ends the BJJ aspect of the game. That is a little too easy on the player, untrue, and frankly, only three prominent MMA fighters can use the rubber guard effectively (Dustin Hazelett, Shinya Aoki, and George Sotiropoulos). Only two of the three are inside the UFC, and none of them are in the game.


Game reviews play a big part in sales. If you’re an MMA fan with $130 sitting around, you’re probably going to buy both titles anyway. If you’re strapped for cash however, as most people usually are (gaming is an extremely expensive hobby) you’re probably going to pick one over the other, and the improvements in UFC’s returning title are very important, if they want to best EA, and keep StrikeForce out of the public eye. In other words, if the UFC, THQ, and Yukes want to stay on top, they have to step their game up in a big way (pun couldn’t be more intended).

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