Boxing has the Fight Night series. WWE has their Smackdown vs Raw series. The UFC has had nothing to brag about when it came to video games, until now.
The fastest growing sport in the world finally has a video game that it can be proud of. No more terrible graphics and 30 second button mashing fights. Finally, a game that is fun even after the first 5 minutes.
The demo for UFC 2009, released last Thursday, is only a mere peak into what the game is going to be. But damn, its one bloody, brutal and extremely fun preview.
I've already gone over the old UFC games and how terrible they were so there's no reason to do that again. Just know that UFC 2009 is exactly what MMA fans want it to be. Every photo you google will you show you that the graphics are incredible. Realism has reached a level that may only be surpassed by Fight Night Round 4 which releases later this summer. The sweat drips, and the blood pours in convincing fashion. At times you'll have blood splattered on your chest and it won't even be yours! THQ has paid close attention to detail, right down to the ring girl's jiggling boobies. But what the screenshots can't show you is how great the gameplay is.
Since you can only be Chuck Liddell or Mauricio Rua, striking is the most fun aspect of this demo. No longer do you have only two types of punches and two types of kicks. You still have your standard jabs and hooks, high and low kicks; but most importantly, you can throw combos and tons of different styles of punches and kicks. Your striking will vary depending on the distance to your opponent and whether you're moving or not. If you throw a looping overhand right to the dome or a spinning backfist, you can be sure that they will clip off your opponent's head, arms and body just as they would in real life. THQ's physics system may not be as robust as FNR4's appears to be, but it is definitely there and doesn't dissapoint.
The demo gives you a peak into the ground game. All of the ground game options are there, but if you are fighting as Chuck Liddell and you seriously think you need to take Shogun to the ground, you clearly don't watch the sport.
If you do take the fight to the ground, you'll see that the mechanics are vastly improved over the old games. Before, when you hit the ground the fight was pretty much automatically over. There was no strategy. Now, you can go for the submission or rain elbows down on your opponent. However, by far the coolest addition is that you can actually switch position to gain complete dominance over your fallen prey. Whether you want to fight out of full guard, half guard, or side mount, you choose exactly how to pick your opponent apart.
The overall presentation of the game is completely satisfying. It really feels like a fight is actually happening. Bruce Buffer is there to announce the fighters, Mario Yamasaki gets the fight started, Mike Goldberg sounds just as clueless as he does in real life and finally, Joe Rogan is there to let you know "he is definitely rocked." The announcing is awesome. It sounds exactly like the real fights.
Definitely go out and download this demo and buy the game on May 18. If you're a UFC fan it will not dissapoint you.
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